BREASTFEEDING

Place pump parts, wash basin, and bottle brush on a clean, unused dish towel or paper towel in an area protected from dirt and dust.

Use standard measuring spoons or the scoop provided in the can to measure the formula powder. Use level, not heaping, measures. How long can I keep the fortified breast milk? Store fortified breast milk in a covered container in the refrigerator. Throw away any unused fortified breast milk after 24 hours.

to produce breast milk, mothers melt their own body fat. Are you with me? We literally dissolve parts of ourselves, starting with gluteal-femoral fat, aka our butts, and turn it into liquid to feed our babies.

A new study from the University of Helsinki showed that babies breastfed for at least six months have less antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their gut compared with infants breastfed for a shorter period of time. Moreover, the study showed that antibiotics used by mothers increased the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in infants.

Evidence suggests that for babies who are born prematurely, their mother’s breast milk is the most important and effective intervention available for their nutrition. As well as helping to protect premature babies’ gut, breast milk also helps their brain, immune system, eyes and lungs. For premature babies, breast milk is associated with improved development as the baby grows up (development includes skills like walking, coordination, speech).

Researchers have traced the bacterial microbiota map in breast milk and identified the species of microbes taken from breast milk by infants. The study has revealed a larger microbial diversity than originally thought: more than 700 species. The breast milk received from the mother is one of the factors determining how the bacterial flora will develop in the newborn baby. The study reveals that the milk of overweight mothers or those who put on more weight than recommended during pregnancy contains a lesser diversity of species.