Facebook Post About ‘Cuckoo Awesome’ Benefits Of Breastfeeding Goes Viral
One mum’s post about the benefits of breastfeeding has gone viral [Photo: Facebook Mallory Smothers]
Experts have long been shouting about the benefits of breast milk. But one new mum who saw for herself just how amazing it can be has shared her discovery on Facebook and the picture has since gone viral.
When Mallory Smothers noticed her baby had developed what she assumed was a cold, she continued to nurse her little one through the night before expressing more milk in the morning. It was only when she compared the bag of new breast milk, next to an older one that the new mum from Arkansas noticed the striking difference.
The post Mallory Smothers shared on social media [Photo: Facebook Mallory Smothers]
While the older milk was nearly white in colour, the more recent one was more yellowish in tone, appearing to resemble the colostrum or ‘liquid gold’ mothers produce in the first few days after having a baby and that experts believe contains antibodies to help fight illness and infection.
Taking to Facebook to reveal her discovery, Mallory wrote:
‘I didn’t notice a difference until today. But look at how much more the milk I produced Friday resembles colostrum (the super milk full of antibodies and leukocytes you make during the first few days after birth), and this comes after nursing baby with a cold all night long.’
Many new mums might be concerned about the noticeable difference in colour of the milk and assume something was wrong, but Mallory had recently read some research which explained that a mum’s breast milk can alter so that it caters specifically to a baby’s needs.
The research, published in the journal Clinical & Translational Immunology, showed that infections in mums and infants cause a rapid rise of leukocytes (a type of white blood cell that helps fight infection) in breast milk. Once the infection is over, the leukocyte count then goes back to normal.
The post has since been shared 69,000 times [Photo: Facebook Mallory Smothers]
Describing the discovery as ‘cuckoo awesome’, Mallory’s post has since been shared more than 69,000 times. Commenting on the response to the attention Mallory said.
‘I am glad so many are wanting to spread the word on the amazing benefits of breastfeeding!’
Of course, not every mum can, or wants to, breastfeed, but regardless, Mallory’s post serves as a perfect illustration about just how clever our bodies really are.
‘[It’s] pretty awesome, huh?!’ she wrote. ‘The human body never ceases to amaze me.’
What do you think of Mallory’s post? Let us know @YahooStyleUK.
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