Thursday, July 30, 2009
Why doesn't breast milk go bad?
Serious question. I know it's the natural way to store and dispense milk, but at the same time it's milk that's being kept at 37 degrees. What specifically prevents it from going bad? (Or, if it's more accurate to phrase it this way, what causes it need to be refrigerated when removed from the body?)
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Hmmm... this is very interesting. And obviously this applies to all mammals, who all feed their young the same way - and none of whom have refrigerators, except humans.
I wonder if we can get an answer right now.
I'm thinking that since milk going bad means the prescence of bacteria forming in it, milk that is still in a female mammal must be protected from bacteria. It must be in some sort of naturally sealed container that doesn't allow bacteria in.
You may be pleased to know that if you google "why does breast milk need to be refrigerated," this post comes up.
If there's no bacteria in the breasts, that means bacteria can't get in through the nipples. Which is weird, because bacteria are smaller than milk.
And I'd rather have the first google result be something that contains a proper answer.
Maybe the nipple opening only works one way. Some kind of valve that lets milk out but not bacteria in.
No, that doesn't make sense. There's bacteria in the baby's mouth and it would get in during nursing.
Hmmm.
My mother told me that milk isn't always present in the breast (similar to how urine isn't always present in the bladder). The breast kind of fills up with milk when it's time to feed the baby or when there's a baby nearby that needs to be fed. If the milk comes down and then doesn't get nursed or pumped out, it does actually develop a bacterial infection (mastitis) and then you can't feed it to the baby because there's bacteria in it. My mother doesn't know if it actually tastes funny like sour cow milk that has gone bad in the fridge does, but you aren't supposed to feed it to the baby because there's bacteria - you have to empty it out and cure the infection and start over.
So if everything goes normally, nursing mothers aren't walking around carrying giant bags of milk at 37 degrees at all times.
There is constantly milk in the breast while you are lactating. The reason it doesn't go bad is because your body is constantly reabsorbing and replenishing it.
Mastitis does not cause your milk to go bad. You are actually supposed to breastfeed more frequently during the infection, otherwise it can get much, much worse.
I think your mother has outdated information. It used to be thought that babies shouldn't breastfeed from a mother suffering mastitis, but now people know better. By the way breast milk has bacteria, alike all mammals. Its a good thing actually because this probiotics for the baby! Its like eating yoghurt. How come breast milk doesn't go bad in the breast, the ducts are a sterile environment (the bacteria is not all the way back there. Even urine is sterile.
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