Breast milk
Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborn infants, comprising fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and a varying composition of minerals and vitamins.
[1] The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding with breast milk for the first six months of an infant’s life.
This period is followed by the incorporation of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary solid foods at six months, a stage when an infant’s nutrient and energy requirements start to surpass what breast milk alone can provide.
[2] Breast milk constitutes the sole source of nutrition for exclusively breastfed newborns, supplying all necessary nutrients for infants up to six months.
Breastfeeding within the first hour of life protects the newborn from acquiring infections and reduces risk of death during the neonatal period.
[24] Lactation may protect the infant from specifically developing Type 2 diabetes, as studies have shown that bioactive ingredients in human breast milk could prevent excess weight gain during childhood via contributing to a feeling of energy and satiety.
[20] There are arguments that breastfeeding may contribute to protective effects against the development of type 1 diabetes because the alternative of bottle-feeding may expose infants to unhygienic feeding conditions.
[25] Though it is almost universally prescribed, in some countries during the 1950s, the practice of breastfeeding went through a period where it was out of vogue and the use of infant formula was considered superior to breast milk.
In addition to the appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat, breast milk provides vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes,[27] and hormones.
It also creates a mild laxative effect, expelling meconium and helping to prevent the build-up of bilirubin (a contributory factor in jaundice[35]).
[37] Some of the most common reasons are an improper latch (i.e., the baby does not connect efficiently with the nipple), not nursing or pumping enough to meet supply, certain medications (including estrogen-containing hormonal contraceptives), illness, and dehydration.
A Cochrane review came to the conclusion that a greater volume of milk is expressed whilst listening to relaxing audio during breastfeeding, along with warming and massaging of the breast prior to and during feeding.
[69] Breast milk is not sterile and has its own microbiome, but contains as many as 600 different species of various bacteria, including beneficial Bifidobacterium breve, B. adolescentis, B. longum, B. bifidum, and B. dentium, which contribute to colonization of the infant gut.
[75] Because of its diverse population of cells and multifarious functions, researchers have argued that breast milk should be considered a living tissue.
[79] Women breastfeeding should consult with their physician regarding substances that can be unwittingly passed to the infant via breast milk, such as alcohol, viruses (HIV or HTLV-1), or medications.
[81] This inhibitory effect against the infant contracting HIV is likely due to unspecified factors exclusively present in breast milk of HIV-positive mothers.
[87][88][89][90] Whole cow's milk also contains too much protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus and chloride which may put a strain on an infant's immature kidneys.
[88][91][92] The composition of marsupial and monotreme milk contains essential nutrients, growth factors and immunological properties to support the development of joeys and puggles.
[96] Medications that are mostly non-protein bound, low in molecular weight, and highly lipid-soluble are more likely to enter the breast milk in larger quantities.
[100] Conversely, there are medications that are known to be toxic to the baby and thus should not be used in breastfeeding mothers, such as chemotherapeutic agents which are cytotoxic like cyclosporine,[101] immunosuppressants like methotrexate,[101] amiodarone, or lithium.
[95] Hormonal products and combined oral contraceptives should be avoided during the early postpartum period as they can interfere with lactation.
[102][103] A Cochrane review looked at the drug domperidone (10 mg three times per day) with results showing a significant increase in volume of milk produced over a period of one to two weeks.
[108] In the United States, the online marketplace for breast milk is largely unregulated and the high premium has encouraged food fraud.
The article also explains that milk purchased online may be improperly sanitized or stored, so it may contain food-borne illness and infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
[113][114] An Icecreamist in London's Covent Garden started selling an ice cream named Baby Gaga in February 2011.
Despite the success of the new flavour, the Westminster Council officers removed the product from the menu to make sure that it was, as they said, "fit for human consumption.
Calling bodybuilders "a strange breed of individuals", he said, "Even if this type of thing is completely unsupported by research, they're prone to gym lore and willing to give it a shot if there is any potential effect."
Studies are looking at the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls and persistent organic pollutants in the body; the breast milk of Inuit mothers is extraordinarily high in toxic compounds.
This result is supported by a study done in India, which revealed that in each lactation period there is a loss of OCPs from the mother's body involved in the nursing of their children.
Based on these studies, the exposure of women during pregnancy to these OCPs may lead to various health problems for fetus such as low birth weight, disturbance of thyroid hormone, and neurodevelopmental delay.
