Mothers milk
- Thread starter timojin
- Start date
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
It comes in a neat container that reduces waste going to land fill.
Alex
Assuming that it is the infant's mother, mother's milk will naturally contain familial, genetically 'compatible' compounds beneficial to the infant's health and well-being - moreso than artificially-formulated milk - e.g. antibodies.
That is a real good one
Did you watch the TED program ?
http://www.ted.com/talks/katie_hind...ium=email&utm_content=talk_of_the_week_button
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
For one, mother's milk contains critical enzymes and antibodies that bolster the infant's immune system.
Ah. I see KSM has beat me to it.
Bells
Staff member
Breastmilk is often best, because of the fact that those first feeds, in particular, contains anti-bodies and as time progresses, the breastmilk is basically tailored to the needs of the baby as the baby grows.
If a woman is unable to breastfeed for whatever reason, such as medical reasons because she is on medication, etc, then formula is the best alternative.
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
2. (Bells beat me to this one):
"...the breastmilk is basically tailored to the needs of the baby as the baby grows."
Breastmilk changes over development.
3. Breastmilk contains the same makeup as the baby. It is essentially hypo-allergenic. Formula contains unfamiliar substances (such as from cows) that can trigger the immune system. That's not what you want in a newborn. This is not the "let them eat the dirt" phase of development.
4. Breastmilk contains the optimal amount/ratio of nutrients for a human baby, unlike, say, for a cow.
5. Breastmilk (when administered traditionally) is always the perfect temperature.
How many more would you like?
"...the breastmilk is basically tailored to the needs of the baby as the baby grows."
Breastmilk changes over development.
3. Breastmilk contains the same makeup as the baby. It is essentially hypo-allergenic. Formula contains unfamiliar substances (such as from cows) that can trigger the immune system. That's not what you want in a newborn. This is not the "let them eat the dirt" phase of development.
4. Breastmilk contains the optimal amount/ratio of nutrients for a human baby, unlike, say, for a cow.
5. Breastmilk (when administered traditionally) is always the perfect temperature.
How many more would you like?
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
The baby must be weaned off mother's milk.
This varies depending on the child and on the mother's resources.
. . . . let me hazard a a guess (humor here -->) . . . . . . . 12 years old? HAHAHA!
Bells
Staff member
When the mother decides to wean the baby off the breastmilk.
Some wean after a few days, some after a few hours, after the child has had a few feeds of the pre-milk that is rich in anti-bodies, some after a few weeks, months, years. It depends on the mother, her milk supply, the baby's interest in feeding, work schedules, etc..
Bells
Staff member
I saw a woman, recently, at the beach, breastfeeding her 6 year old.
My hat goes off to her. I couldn't last past 18 months. But I do wonder about the nutritional value of breastmilk by that point, whether the child is not better off drinking water and eating a much more varied diet. To each their own I guess. But yeah, damn.. I guess there is some comfort value for the child, but yeah, puts my paltry 18 months to shame..
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
I would hazard that this is the primary function, nutrition being essentially perfunctory.
Breast milk is not always the best alternative if the mother does not have good eating habits and/or smokes, drinks, does drugs etc. babies can get sick or reject breast milk depending on what's in it, what the mother ingests etc too. Sometimes formula is the better alternative depending on the situation but breast milk, especially colostrum the first few days is supposed to contain a lot of antibodies that would help the immune system of baby but even if doesn't get that, with today's better health, nutrition and hygiene, they are still fine and isn't as critical for infant mortality as it was in the past.
The best combination is usually breastfeeding alternating with formula (formula today is better than even a decade ago) to make sure they get all the nutrition they need.
Never. It is most important for the first six months, and still "good" for a long, long time after that.
Will the milk from a mother who wasn't herself breast fed contain less of these goodies? Less immunity to dust, education etc.?
sculptor
Valued Senior Member
The mother of my sons joined the la leche league. At one of their picnics I saw a (6 yr old?)girl run up to her mom who promptly produced a breast. A few quick sucks and the girl ran off to continue to play with the other children.
I think the child got more of a psychological boost(comfort) from the breast than a nutritional one.
I vaguely recall some issue adults have paid some mothers who produced milk to be nourished in order to obtain some valuable natural chemicals ?