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Home › Articles › Breastfeeding Basics › Waiting for Your Milk

Waiting for Your Milk

Why Your Baby Won't Starve

By Brenda Nixon

Pages:  1  2  3  

"I'm worried. What if my baby starves at my breast?"

"How can that happen?"

"I'm told my milk won't come in for several days."

"That's true. But you'll have colostrum."

Have you been a part of or overheard a similar conversation? Colostrum is produced by your breasts in the first days after birth. This special, rich milk is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and antibodies to help keep your baby healthy. It is extremely easy to digest, and is therefore the perfect first food for your newborn.

Liquid Gold
"We docs who do breastfeeding medicine consider colostrum 'liquid gold,'" says Dr. Jeanne Ballard, FAAP, of Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. "It is a living substance tailor-made for one's own baby. Colostrum represents 100 percent of the early milk on the first day of life."

Indeed, colostrum actually works as a natural and safe vaccine containing large quantities of the antibody secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA). It also contains concentrations of leukocytes, protective white cells that can destroy disease-causing bacteria and viruses. "It contains live white blood cells specifically equipped to protect the baby's bowel from inflammation," says Dr. Ballard.

With its laxative effect, colostrum helps your newborn pass early stools, which aids in the excretion of excess bilirubin and helps prevent jaundice. It plays a critical role in your newborn's gastrointestinal tract. Since a newborn's intestines are porous, colostrum seals the holes by "painting" the GI tract with a protective barrier against foreign substances. The barrier may also desensitize your newborn to foods you've eaten. Dr. Ballard says colostrum is "the perfect blend of fat, carbohydrate and protein for the new intestine."

Low Volume, High Content
"When I hear the phrase 'nectar of the gods,' I think of colostrum," says Bonnie Cable, RN, IBCLC, in Columbus, Ohio. "Research has long shown that babies have a very strong instinct to nurse within the first 30 minutes after their arrival into the world," she says. Cable recommends putting your baby to the breast as soon as possible after birth.

Low in volume, colostrum is high in concentrated nutrition. "Its smaller volume insures that the infant will nurse frequently," says Cable. In those first days, nurse your newborn at least 9 to 12 times in 24 hours. This allows him to get all the benefits of the colostrum and stimulates production of a plentiful supply of mature milk.


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