At this point, I'm pretty sure everyone knows that breast milk is the healthiest choice for babies–your obstetrician, your pediatrician, your best friend, your third cousin, have probably all spouted the virtues.
Before I became a mother, I had no intention of ever breastfeeding, but once pregnant, the evidence of the greatness of breast milk was just too convincing to ignore. So of course, I gave it a whirl and my son was lucky to get 13 months of the good stuff. He hardly ever got sick during that time, turned into a fabulous eater of solid foods afterwards, and has always been ahead of the curve developmentally. The benefits of breastfeeding are awesome, but the milk itself is even more fascinating than most of us realize. Here are five cool facts about breast milk you might not have heard:
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Milk is different for boys and girls. A recent study showed that mothers of boys produce fattier, protein-heavy milk and mothers of girls produce a greater quantity of milk that is less nutrient-dense. The theory is that the more caloric milk gives boys what they need to keep up with their energetic nature and the increased quantity of milk for girls helps to speed up their development, so that they mature more quickly, which is a necessity for being able to reproduce before menopause.
It digests much faster than formula. Because breast milk is so tailored for the needs of each individual infant, it is a lot easier to digest than formula. It generally digests in about two hours, where as formula digestion takes about four, explaining why breastfed babies often need to be fed more frequently, especially through the night.
It doesn't need refrigeration. It should be a relief to any pumping mom to know that breast milk can last at room temperature for as many as 10 hours. Thanks to the milk's many germ and bacteria fighting properties, there is no need for immediate refrigeration unless of course it will otherwise be kept in an unusually warm room. I don't think you can say that for formula or even cow's milk.
It's constantly changing. Most of us know that breast milk changes as a baby's nutritional needs change, but did you know that the composition of your breast milk changes throughout the course of each day? It's true! Women produce higher quantities of milk earlier in the day, but that milk has fewer nutrients in it. Milk production wanes as it gets later in the day, but the smaller amount of milk is much richer.
It has antibiotic properties. Not only do all of the nutrients in breast milk boost your baby's immune system, but the milk itself has antibiotic properties. There are two types of protein in milk–whey protein and casein. Breast milk has a higher ratio of whey protein which is much better at fighting infections.
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