Baby Food Facts

Breast milk is the milk produced by a mother to feed her new born child. This is the ideal food for babies before they start eating other foods. Breast milk is packed with nutrients which are essential for the baby’s growth and well being while being able to immunize the baby against infections like including gastroenteritis, respiratory illness, urinary infections, and ear infections. The nutrient levels in the breast milk depend on the mother’s food and therefore it is important for the nursing mother to have a healthy diet. Breast milk is produced because of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. Breast milk is composed of fore milk and hind milk. For milk is the milk released at the beginning of a feed is watery, low in fat and high in carbohydrates. The hind milk is the milk released as the feed progresses and the breast gets emptier and it’s very high in fat. Hind milk is very useful in baby’s weight gain and brain development. In addition to the appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein and fat, breast milk also provides vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and hormones which are required by the growing infant. Breast milk also contains antibodies and lymphocytes from the mother that help the baby resist infections. If there is too much milk left over from a feed then during the next the baby will get a lot of the watery foremilk rather than the creamy hind milk, hence it is advisable to feed from one breast only for one feed. This way the baby gets past the fore milk to the hind milk helping in a balance of nutrients and development.

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