Breast milk

Breast milk is a brilliant “concept”. No matter when you give birth – whether it’s at week 24, 42 of pregnancy or anything in between – you produce breast milk that is exactly suited to your baby’s nutritional needs. Isn’t that absolutely incredible? Nature is simply brilliant!

The milk changes in its content during a breastfeeding session and during each meal. The amount also changes according to your child's needs and during the day. The milk changes color during a breastfeeding session and during each meal and the content changes, for example, if you as a mother get the flu. Then the baby is boosted with immune substances via the breast milk. In other words, the composition of breast milk is different and specially adapted to your child.

Some women see a little milk on their nipples at the end of pregnancy. Others don't. Both are completely normal. Many people ask if you should stimulate your breasts by expressing during pregnancy. The answer is no. You shouldn't. A few choose to do it, for example if they know that their baby is sick and will need extra nutrition in the days after birth. Otherwise, there is no reason to spend energy on expressing during pregnancy. Once the placenta is born, your body starts producing milk. If you have given birth by caesarean section, there is some extra relevant knowledge here .

The first milk you produce is called colostrum. It is yellowish in color and thick like cream. It comes in a few nutritious drops, which are pure gold for your newborn baby. Some people believe that colostrum is not enough to feed a baby, as the milk does not flow in steady streams. A newborn baby's stomach is the size of a walnut, so only a few, fatty drops of colostrum are needed to feed a baby.

Colostrum is high in protein and immune-boosting substances. The amount of colostrum increases gradually from day to day. This allows the baby's intestinal system to slowly get used to handling food.

Gradually, the milk changes to transitional milk. A mixture of colostrum and the “succession milk” - that is, the milk that takes over after the first days of colostrum. It is a gradual process where the fat, yellowish colostrum becomes increasingly white and gradually thinner in consistency. It can be good to change breastfeeding positions to stimulate milk production in the entire breast (the direction the baby's chin is pointing is where the breast empties the most). Read more about the different breastfeeding positions here . And dear ones, remember that it is not a must to master different breastfeeding positions. It is an option and it can be both practical and nice to feel at home in several breastfeeding positions. Try it out, ask, get help from professionals and your partner and try to be patient with yourself and baby. Practice often makes perfect.

When the milk has come in and it is the thinner, more whitish (possibly with bluish tones) milk, every breastfeeding meal actually consists of 2: First, the baby's thirst is quenched,

Next comes the satiating milk - the milk that baby gains weight from and becomes full enough to take a nap. Therefore, it is important that baby gets both the thirst-quenching and the satiating milk in a breastfeeding meal. If baby falls asleep after a few minutes at the breast, you can wake baby up and continue breastfeeding from the same breast.

The nutrient content of the milk that remains consists on average of 1 gram of protein, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fat and 88 grams of water per 100 ml. The fat content varies from woman to woman and during the day. Nature is so ingenious that the fat content is highest at the end of the day, when milk production and thus the amount of milk is lowest. The baby is therefore still both nourished and full at the end of the day.

In addition, breast milk contains all the vitamins and minerals that your baby needs - with the exception of vitamin D and vitamin K. In addition, breast milk contains immune substances if you, as a breastfeeding mother, are sick. And as the icing on the cake, breast milk also contains stem cells that greatly support the baby's health.

The content of breast milk is therefore broad, important, specially designed and simply brilliant! If you would like to read about the benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby, read on. here .

Thank you for reading!

Most affectionately

Siff Stephenson, HeartMidwife