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Breast milk
Alternative Names:
Milk - human; Human milk Function:
Breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for infants. Breast milk contains appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. It also provides digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and hormones that all infants require. Breast milk contains valuable antibodies from the mother that may help the baby resist infections. Text Continues Below
Healthy infants have adequate iron stores to last until 8 months of age. Iron-rich foods can be started at this age. (See diet for age.) Your pediatrician or dietitian may recommend fluoride supplementation in communities where water is not fluoridated (areas with less than 0.25 p.p.m. fluoride).
Cow's milk by itself is inappropriate for infants less than 1 year old. The infant may develop an allergy to dairy products if given cow's milk too early in life. Although cow's milk contains most of the same components as breast milk, these components are not in the same amounts. Cow's milk also lacks the immune factors (antibodies) that help protect infants until their own immune system fully develops. Commercially prepared formulas may be based on non-fat cow's milk, whey protein, or soy protein. In order to provide a balanced diet for an infant, formulas must be fortified with carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. The antibodies found in breast milk, however, can never be added to formulas. BREAST MILK PRODUCTION Milk is produced in small sac-like glands in the breast. These sacs develop after specific hormones (such as estrogen, progesterone, pituitary prolactin, and placental lactogen) stimulate them, beginning during the second trimester of pregnancy.
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