23 Facts About Breast milk

Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates and variable minerals and vitamins.

Breast milk contains substances that help protect an infant against infection and inflammation, whilst contributing to healthy development of the immune system and gut microbiome.

Breast milk supplied by a woman other than the baby's mother that is not pasteurized and informal breast milk sharing is associated with a risk of transmitting bacteria and viruses from the donor mother to the baby and is not considered a safe alternative.

Breast milk contains antibodies and lymphocytes from the mother that help the baby resist infections.

The immune function of breast milk is individualized, as the mother, through her touching and taking care of the baby, comes into contact with pathogens that colonize the baby, and, as a consequence, her body makes the appropriate antibodies and immune cells.

Breast milk contains less iron than formula, because it is more bioavailable as lactoferrin, which carries more safety for mothers and children than ferrous sulphate.

The initial Breast milk produced is referred to as colostrum, which is high in the immunoglobulin IgA, which coats the gastrointestinal tract.

Actual inability to produce enough Breast milk is rare, with studies showing that mothers from malnourished regions still produce amounts of Breast milk of similar quality to that of mothers in developed countries.

Non-pharmaceutical methods should be tried first, such as pumping out the mother's breast milk supply often, warming or massaging the breast, as well as starting milk pumping earlier after the child is born if they cannot drink milk at the breast.

Breast milk contains complex proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other biologically active components.

Breast milk has circadian variations; some of the nucleotides are more commonly produced during the night, others during the day.

Mother's Breast milk has been shown to supply endocannabinoids 2-Arachidonoyl glycerol, anandamide, oleoylethanolamide, palmitoylethanolamide, N-arachidonoyl glycine, eicosapentaenoyl ethanolamide, docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide, N-palmitoleoyl-ethanolamine, dihomo-?-linolenoylethanolamine, N-stearoylethanolamine, prostaglandin F2alpha ethanolamides and prostaglandin F2 ethanolamides, Palmitic acid esters of hydroxy-stearic acids .

Breast milk is not sterile, but contains as many as 600 different species of various bacteria, including beneficial Bifidobacterium breve, B adolescentis, B longum, B bifidum, and B dentium, which contribute to colonization of the infant gut.

Breast milk contains a variety of somatic cells and stem cells and the proportion of each cell type differs from individual to individual.

The stem cells found in human breast milk have been shown to be able to differentiate into a variety of other cells involved in the production of bodily tissues and a small proportion of these cross over the nursing infant's intestinal tract into the bloodstream to reach certain organs and transform into fully functional cells.

Breast milk contains a unique type of sugars, human milk oligosaccharides, which are not present in infant formula.

Whole cow's Breast milk contains too little iron, retinol, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin D, unsaturated fats or essential fatty acids for human babies.

Composition of marsupial and monotreme Breast milk contains essential nutrients, growth factors and immunological properties to support the development of joeys and puggles.

Human milk is considered to be healthier than cow's milk and infant formula when it comes to feeding an infant in the first six months of life, but only under extreme situations do international health organizations support feeding an infant breast milk from a healthy wet nurse rather than that of its biological mother.

One reason is that the unregulated breast milk market is fraught with risks, such as drugs of abuse and prescription medications being present in donated breast milk.

The transmission of these substances through breast milk can do more harm than good when it comes to the health outcomes of the infant recipient.

All the Breast milk was donated by a Mrs Hiley who earned £15 for every 10 ounces and called it a "great recession beater".

Human breast milk is not produced or distributed industrially or commercially, because the use of human breast milk as an adult food is considered unusual to the majority of cultures around the world, and most disapprove of such a practice.