Has your great aunt Ruth told you that your baby is not going to grow on your breast milk alone and you should offer formula? Or maybe the internet told you that your breast milk turns to water after several months of breastfeeding.

These are just a couple of examples of reasons why mothers would doubt that their breast milk is good enough. As a lactation consultant and breastfeeding expert, I have heard many more things along these lines. If you find yourself wanting to give into these myths, then this article is for you.

In this article, we will answer the question that many mothers contemplate, “Is my breast milk good enough?”

Human Breast Milk

Human breast milk is a miraculous substance that is uniquely tailored to meet the nutritional needs of infants. It is composed of a combination of various bioactive components, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and immune factors. These components work together to provide the perfect balance of nutrients and promote optimal growth and development in babies.

The complexity of breast milk is incredible. The composition of human milk changes throughout the day. Additionally, it even changes throughout your breastfeeding journey to meet the evolving needs of your growing infant. It is a complex and dynamic fluid that is specifically designed to nourish and protect your baby.

Components of breast milk

The nutritional content of human milk supports breastfed babies exclusively through the first 6 months of life. It continues to provide not only nutritional but immune support for your child. This also happens even after you introduce solid foods after 6 months of age. The balance between protein, fat and carbohydrates is the perfect ratio for your baby as they grow.

Additionally, human milk not only supports your little one’s nutrition, but also their immune system, brain development and gut maturation.

Protein in Mother’s Milk

Protein is an essential building block for organ systems, muscles and other tissues throughout the body. Many of the hormones in the human body are also made from proteins. This makes this nutrient important for the growth and development of a baby.

Additionally, breast milk contains various protein types, including whey and casein. Whey proteins are easily digestible and rapidly absorbed by the baby’s body. Casein proteins form soft curds in the stomach that take longer to digest. The protein ratio changes throughout your breastfeeding journey.

In the beginning, the whey to casein ratio is about 80/20 and gets closer to 50/50 in late lactation.

These proteins are not only essential for the development of muscles, organs, and tissues but also play a vital role in the baby’s immune system. Proteins compose antibodies and other immune factors. The unique combination of proteins in breast milk ensures that the baby receives a balanced and easily digestible source of nutrition.

In addition, several of the whey proteins in breast milk provide more than just nutritional value. IgA is an immunoglobulin that coats the breastfed baby’s gut. This action protects from invading bacteria and viruses that cause GI illness. Lactoferrin is another whey protein that is involved in destroying harmful bacteria in the breastfed infant’s body. In addition, there are many other proteins that are broken down into their individual amino acids. These amino acids have important biological functions inside the baby’s body.

Fats in Human Milk

Fats are another important component of human breast milk. These macronutrients are not only important for nutrition, but development of the baby’s nervous system as well. Breast milk is rich in a variety of fats such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These fats are vital for brain development and overall growth.

In addition, these fats not only provide energy for the baby but also aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K.

Additionally, the fats in breast milk baby to feel full after the feeding. These nutrients also give milk its aroma and taste.

Both linolenic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are essential fatty acids. Through the process of digestion, both of these fatty acids are broken down into DHA. This molecule serves many functions inside the body, including:

• growth regulation
• inflammatory response
• immune protection
• vision
• cognitive development
• motor system development

Vitamins and Minerals in Breast Milk

The nutritional content of breast milk includes vitamins, minerals and other components with biological activity within the body. Therefore, breast milk is not only rich in proteins and fats, but it also contains a wide array of vitamins and minerals. These nutrients include vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc. Vitamins and minerals are essential for supporting the baby’s immune system, bone health, and cognitive development.

However, even though breast milk is the perfect food for babies, it is often low in Vitamin D and Vitamin K. Increased dietary intake of Vitamin D by a breastfeeding mother will increase the content of this vitamin in her breast milk. In addition to dietary consumption of Vitamin D from sources such as fatty fish or oily fish, mom needs to take a dietary supplement that provides 6400 IU of Vitamin D. This particular amount has been studied and shown to be enough to provide adequate vitamin D for both the mother and the breastfed infant.

However, vitamin K is a different story. While it is possible to increase vitamin K in breast milk, it won’t necessarily prevent early onset vitamin K deficiency bleeding. In this country, newborns are routinely given a 1 mg dose of Vitamin K via injection in their thigh within the first 6 hours of life. Vitamin K prophylaxis is especially important for breastfeeding babies and there are risks to skipping the shot.

In addition, breastfeeding moms provide important minerals to their babies through their breast milk. These minerals include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus as well as many others that are vital for an infant’s health.

Phases of Breast Milk Production

There are different phases of breast milk production and it is important to note that your breast milk changes over a period of a few weeks. These changes provide nutritional and immune benefits to your brand new baby. This is what makes breast milk superior to formula for infant nutrition and development. As your milk supply changes, your baby should regain their birth weight by 2 weeks old and subsequently rapidly gain weight for the first three months of their life.

For more information on breastfeeding numbers like weight gain by age, breast milk volumes and the magic number, be sure to download our free breastfeeding math guide.

Colostrum: Production begins during pregnancy and continues through the first few days of life.

Transitional milk: A mix of colostrum and mature milk make up transitional milk. This milk is present for the first 14-21 days after birth.

Mature milk: Your breasts produce this type of milk during nursing sessions from about 2-3 weeks postpartum through weaning.

