Make That Breastfeeding Month

A few weeks ago I posted that it was World Breastfeeding Week and I was wrong. Well, only partially wrong. It was World Breastfeeding Week. Only, come to find out August is also breastfeeding MONTH! So, in honor of lactating women the world over, here’s another breastfeeding story.

We’ve all heard that breast is best, but did you know that we don’t really know much about breastmilk? I mean, we know that it’s the perfect food for baby and, miraculously, is made in the exact right amounts (if you’re don’t suffer from either under supply or over supply). Of course, that’s a big if.

Anyway, I was reading in a New York Times article that scientists may know how to deconstruct human milk into its component sugars, proteins and whatnot, but they don’t know what roles they all play. I love the quote by one of the leading scientists who is studying what certain complex sugars do in an infant’s tummy. Dr. Mills said, “it’s all there for a purpose, though we’re still figuring out what that purpose is.”

Such an educated way to say “I don’t know.”

However, as breastmilk has evolved over however long we humans have been here, breastmilk is truly astonishing.

So, whip out those boobies with pride this month mommies!

photo credit: mahalie