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Breast milk: how to check its fat content? Video
A nursing mother may worry about the fat content of breast milk, fearing that the baby is not full. Doctors believe that with a child’s good appetite and normal weight gain, there is no cause for concern.
How to find out the fat content of breast milk
You can accurately check the fat content of milk in a nursing mother by passing tests to a laboratory. However, there are methods for determining its nutritional value at home.
So, it is believed that the more milk remains in a woman’s breast after feeding, the lower the fat content of milk.
Breast milk comes in front and back milk. Foremilk is more watery and less nutritious and is designed to quench newborns’ thirst. In order for the baby to receive a more satisfying nutrition, you should not change the breast during one feeding, then he will get himself fatty back milk.
Increasing fat content and improving the quality of breast milk at home
Most breastfeeding women believe that the food they eat ends up in their milk. However, according to experts, such confidence is unfounded. Lymph and blood take part in the creation of breast milk, and therefore its composition practically does not depend on the quantity and quality of food consumed.
The occurrence of allergies and digestive disorders in a breastfed baby are not associated with the food consumed by the mother. The reason for the reactions of the child’s body to milk is the general microflora of the mother and the baby.
However, the fat content of breast milk can be increased. Adequate nutrition of the mother will contribute to its active production.
Half of the diet of a lactating woman should be vegetables, fruits and cereals. Fat should be no more than 30%, and proteins – no more than 20%. It is important to consume enough milk and fermented milk products, as calcium helps to increase the fat content of food for the baby. In addition to dairy products, a large amount of calcium is found in fish, greens, cabbage, spinach, beans, raisins.
According to numerous studies of scientists, it can be concluded that each mother has an individual composition of breast milk, suitable for a particular child.
Even with low levels of its fat content in the test results, you should not sound the alarm, since only dry numbers should not be a sign of baby’s dissatisfaction with nutrition
Poor weight gain, crying associated with the need for frequent latching on to the breast, and restless sleep can be an indicator of poor quality of food for an infant.
It is worth noting that too fatty breast milk will not benefit the baby’s health, since it will be less absorbed and cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract.