Language
Country/Area
No result found
Immunity in Breast Milk: How Does It Protect Your Baby from Infections?
Breast milk is the milk produced by the female mammary glands and provides the main source of nutrition for newborns. This natural food is not only rich in fat, protein and carbohydrates, but also contains a variety of minerals and vitamins, which are essential for your baby's health. What's more, breast milk also contains substances that help your baby fight infection and inflammation, making breast milk an essential part of any newborn's life.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives. Subsequent stages of this period require the introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe supplementary foods.
Breast milk can not only provide all the nutrients your baby needs in the early days of birth, but can also continue to provide energy for your baby later in life. Continuing breastfeeding to two years of age and beyond is widely recommended because breast milk provides protection unmatched by other alternative foods. In breast milk, components that contribute to the development of immunity, such as immunoglobulin A (IgA), can effectively protect newborns from different diseases.
Studies have shown that human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk have anti-infective and immune system development effects. These health benefits are bidirectional for both mother and baby.
The health benefits of breastfeeding are not limited to infancy. Research shows that breastfed babies have relatively higher development intelligence and various health indicators as they grow. For example, breastfeeding can significantly reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and reduce the incidence of middle ear infections and respiratory illnesses.
Breast milk is also good for the mother's health. Breastfeeding can help the uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and reduce the occurrence of postpartum bleeding. Breastfeeding is also thought to reduce the risk of breast cancer and other chronic diseases. This is because during breastfeeding, a woman’s body secretes hormones that promote immunity and metabolism.
The rich human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk not only protect the breasts, but also help protect babies from various infections and strengthen their immune systems.
However, not all mothers can breastfeed effectively immediately after birth, and many factors may affect the production and quality of breast milk, including the mother's health, diet, emotions, and breastfeeding skills. The use of certain medications may also affect the production and composition of breast milk, so mothers should be cautious when using any medications.
Breast milk, in addition to providing a variety of nutrients required by the baby, also contains a large group of different types of living cells, including antibodies and lymphocytes. These cells help protect the baby from infectious diseases and can be passed through breast milk to further strengthen the baby's immune system, sometimes even transferring antibodies from the mother to fight specific infections.
Breastfeeding not only provides nutrition, but also transmits the pathogens that the mother encounters in life, thereby adjusting the mother's immune system to protect the newborn from these pathogens.
During breastfeeding, the composition of breast milk changes over time, and this change is crucial to the growth and health of your baby. For example, colostrum is produced to provide the high level of immune protection and easily digestible nutrients that newborns need right after birth.
Special attention should also be paid to the storage of breast milk to ensure that its nutritional content and immune efficacy are not affected. Proper storage times and conditions, if indicated, will help maintain the safety and reliability of breast milk. In some cases, freezing breast milk can extend its shelf life so that it can still provide your baby with the benefits of breastfeeding when needed.
Although various types of formula milk are available on the market, there is currently no formula milk that can completely replace the function of breast milk. Parents who realize breastfeeding should keep an open mind and actively participate in breastfeeding support and promotion activities to lay the foundation for breastfeeding practice in the future.
With the global promotion of breastfeeding, how can we further utilize the immune advantages of breast milk to protect our next generation?
