25/04/2025
Breastmilk kills all sort of viruses and harmful bacteria, and it does it in many different ways. It starts with your body detecting an illness in your baby or your baby's environment, by skin contact, kisses, your baby suckling at your breast…
Then a microscopic army essentially gets to work, with antibodies tailored to the virus or infection detected.
Leukocytes for instance (from the Greek leuko: white, and cyte: cell), white blood cells, locate infections and diseases and defend your babies against parasites, harmful bacteria, cancer cells, debris, viruses, fungi, injuries and allergens.
These cells in your milk transfer through your baby’s gut wall into their blood stream, where they essentially patrol, looking for problems to fix.
When a problem is located, they signal to more white blood cells to come and fight the problem, cells like macrophages. Macrophages can make up to 80% of the total cell numbers in colostrum and milk in the early weeks.
Extra geekiness; the word macrophage is from the Greek words "makros" (meaning large) and "phagein" (meaning to eat).
Macrophages detect, engulf and destroy harmful pathogens and substances, remove dead cells, and can modify themselves to form different structures in order to fight different microbes. They can also initiate inflammation, an essential part of the tissue repair and healing process.
There’s a Marvel Avengers movie to be made of what goes on in your milk to protect your child.
There are more protective components in your milk, stay tuned.
Our babies’ immune systems are very immature at birth and need time to develop and learn from exposure to pathogens. Your milk helps to protect your baby during that process.
I mean, how incredible are you!!!!?
References and further incredible science at https://human-milk.com/pages/science-of-breastmilk
