Your breasts produce colostrum beginning during pregnancy and continuing through the early days of breastfeeding. This special milk is yellow to orange in color and thick and sticky. It is low in fat, and high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies to help keep your baby healthy.
Colostrum is extremely easy to digest, and is therefore the perfect first food for your baby. It is low in volume (measurable in teaspoons rather than ounces), but high in concentrated nutrition for the newborn. Colostrum has a laxative effect on the baby, helping him pass his early stools, which aids in the excretion of excess bilirubin and helps prevent jaundice.
When your baby is breastfed early and often, your breasts will begin producing mature milk around the third or fourth day after birth. Your milk will then increase in volume and will generally begin to appear thinner and whiter (more opaque) in color.
In those first few days it is extremely important to breastfeed your newborn at least 8-12 times each 24 hours, and more often is even better. This allows your baby to get all the benefits of the colostrum and also stimulates production of a plentiful supply of mature milk. Frequent breastfeeding also helps prevent engorgement.
Your colostrum provides not only perfect nutrition tailored to the needs of your newborn, but also large amounts of living cells which will defend your baby against many harmful agents. The concentration of immune factors is much higher in colostrum than in mature milk.
Colostrum actually works as a natural and 100% safe vaccine. It contains large quantities of an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) which is a new substance to the newborn.
Before your baby was born, he received the benefit of another antibody, called IgG, through your placenta. IgG worked through the baby's circulatory system, but IgA protects the baby in the places most likely to come under attack from germs, namely the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines.
Colostrum has an especially important role to play in the baby's gastrointestinal tract. A newborn's intestines are very permeable. Colostrum seals the holes by "painting" the gastrointestinal tract with a barrier which mostly prevents foreign substances from penetrating and possibly sensitizing a baby to foods the mother has eaten.
Colostrum also contains high concentrations of leukocytes, protective white cells which can destroy disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
The colostrum gradually changes to mature milk during the first two weeks after birth. During this transition, the concentrations of the antibodies in your milk decrease, but your milk volume greatly increases. The disease-fighting properties of human milk do not disappear with the colostrum. In fact, as long as your baby receives your milk, he will receive immunological protection against many different viruses and bacteria.
How does colostrum help my baby?
When you feed your baby colostrum, it's as though you're giving him his first vaccination because it contains a lot of your antibodies.
Colostrum provides a host of benefits to your baby:
- Colostrum is the perfect food for your baby's very first feeds, as his stomach can easily digest it.
- Colostrum prepares your baby's digestive system for the mature milk that he will receive in the next few days.
- Colostrum is high in leukocytes (protective white blood cells) that can help to protect your baby against several bacterial and viral infections. The antibodies in colostrum protect your baby against respiratory infections such as pneumonia, fluand bronchitis, as well as stomach and ear infections. Gradually, your baby will start producing his own antibodies.
- Colostrum helps in expelling bilirubin from your baby's body and reduces chances of him getting jaundice.
- Colostrum is rich in nutrients such as zinc, calcium and vitamins like A, B6", B12", K. Your baby needs these for his overall growth and development.
- Colostrum is high in cholesterol, which is essential for the growth of your baby's nervous system at this stage.
- Sugars in colostrum provide the energy required by your baby's growing body.
- Some studies suggest the protein content in colostrum provides a full feeling to your baby, enabling him to sleep longer.
B-Gut: Natural Source of Colostrum:
- NATURAL IMMUNE SYSTEM ENHANCER AND REGULATOR DESIGNED BY NATURE.
- Colostrum contains large numbers of antibodies called "secretory immunoglobulin" (IgA)
- IgA help protect the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines.
- Colostrum also contains high concentrations of leukocytes, protective white cells which can destroy disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
HUMORAL IMMUNITY/ACTIVE IMMUNITY:
The Plasma Cell Secretes Antibodies The Antibodies Are Immunoglobulins.
Divided Into 5 Main Classes ; IgG; IgM; IgA; IgD; And IgE.
These Antibodies Circulate In The Body And Act Directly By Neutralising The Microbe, Or Neutralising The Toxin,
Is the transfer of active humoral immunity in the form of readymade antibodies, from one individual to another. Like COLOSTRUM/ VACCINE
- In natural P.I, ( Passive Immunity )antibodies are passed from a mother to a child. Antibodies can be transferred through the placenta, or transmitted through the colostrum.
- The antibodies transmitted through the colostrum and placenta generally only last for several weeks, which is long enough to allow the baby to start to build up its own immune system and to make its own antibodies
Colostrum does not contain Casein –protein.
- High amount of immunoglobulin
- High % of IgG as compared to normal milk.
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