Your Early Milk
Colostrum, or your early milk, is full of immune factors that are especially important during a baby’s first weeks. Immune factors in both colostrum and mature milk bind microbes and prevents them from entering the babies delicate tissues.
A baby’s gut is sterile and immature at birth and needs help in order to create the right environment for digestion and normal development. Colostrum encourages the growth of good bacteria, which is responsible for the mild order of babies food. A normal gut discourages the growth of harmful bacteria and helps babies’ immune systems develop properly. In other words, colostrum helps seal a baby’s gut and prevents harmful bacteria from penetrating.
Furthermore, the junctions between the cells in your baby’s gut are much more open at birth and remain open until a few weeks later, which makes proper early nourishment vital . The characteristics in your breastmilk helps your baby’s gut to mature quickly, as well as the intestine mucous lining to grow and develop and strengthen your babies intestinal barrier.
It’s important to note that all mammalian species need colostrum. For instance, dairy farmers know that a calf deprived of colostrum is a calf in trouble. They go out of their way to make sure that calves get their colostrum. In the case of humans, even though a baby can survive without colostrum, the quality of life suffers. Human milk is what your baby needs and expects at birth.
