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Mom’s Viral Image Highlights the Remarkable Healing Properties of Breast Milk
A mom from Arkansas recently captured the internet’s attention with a photo showcasing the incredible adaptability of breast milk. As any breastfeeding parent knows, the fridge and freezer can quickly become cluttered with bags of pumped milk. However, when Mallory Johnson shared an image of one particular bag on Facebook, it struck a chord, garnering over 70,000 shares.
What Makes This Photo So Extraordinary?
Mallory believes it illustrates how a mother’s body instinctively produces the specific nutrients her child needs. “This is just mind-blowing,” she begins her post. “I came across a fascinating article in a medical journal that discussed how a mother’s milk changes not just in calories but in other vital ways to meet her baby’s needs. When a baby nurses, the vacuum created allows their saliva to enter the mother’s nipple.”
Mallory references a 2013 study that examined whether the pathogens present in a baby’s backwash prompt the production of milk with a tailored immunological profile and customized antibodies. The theory proposes that when a baby is unwell, their saliva communicates with the mother’s body, resulting in the production of nutrient-rich milk brimming with antibodies designed to combat illness.
“I tucked that information away until today when I was organizing my frozen milk,” she writes. After pumping a bag the night before, her baby began showing signs of a cold. When she pumped again in the morning, she was amazed to see the milk in the new bag resembled colostrum—the nutrient-dense “super milk” packed with antibodies and leukocytes produced in the days following birth. This was the milk her body created after a night of nursing a sick baby.
The Science Behind Breast Milk Adaptation
Science News elaborates, “Part of the immunity that breast milk provides seems to hinge on a mixture of milk and baby saliva flowing back upstream. This backwash may send signals that prompt a mother’s body to produce specially formulated immune factors delivered back to the baby through breast milk.” Colostrum, which is rich in leukocytes, is provided to babies in their first days of life. As infants grow, leukocyte levels in breast milk typically decrease if everyone is healthy. However, during infections, those levels spike again.
While this “special-order” theory remains a hypothesis, biologist Sarah Wells from the University of California believes it’s a plausible notion given what we understand about physiology. Isn’t it remarkable how amazing a mother’s body truly is?
Further Reading and Resources
For more insights on this topic, check out one of our other blog posts discussing the interplay of breast milk and infant health. And if you’re considering home insemination, resources like Make a Mom offer excellent guides. Additionally, you can listen to informative discussions on pregnancy and fertility at Cleveland Clinic’s podcast.
Summary
An Arkansas mom’s viral photo of pumped breast milk showcases the incredible ability of a mother’s body to adapt milk composition based on her baby’s needs, especially when nursing a sick child. This phenomenon is backed by scientific theories suggesting that a baby’s saliva can signal the mother’s body to produce tailored, nutrient-rich milk.