3 min read
by Madlena Szeliga
Breastfeeding can be hard, magical, easy, old as the earth, impossible or rewarding. But it also is surprising! We are sure, that even if you have breastfed one, five, or more babies you don’t know all the amazing facts we gathered.
Breastfeeding is like a gym & saving programme and really good health insurance packed in one.
1) Forget about the gym
Breastfeeding helps you burn 600 - 1000 extra calories a day. The calories are used to produce milk. It’s just like running for an hour.
2) Many flavours to it
Your breast milk changes according to what you ate. Its smell and taste reflect your diet. If you eat the variety of products, you will expose your baby to many new tastes and will make sure your kid is not a picky eater.
3) White is just an option
Breast milk comes in many different colours. It can be white, but also blue, green, yellow, pink, or black(-ish). Colours of breast milk rainbow:
YELLOW
The colostrum and transitional milk are yellow or orange.
WHITE
Usually, mature milk is white.
BLUE
Mature milk can naturally have a bluish tint to it like very thin skim milk.
GREEN
If you eat a lot of green foods (for example spinach o seaweed) your milk can turn green.
PINK
After having a lot of beets, or eating artificial food colouring your milk can turn pink. However, pink or brown colour of your milk can also be a sign of blood in your breast milk. The reason can be simply sore or bleeding nipples, but sometimes this is a sign of more serious health problems.
BLACK(-ISH)
Some medications, like minocycline, give your milk a slightly black tint.
4) Mind your health
Breastfeeding mums have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and postpartum depression. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower the risk gets.
5) Save, while you can
Breastfeeding is money in the bank! You statistically save £700 a year (compared to the cost of formula - average cost per week is £13.52).
6) It’s (almost) always on the right side
3 out of 4 mothers produce more milk in their right breast. No matter if they are right- or left-handed.
7) Give yourself some more sleep
Against the common opinion studies show, that breastfeeding mums sleep on average 45 minutes more a night, than mums who feed babies with formula.
8) And it’s not that popular
Even though the benefits of breastfeeding are well known and scientifically proven, globally, only 40% of infants under 6 months are exclusively breastfed.
Would you like to know more? Listen to our podcast about breastfeeding and become an expert! Availabe on Spotify:
