Guide to the composition and benefits of colostrum
Introduction
There are many questions that crowd the minds of expectant mothers.
Among the most frequently asked questions, a dutiful mention must be made of those regarding colostrum . What is it exactly? What does it contain? How does it affect the well-being of the newborn in the first days outside the womb?
If these questions are part of your daily life, perhaps because you are pregnant and want to prepare yourself as best as possible for the arrival of your little one, the content in the following lines is for you.
Before starting, I'll leave you some useful information:
- If you would like to schedule a studio visit with me, you can find me here.
- You can also find me on Instagram with the profile @drsilva.com_official
- In the video courses section you will find how to promote the psychomotor development of the newborn.
Colostrum: What is it?
In this video from my YouTube channel , Dr. Maria Chiara Alvisi, an independent midwife, clearly explains what colostrum is.
When it is called into question, an extremely dense liquid is framed.
Also known as “golden fluid” due to its unmistakable color, it appears in the breast at the beginning of pregnancy.
If you dedicate yourself to breast expression during the third trimester of pregnancy, it is easy to notice the release of a few drops of this extraordinary nourishment.
As for the specific practice of manual self-expression of the breast, I invite you to take a look at this exhaustive tutorial also curated by Dr. Alvisi.
Returning to the focus on colostrum , I would like to remind you that, to understand its importance for health, it is useful to stop for a moment and reflect on the fact that, in a single drop, it is possible to find more than a million cells with antibody function .
An excellent source of vitamins, colostrum is characterized by the presence of components that stimulate intestinal peristalsis and, by extension, promote the expulsion of mecomium, the newborn's first feces.
The elimination of mecomium is a moment of enormous importance in the very first moments of life and is also characterized by the elimination, by the baby's organism, of the excess bilirubin synthesized after birth.
When it comes to colostrum , new mothers often have concerns about its limited quantity.
There is no need to be alarmed! Everything is the fruit of the ancestral wisdom of nature.
The baby's stomach , being extremely small in size, does not need excessive doses of nourishment. This is the explanation for the physiological loss of weight in the first day after birth.
Once this first step is over, the puppy finds in colostrum everything it needs to feed itself. A few days after birth, colostrum becomes milk and, finally, mature milk.
Let's go back for a moment to what happens in the very early stages after birth. In this crucial phase, the baby's stomach begins a process of mechanical expansion.
The latter, in fact, is not necessary during pregnancy. In fact, during gestation, all nutrients reach the fetus through the cord.
The few drops of colostrum that the mother's breast produces are therefore crucial for the survival of the puppy as they are characterised by a concentration of nutrients that has no equal in nature.
What's in it?
When talking about the content of colostrum , it is interesting to mention a curiosity that demonstrates how wonderful nature is: the composition of this liquid has remained unchanged over the millennia.
Be careful, though: the specific percentage of individual substances may vary based on aspects related to the mother's health.
Going into the composition of colostrum , we remember the presence of proteins, mineral salts and vitamins.
Regarding the first nutrients listed and making a comparison with mature milk, it is noteworthy the lower quantity of casein and lactose that characterizes colostrum.
The latter, on the other hand, is rich in antibodies, immunoglobulins first and foremost, enzymes and growth factors.
Immunoglobulins are essential for protecting the puppy from attack by pathogenic organisms against which its body has not yet developed sufficiently powerful defenses.
Colostrum is also important for preventing unnecessary immune responses.
As underlined by several scientific evidences, it has a preventive capacity also against gastroenteritis. Colostrum, moreover, is precious because of its protective role regarding the attacks by intestinal bacteria such as Escherichia Coli and Clostridium difficile .
