Sunday, June 30, 2013

Anti-Body Guard

There seems to be a misconception out there in the wide world regarding antibodies in breast milk.  I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard people say something to the effect of, "I couldn't breastfeed the baby but I was able to a little in the hospital so at least he got all of the antibodies!"  True that colostrum has a higher concentration of antibodies.  That's because its concentrated.  A wise LC friend likes to explain to new parents that colostrum is like orange juice concentrate.  It has all the same components of breast milk just without the added water.  Milk
                                                                                       "coming in" just adds that water.


So I'm just wanted to throw this out there kind of explaining how this all actually works.  Human children are born incredibly immature compared to other mammals.  That's because we have to manage to fit a big brained head through a narrow upright-walking pelvis.  I guess sometimes evolution doesn't fully think these things through.  But I digress.  Just as those little brains and bodies are immature, so are babies' immune systems.  It takes approximately 12-14 years to reach full physical maturity, way longer than that for mental and emotional maturity, so the relatively short span of 5ish years to reach immunological maturity is pretty fast!
Well, in this case...



Baby is getting antibodies from mom through the placenta prior to birth.  Those will stay with baby for several months.  Breastfeeding infants continue to get antibodies from their mother's breast milk, not just for the first few days but for as long as the baby is nursing.  So any germies mom comes in contact with, she's going to make an antibody for it and pass it on to baby.   Even more amazing if baby contacts the pathogen first there are special receptors in mom's breast that start synthesizing antibodies for it right away.  By the next feeding, boom antibodies!




It's no mystery why most kids will wean somewhere between 2 and 5 years when left to their own devices.  They aren't just using mom for comfort.  Moms don't just not want babies to grow up.  Breastfeeding is comforting but also continuing to give kids significant health benefits.  Your breasts don't have a magic expiration date when they stop manufacturing antibodies until they just stop manufacturing milk.  Older children start getting their nutrition elsewhere but they still need the boobie tap for the immunity.  When I was nursing my youngest at nearly 5 I would joke that there was nothing left in there but dust and antibodies because my production had dropped down to not much above colostrum levels.


So there's my novel about the misconception that only colostrum contains antibodies.  Not true at all.  And it pains me to hear even other health care professionals perpetuate this myth.


Here is a great link with more in depth info from breastfeeding guru Dr. Jack Newman.

 

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