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Colostrum: the benefits of breast “first milk”
What is colostrum and what color is it?
At the end of pregnancy, the body prepares for childbirth. A thick orange-yellow liquid can sometimes come out of the nipple. It’s colostrum, the first milk your baby will drink at birth. It is actually secreted at the time of childbirth. The sudden drop in progesterone following the expulsion of the placenta triggers the action of prolactin, and therefore the establishment of lactogenesis. The colostrum production is quite low, around 25 to 50 ml per day on the first day. But rest assured, it is enough to give your baby all the energy he needs. The amount and composition of colostrum are indeed adapted to the needs of the newborn. This first milk is particularly richer if the baby is born before term.
Colostrum and first feed, or “welcome feed”
It is often said that even if you do not want to breastfeed, it is important to give the first feed so that the baby can absorb a small part of the colostrum. Indeed, this yellow and thick liquid, particularly rich, is full of nutrients essential to the newborn in the first hours of his life. It contains antibody – whose concentration is at its peak just after birth – which will protect the baby from infections. Moreover, the smell of colostrum, mixed with that of the mother’s skin, encourages the baby to move towards the breast. If you cannot breastfeed your baby right away, colostrum can be expressed by hand so that it can be given later. You can collect it drop by drop by massaging your breasts.
Colostrum, an ideal composition for babies
Richer and more concentrated than mature milk because it is composed of very little water, colostrum contains fatty acids, vitamins (in particular beta-carotene or provitamin A, hence its yellow color) and mineral salts. For example, it provides 2,5 times more protein than mature milk. He has antioxidant, anti-infectious virtues and, thanks to its contribution in lactobacillus bifidus (probiotics), it participates in the development of the intestinal flora of the baby and facilitates the digestion and expulsion of meconium (the first stools). In fact, colostrum reduces the risk of newborn jaundice. It thus protects the newborn during its passage from a sterile environment to ectopic life, where it is immediately colonized by bacteria. Between the 3rd and the 4th day, the milk will gradually replace the colostrum at the time of the flow of milk. You will then feel your breasts more tight and full.
When does the flow of milk take place after colostrum?
Colostrum is the first milk present in the breasts at the end of pregnancy and then during the first hours of the baby’s life. Quickly, especially since the baby sucks often and efficiently, the flow of milk will take place between the second and the fifth day of the newborn’s life on average. The breasts then produce a transitional milk, the yellowish color giving way to a rather cream-colored milk. Then, from the fifteenth postpartum day, mature milk appears. All these different types of breast milk are adapted to the baby’s age and evolve with him to meet his nutritional needs.
How do you know if you have colostrum?
As soon as the pregnancy is over, it is possible to stimulate her nipples for breastfeeding, although there is no evidence that this will make breastfeeding or latching easier. However, this can be reassuring a pregnant woman to know that her breasts already contain colostrum and are therefore ready to feed the baby if he is born earlier than expected. You can try to manually extract colostrum by massaging the areola of her breast or by “pinching” her breast by putting your hand in the shape of C. The technique is more complex to explain than to perform once you have found the right gesture, but of little use until the baby is born.
In some women, a substance colostrale, close to the future colostrum, flows from the breasts during pregnancy, from the 4th month. But that does not necessarily mean that you will have a lot of milk, or a rapid flow of milk after the baby is born.