Breastfeeding Benefits for Mothers

Breastfeeding offers numerous benefits not just for the baby, but also for the mother. Firstly, breastfeeding helps the uterus contract back to its pre-pregnancy size, reducing the risk of postpartum bleeding and promoting faster recovery after childbirth. It also causes the release of hormones, such as oxytocin, which promote bonding between the mother and baby. Additionally, breastfeeding reduces the risk of certain health conditions for the mother, including breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes.

For some mothers, it can also aid in weight loss by utilizing calories stored during pregnancy. Moreover, breastfeeding is convenient and cost-effective, as it requires no preparation or additional expenses. Overall, breastfeeding not only provides optimal nutrition for the baby, but also offers numerous physical and emotional benefits for the mother.

Short Term Health Benefits

Quicker postpartum recovery: Breastfeeding triggers the production of oxytocin, a hormone that aids the uterus to contract after delivery. This helps the uterus return to its normal size and reduces postpartum bleeding.

Enhanced bonding: Breastfeeding creates a unique and special connection between the nursing parent and baby. Research suggests that this bonding may potentially reduce social and behavioral problems in both children and adults.

Decreases anxiety: “feel good” hormones not only promote bonding, breast milk production and uterus shrinking, but also give mothers a greater sense of calm.

Weight loss: Certain breastfeeding mothers experience greater weight loss with breastfeeding than others. This can be a benefit for many, but not all breastfeeding mothers as their body uses stored up fat for energy while breastfeeding.

Longer Term Health Benefits

In addition to short term benefits, breastfeeding offers long-term health benefits for mothers.

Research has shown that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of certain health conditions, such as ovarian cancer and breast cancer. The act of breastfeeding stimulates the release of hormones that help protect against these types of cancers. Furthermore, breastfeeding lowers the risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure) and type 2 diabetes, both of which are prevalent health issues. By breastfeeding, mothers can not only provide optimal nutrition for their babies but also support their own long-term health.

Benefits for Babies

Breast milk provides numerous benefits for babies, both in the short-term and the long-term. The unique composition of breast milk meets the specific nutritional needs of infants. Breast milk contains essential nutrients, antibodies, enzymes, and hormones that help support optimal growth and development. It is also rich in antibodies that provide passive immunity, protecting babies from infections and diseases.

For example, breastfed babies have decreased risks of:

• ear infections
• sudden infant death syndrome
• respiratory tract infections

When babies are exclusively breastfed, they receive the full range of benefits from breast milk, including enhanced immune system function, reduced risk of allergies, and decreased incidence of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

Additionally, exclusive breastfeeding promotes healthy weight gain and reduces the risk of childhood obesity. It is important to note that introducing formula alongside breast milk can disrupt the unique composition and benefits of breast milk, as well as impact the baby’s developing taste preferences and gut health.

Therefore, as much as possible, you should aim for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. While formula is a perfectly suitable substitute, health professionals like me recommend providing breast milk for your baby for as long as possible.

Infant Formula

Infant nutrition has changed drastically over the ages. While breastfeeding has always been promoted as the best form of infant nutrition, for many varieties of reasons, humans have sought an alternative way to feed their infants. From the days of wet nursing to the homemade formulas in the late 1960’s and 1970’s to current infant formula standards that are closely supervised, infant nutrition has made great leaps and bounds.

As a result of legislation in the 1980’s, infant formula is highly regulated in the United States and therefore, whether the formula is name brand or store brand, it will meet these similar standards and be safe for your baby. While infant formula is designed to be a safe substitute for breast milk, it can never hold to the same standard as this biological fluid. There are similarities and differences in breast milk vs formula that are important to understand and should weigh into your infant feeding choice.

First of all, baby formula is derived from cow’s milk, soy milk or more recently in the United States, from goat’s milk. Soy-based formula is recommended for certain medical conditions, otherwise cow’s milk based formula is appropriate for most babies.

Each of these formulations that are intended for use by term or near term infants for the first 12 months of life provide adequate nutrition for a growing infant. Different brands have similar ingredients and are 20 calories per ounce. Cow’s milk based formulas have a whey protein to casein protein ratio that is similar to mature breast milk. In addition, infant formula contains all of the vitamins and minerals that a baby needs to grow, develop and thrive.

Important Facts About Infant Formula

However, it is important to note that powdered infant formula is not sterile. As a result, the CDC advises that you mix powdered infant formula with boiling water while your baby is younger than 2 months old, is premature or has a weakened immune system. Every year, a few babies get sick after consuming a reconstituted powdered infant formula due to bacterial contamination. In fact, this was part of the reason why there was a baby formula shortage in 2022. In addition to supply chain issues, companies voluntarily recalled powdered infant formula that was implicated in causing babies to become sick from a rare bacteria called Cronobater.

While infant formula is an appropriate substitute for breast milk if it is not available, it is entirely unnecessary to give to your baby if you have plenty of breast milk. There is nothing magical about formula that makes it better than human milk. In fact, I would argue that breast milk is more magical than formula due to the way it changes to meet your baby’s needs as they grow.

How Can 127 Pediatrics Help Your Breastfeeding Journey?

Whether you choose to give your baby breast milk, infant formula or a combination of the two, we are here to help. We offer free resources that range from our YouTube channel to articles like this about breastfeeding. In addition, we are working towards launching an online education platform that will support breastfeeding mothers in the various stages of their journey. 

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© 127 Pediatrics, May 2024

This article is for information purposes only. Please consult your personal physician for medical advice.

Dr. Andrea Wadley is a board certified pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine doctor. She owns and operates 127 Pediatrics, based in Colleyville, Texas.