Photo Credit - Facebook, Mallory Smothers
Mom Mallory Smothers posted a picture on Facebook last week of her breast milk. This usually isn't a big deal, but her image has gone viral within the past few days because it's a wonderful demonstration of how amazing breastfeeding is for babies.
The bag of pumped milk on the left was from a day before Smothers's daughter was not feeling well, and the bag of pumped milk on the right is from the day after her daughter had long, frequent nursing sessions as a result of not feeling well.
Smothers cited a study from Katie Hinde, a biologist and associate professor a the Center for Evolution and Medicine at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Smothers shared, "it is believed that mammary gland receptors interpret the 'baby spit backwash' for bacteria and viruses and, if they detect something amiss, mother's body will actually change the milk's composition by producing customized antibodies."
Janet Fryle or Royal College of Midwives in the United Kingdom agrees. The "body does a lot of stuff we don't understand. The saliva reaction is when the nipple absorbs bacteria and realizes baby is unwell."
What an amazing observation by this mom, and what an amazing job our bodies do to feed and care for our babies.
