Wonders of Colostrum

First of all, I want to say that I miss blogging! Our family had been busy for the past week that I was unable to write anything. We had a BBQ party with our friends, How to Study the Bible classes, a trip to Negros to visit J’s family and celebrate his Papa’s birthday, and a day out with my family to celebrate my Mama’s birthday. With our jam-packed schedule, I don’t have time left to write anything but now that we are back to our usual schedule expect post after post from me. I just have so many stories to tell!

Today to commemorate the end of the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month I would like to talk about colostrum and its many benefits.

Colostrum is the first milk our breasts make for our babies. It is produced while pregnant and for a few days after giving birth until our mature milk comes in. Its color ranges from yellow to orange. It is thick and sticky. Compared to mature milk, colostrum is higher in protein while lower in sugar and fat.

Colostrum (left) and Mature Milk (right). This image is from Wikimedia Commons.

Some mothers opted to give formula to their babies immediately after birth because they think they are not producing enough milk to satisfy their babies hunger. It is one misconception breastfeeding advocates are trying their best to correct. A day old baby has a stomach the size of a marble, around 5-7 mL, which is very easy to fill. A baby just needs to have small, frequent feedings because despite of its low volume colostrum is highly concentrated in nutritional value. Aside from the excitement of finally having my baby with me, I find it hard to fall asleep after giving birth because I wanted to make sure that my little Queen B nurses every 1.5-2 hours.  

Colostrum has a mild, laxative effect. This helps the baby pass his early stools known as meconium. Through the passing of the meconium, excess bilirubin is also expelled from our baby’s body thus preventing jaundice. Babies should pass their first meconium within their first 24 hours of life. My little Queen B had her first meconium stool 6 hours after birth. Despite being aware of this, J sort of panicked when he saw the black stool on Georgina’s diaper. Well, most probably he was overwhelmed by the amount of it which is a lot!

Colostrum is also our baby’s first vaccine. It contains lymphocytes (white blood cells), and antibodies. As I have discussed here, lymphocytes and antibodies are vital components of our immune system. These substances protect our babies from infections. Colostrum is also composed of growth factors that stimulate the development of our baby’s gut. We are not only giving food to our baby but we are also protecting them from disease-causing microorganisms.

Colostrum is also extremely easy to digest making it perfect as our baby’s first food outside the womb. It gradually changes into mature milk by day 4 to 5. Our baby’s stomach had also grown by that time to accommodate the greater volume of mature milk.

Indeed, ensuring that our babies get our colostrum is a wonderful gift we can give them and yet it doesn’t cost a thing. Our breasts naturally produce this incredible liquid.

With the establishment of the First Embrace Campaign, it is my hope that all babies would be able to receive their mother’s colostrum for a better chance of survival.

#xoxo