Colostrum, also called "liquid gold", is a yellowish substance that your breasts start producing towards the end of your pregnancy. The breasts continue producing colostrum for a few days after the baby is born, and then gradually start producing regular breastmilk.

• Though low in quantity (a newborn takes about a teaspoon of colostrum at each feeding), colostrum contains everything a newborn baby needs.
• Colostrum always comes in these low quantities. Until your mature milk comes in (in three to five days), don't expect to produce more than a few drops. Don't worry at this time about a low milk supply! Just put your baby to your breast whenever she or he wants it, and you'll establish a great milk supply soon.
• Colostrum contains several essential ingredients:
  • Colostrum acts as a laxative that helps clear the baby's intestines of meconium
  • Colostrum contains a coating substance that lines the baby's intestines, protecting your baby against infections
  • Colostrum contains a high dose of antibodies, including those produced by the mother's body against whatever germs may be present at the time. This protects your baby from many diseases. Even if your baby catches a disease, she or he will be able to resist it much better thanks to the colostrum she or he has received. Without the antibodies in mother's milk, a baby's immature immune system has a very hard time dealing with disease.
  • Colostrum is high in protein and low in fat, perfect for the newborn's immature digestive system. As the baby's digestive system matures, colostrum gradually changes into mature milk too, so breastmilk always provides exactly what your baby needs.
• Colostrum is very important to all mammalian babies. Puppy formula manufacturers, aware of this, emphasize that a puppy that is going to be fed on formula should be nursed by its mother for at least three days to make sure it gets colostrum. Infant formula manufacturers do not issue this same warning, even though colostrum is just as important to human babies. One wonders why.
  • Perhaps it's because they think a mother who breastfeeds her baby for a few days might decide to stick with it.
  • Perhaps it's because they know a baby who has received bottles early on will have a hard time learning to breastfeed even if the mother tries it.
  • Perhaps it's because the puppy formula industry is small enough that it's dominated by people who are interested in puppies as well as profits, whereas the baby formula industry is so big that is dominated by corporate giants who care about profits alone, and don't give a second thought to the more than one million babies who die every year because they receive formula instead of mother's milk.
• So, remember: even if you are determined to bottle-feed, let your baby suckle at your breast for the first three or four days. Even this little bit of breastfeeding will give your baby a major health advantage.

Back to the The breastfeeding page