Doctors recommend mothers to provide their new-born and developing baby with their breast milk. This is very much important for their overall well-being and good health. Your baby is likely to get benefitted from your milk in various ways. This milk comprises of nutrients in sufficient balance, thereby allowing your infant to grow strong and healthy. Moreover, some nutrients present in your milk do protect your infant from various types of common childhood infections and illnesses. It also helps boost your health. There are certain cancer types that might affect those mothers who do not breastfeed their babies. It has been proved by medical science that mothers breastfeeding their babies are found to be safe from dangerous diseases.
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Importance of breastfeeding the baby
Women suffering from health issues should provide their baby with their breast milk for the initial six months on a daily basis. Even many women experiencing health problems are allowed to breastfeed their baby. It is only in rare cases that some mothers suffering from some exceptional diseases to not breastfeed. This is because some illegal drugs, medicines, and alcohol might pass through the milk, thereby causing harm to the baby. In case you have concerns whether to breastfeed or not your baby, you should consult your doctor immediately. Make sure to take well-informed steps to prevent unwanted complications. Again, if you suffer from breastfeeding issues, do contact a lactation expert.
Is there a need to test your breast milk to ensure it is safe and healthy for your baby?
The early days of childbirth can be quite overwhelming and demanding. You may also have concerns about breastfeeding. Mothers always want the very best for their small ones. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, some parents may wonder if testing their breast milk will assure providing the baby with desired milk quality. But is testing really necessary? By design, breast milk is considered to be the baby’s perfect food. It has lots of substances that are just amazing and beneficial for your baby. It has sugars, fats, protein in appropriate amounts. Also are present antibodies to combat infection. Hormones are also passed onto the baby through the breast milk enabling him/her to sleep well at night. In short, it is indeed an amazing nutrition and has no substitute even today’s modern age. Moreover, your body is adapted to making necessary changes with regards to what is present in your milk with the development of your baby. It also can meet effortlessly his/her evolving, growing nutritional needs.
Then why mothers of new-born babies are worried about their milk being inadequate to meet the needs of the baby. Some nursing mothers have genuine concerns about producing low milk supply. It is however, something different and should be consulted with your doctor or take some supplements like Lactation cookie bites to improve your milk supply.
The latest technology allows analysing of mother’s m\ilk to determine several aspects. Milk sample is tested to determine the calorie and fat amount present in an ounce of mother’s breast milk. It is referred to as cream percentage or the ‘creamatocrit’. Deriving this number can ensure that sick and preterm infants are provided with the appropriate blend of calories and fats required by them.
But this number does not need to be known in case of normal term baby’s not experiencing any medical issue. Mothers of such babies should rather not worry about the calorie content present in their milk. This aspect is better skipped.
It is found that some companies have been directly marketing some products to concerned parents. Such products often run into several hundred dollars. They assure that analysing breast milk samples, it is possible to derive details of breast milk quality like Vitamin D levels, calorie content, essential nutrients and antibodies.
For the new mother, it can appear like a dream to know what exactly her baby is provided with. This is more so in today’s modern society, where it is possible to track many things effectively and easily. According to doctors, such testing might only do more harm instead of good. Firstly, it is not easy to state the exact amount of the substances the breastfed baby is to derive ideally. It also includes certain antibodies. With proper milk analysis done by the experts, it is possible to determine the substances presence amount to some extent, but not exactly. It is necessary to understand that breast milk composition tends to change with every feed and on a daily basis. Hence, taking samples will not be able to provide clear pictures.
Some take ways to know about
- Your body is designed to know the exact amounts of calories, proteins and fats required by your baby.
- New tests conducted claims to analyse the breast milk as well as to determine its quality and sufficiency to meet your baby’s growing needs.
- But this might be scientifically unproven and completely unnecessary.
You can check up with your doctor, whether you can get breast milk test for newborn or not.