What is breast milk good for

It contains just the right amount of nutrients. It is also gentle on your baby's developing stomach, intestines, and other body systems.

It is recommended that you breastfeed until your baby is 6 months old, then breastfeed with solid foods until at least 1 to 2 years old. You may know some of the reasons that breastfeeding is best for your baby. Here are some of those reasons. Compared with formula, the nutrients in breastmilk are better absorbed and used by your baby. These include sugar carbohydrate and protein. Studies of breastfed babies have found that they do better on intelligence tests when they grow older.

A breastfed baby's eyes also work better. This is mostly because of certain types of fat in breastmilk. Breastmilk has many disease-fighting factors. They help prevent mild to severe infections and hospitalization.

Babies born early premature who are breastfed are also less likely to get a serious infection of the intestines called NEC necrotizing enterocolitis. Breastfeeding helps protects babies from many serious health problems. And it keeps on offering protection as they get older. These are general guidelines for storing human milk at different temperatures.

Various factors affect how long human milk can be stored safely. Such factors include milk volume, room temperature when milk is expressed, temperature fluctuations in the refrigerator and freezer, and cleanliness of the environment. Do you have other questions, such as where to store breast milk at work, and what to do when the power goes out? Visit Frequently Asked Questions.

Always thaw the oldest breast milk first. Remember first in, first out. If you or your family member has an illness or infection, consult your doctor before attempting to treat it with breast milk. Breast milk is typically sweet and creamy. You will probably use it to mix your baby's first cereal when you begin to introduce solid foods. You may even add it to other foods for your child. But, some people use it in recipes that they make for themselves.

It can replace cow's milk in some cooking and baking recipes. Just like goat's milk, or other cow's milk alternatives, it can also be added to coffee and cereal or made into butter, cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products. For medical use, breast milk from human milk banks must be carefully screened and pasteurized before being used to treat any conditions or ailments.

Breast milk could be used for medical reasons such as:. Nutrition: Breast milk provides nutrition for premature infants and children who are failing to thrive under normal circumstances. Patients With a Compromised Immune System: Breast milk can help cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and people with infectious diseases to strengthen their immune system.

Preventative Medicine: Some researchers say that patients may benefit from using donor breast milk to help prevent certain diseases. Although the idea of using breast milk for home remedies is interesting, it could be harmful to use fresh breast milk on open wounds or in the eyes and ears. If you have an abundant milk supply and plenty of extra breast milk, there are other things you can do with your milk. You can freeze and store it to give to your baby when you are no longer breastfeeding.

If you still have extra milk, consider donating it to a milk bank to help premature babies and others in the hospital that could benefit from your generosity. Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Published Apr Published May U se of home remedies: a cross-sectional survey of patients in Germany. BMC Fam Pract. Even between 11 and 16 months, around half of her daily calorie intake will be from milk.

So relax in the knowledge that you can both continue to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding for many months to come. Human milk composition: nutrients and bioactive factors. Pediatr Clin North Am. Cells in human milk: state of the science. J Human Lact. Comparative proteomics of human and macaque milk reveals species-specific nutrition during postnatal development. J Proteome Res.

Amino acid profiles in term and preterm human milk through lactation: a systematic review. The possible role of human milk nucleotides as sleep inducers. Nutr Neurosci. Human milk oligosaccharides and the preterm infant: a journey in sickness and in health. Clin perinatol. Bioactive factors in human milk. Pediatric Clinics. The mucosal immune system and its integration with the mammary glands. The J Pediatr.

Essential fatty acids in early life: structural and functional role. Proc Nutr Soc.