(and
other times too!)
Have you thought of giving your
baby antibodies? What are these are where do they come from?
Antibodies are immunoglobulins
made by the immune system to help the body fight germs and disease. When a
woman is exposed to disease-causing germs (called pathogens), her body makes
antibodies or immunoglobulins to fight these. During pregnancy, IgM or ‘passive
immunity’ is passed on to her baby. IgA antibodies are fed to her baby during
breastfeeding – especially colostrum or ‘first milk’. This is very
important because new-borns cannot make their own antibodies and can only get
these from MOM (Mothers Own Milk).
This is good news, especially
during the Covid-19 pandemic when babies need all the protection they can get.
Professor Bruce German, chemist of
food science and technology at the University of California, explains: “The
mother transfers her immune system to her baby for ‘transient protection’. What
a great idea!” Transient means protection during the time when a baby does
not make his/her own antibodies.
German’s research into breast milk
has shown that this precious ‘first food’ for babies is a product of evolution
and the only bio-material which ‘has evolved as a food which nourishes,
sustains and promotes healthy infant mammals to grow and be healthier’.
German continues: “When a baby is
born, the baby has a ‘porous intestine’ which means that there are ‘open spaces’
between the cells in the gut. These 'open spaces' allow the antibody IgA and
other large molecule immune components found in breast milk to pass through and
become absorbed by the baby.
“This helps to provide ‘passive
immune protection’ (like immunising your baby), whilst the baby’s immune system
is still developing.
“Then as the baby’s own immune
system matures - the open spaces in the infant gut need to close.
“This happens when special sugars (called oligosaccharides, HMOs or ‘good’ gut
microbes found in breast milk), send signals to seal the infant gut.”
Wow!
In a nutshell, breast milk is alive
with ‘good’ bacteria that colonize the infant's gut, and this
helps to establish the baby’s immune system. Besides antibodies, breast milk
also contains:
Immune cells called leukocytes. These white blood cells also
kill microbes, ingest bacteria and kill infected cells
Besides oligosaccharides, mucins prevent bacteria from
entering cells
Bifidus factor helps your baby grow
Fibronectin repairs tissues.
These are good enough reasons to
breastfeed your baby from the start, and to pull out all the stops to continue
nursing for as long as possible – ideally a year, or six months at the most. If
you’re hesitant, tell yourself you’ll feed your baby colostrum (first milk in
the first few days). This may kick-start breastfeeding, something you may enjoy
after all!
Illustration: Colette Edmonds from my booklet 'Childbirth Education Is Fun!'
