Mother’s milk is composed of 90% water. It is rich in protein of a high nutritional value, and also in vitamins (not vitamin K which is given as a complement and is necessary for clotting, to prevent bleeding). It contains lipids (mostly polyunsaturated fatty acids, including linoleic acid), mineral salts and sugar. Woman’s milk contains all the nutritional elements the baby needs, in balanced proportions.

It has an anti-infective power against numerous germs, thanks to the white blood cells it contains. In mother’s milk we can find many antiviral antibodies and specific antibodies for streptococcus. Milk protracts the time of natural immunity from many diseases and helps the development of “good” intestinal bacteria (lactobacillus bifidus).

Mother’s milk offers a defence against allergies, namely allergies to different proteins carried into the body through artificial nourishment. There is no intolerance to mother’s milk, except some cases of intolerance to lactose.

The composition of mother’s milk changes to adapt to the baby’s needs and age. So we have three different types of milk:

o       colostrum: a thick and yellowish liquid, richer in anti-infective substances than mother’s milk. It defends the baby when particularly vulnerable during the first days of life, and helps it to eliminate the first faeces thanks to colostrum laxative power. Colostrum is produced from the first to the sixth day of the baby’s life;

o       transitional phase milk: produced from the seventh to the fourteenth day;

o       mature milk from the fifteenth day.

A woman who delivers prematurely produces milk different from that of a woman who delivers at term; she will produce the right milk for her premature baby.

Mother’s milk changes colour and substance. The composition changes during the sucking: for example it is very diluted at the beginning of the sucking (transparent and sometimes with a bluish colour) and then becomes thicker with a white or yellow colour. Its lipids content increases four times from the beginning of the sucking. The baby feels satisfied and controls its appetite. The baby sucks only the quantity of milk it needs. The milk also changes during the day: for example the concentration of lipids is different during the day compared to the night.