In a world where many moms can relate to the endless supply of milk stored in plastic bags in their freezers, one mother from Arkansas recently gained attention for an extraordinary photo of her breast milk that has been shared over 70,000 times on Facebook.
What Makes This Image So Remarkable?
Amanda Rivers believes it illustrates how a mother’s body instinctively produces exactly what her child requires. “This is just mind-blowing,” she exclaimed in her post. “I read a medical journal article not too long ago that explained how a mother’s milk adjusts to meet her baby’s needs, not just in terms of calories. When a baby nurses, it creates a vacuum that allows the little one’s saliva to enter the mother’s nipple.”
She refers to a 2013 study which explored whether pathogens in a baby’s saliva could prompt the production of milk with new immunological properties and tailored antibodies. The idea is that a sick baby’s saliva sends signals to the mother’s body, prompting it to produce nutrient-rich milk filled with antibodies to combat illness.
“I remembered this while packing frozen milk into my deep freezer today,” she continued. After pumping milk the night before, her baby had a rough night appearing to have a cold. When she pumped again that morning, she was amazed to see that the milk in the bag resembled colostrum, the nutrient-packed “super milk” rich in antibodies produced in the first few days after childbirth. This was the milk her body created after nursing her sick baby all night long.
The Science Behind Customized Milk
According to Science News, “Part of the immunity provided by breast milk seems to depend on a combination of the milk and baby saliva flowing back to the mother. This backwash may actually prompt a mother’s body to create tailor-made immune factors delivered back to the baby through her milk.” Colostrum, the early form of milk, is filled with leukocytes—white blood cells crucial for immune defense. As babies grow, the amount of leukocytes decreases when everyone is healthy, but if an infection arises, leukocyte levels surge once again.
While this “customized milk” theory remains a hypothesis, biologist Sarah Thompson from Arizona State University considers it a strong possibility based on our understanding of physiology. Truly, a mother’s body is nothing short of incredible!
Further Reading
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Conclusion
In summary, a viral photo shared by a mother in Arkansas showcases the incredible adaptability of breast milk, which appears to change based on a baby’s needs. This fascinating phenomenon highlights the remarkable ways in which a mother’s body responds to her child’s health requirements.