Recent studies conclude that ingestion of tryptophan in infancy leads to more serotonin development, so as long as your baby needs night feeds, be reassured, you are supporting his potential for life long well-being.Ĥ. Seratonin is a vital hormone for brain function and development that makes the brain work better, keeps one in a good mood and helps with sleep cycles. Evening breast milk is also rich in tryptophan, a sleep inducing amino acid that is a precursor to serotonin as well as amino acids that promote serotonin synthesis. This means that your baby can control the kind of milk he needs at each feed through the kind of sucking he uses, as well as how long he feeds.Ĭonsider, your day and night milk have different components: studies by researchers in Spain have found higher levels of neucleotides (proteins) that stimulate GABA, a sleep inducing neurotransmitter and melatonin. This is a similar process as the higher fat milk is made available to your baby throughout the feed. This doesn’t mean there are two types of milk: consider how, when you have a cold tap running and you turn on the hot tap, the water gradually mixes from cool to warm. As your milk ‘lets down’ this reflex will be squeezing the higher fat milk or ‘hind milk’ down to your baby to meet his energy needs. When your baby is thirsty and begins to suck he will firstly get the moreå ‘watery’ foremilk to quench his thirst, as the feed goes on, he will stimulate your ‘letdown reflex. The fat content of your breast milk changes throughout a feed and your baby can regulate this by his sucking – as long as you allow your baby to feed as long and as often as he needs. It will still be a yellowish colour and is now called ‘transitional milk’ – as it ‘transitions’ from colostrum to mature milk somewhere between 3 and 5 days after birth, although this can vary.Īlthough your mature breast milk no longer looks ‘creamy’ and can even appear ‘watery’, however long you breastfeed, your milk will not ‘lose it’s goodness’ – some immune factors actually become more concentrated during the second year of life, right when your baby becomes mobile enough to play with other children and is exposed to a greater array of bugs! This reduces the reabsorption of bilirubin, reducing the risks of jaundice.įor the next day or two as your milk making hormones are triggered by the expulsion of your placenta, and a drop in progesterone (one of your pregnancy hormones) your milk will ‘come in’. It also has a laxative effect that helps your newborn to pass meconium, that first black, tarry bowel motion. Often referred to as baby’s first immunisation, colostrum, the sticky yellowish first ‘milk’ will maintain your newborn’s blood sugar and kick start important immunologic responses in your baby’s gut, influencing the development of normal gut flora, and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. The composition of breast milk and nutrients, including macronutrients, and immune factor concentrations change according to the age and development of your baby, providing the perfect food for your baby as he grows from birth through starting family foods and becoming mobile to weaning.įor instance, studies show that the milk of mothers who have premature babies contained more calories, a greater fat concentration, more protein, sodium and secretory IgA (sIgA) than the milk of newborn term mothers. Kissing your baby will change your breast milkġ. Here are 6 magical ways your breast milk changes to meet your baby’s needs:īreast milk changes according to your diet This magic potion made by mothers is a living fluid that changes depending on the needs of your baby – it can seal your newborn’s gut against potentially harmful bacteria, viruses and allergens it can boost your growing baby’s immunity by producing antibodies to bugs your baby is exposed to and it can change in composition depending on whether your baby is hungry, thirsty, or going through a growth spurt.
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