The Nutritional Value of Breast Milk

(Newswire.net — November 29, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — It’s been said in many forms that breast is best and all studies have proven this to be true. From the vaccination effects to dietary benefits, breast milk is the quintessential superfood for a baby. Breast milk is even hailed for evolving its constitution at various stages of lactation to fully meet the developmental needs of babies.

A baby’s gender, appetite and the time of day are all factors influencing the composition of breast milk each mother produces. Every feeding session is a tailor-made concoction devised to satisfy changing fluid and dietary requirements of a growing infant. With so many variables to consider, research generally offers the average values of nutrients found in mature breast milk. 

Lactation begins with colostrum which is yellowish followed by transitional milk then lastly mature milk produced 20 days after a baby is born which continues to flow until the child is weaned. Containing water, protein, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and trace elements, the mature milk provides 270-315 kilojoules (kJ) of energy in every 100ml suckled. 

“Milk is successfully produced by mothers regardless of their nutritional status” states the U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Nevertheless, the concentrations of some nutrients, specifically vitamins A, D, B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12, fatty acids, and iodine, in human milk depend on or are influenced by maternal diet.”  

There is great merit to the saying “you are what you eat” when it comes to nursing an infant. Everything the mother consumes has an effect on the breast milk produced thus caution must be exercised when indulging in things which freely flow into the milk supply such as alcohol. 

Sipping a piña colada, glass of sherry or other relatively low-octane drinks in moderation need not induce guilt when nursing as “there are many ways to make it work,” assures Rachel Douthwaite, Lactation Consultant and Public Health Nurse in Vancouver.  

The PureMilk™ Breast Milk Alcohol Detecting Strips by HealthyWiser™ was created just for the purposes of analyzing with 99.9% accuracy the alcohol content of breast milk so there’s no guessing about when it’s alcohol-free and safe to resume feedings.