Calling All Babies – Expressing the Need for Colostrum

As some of you know, I am a strong advocate of the veterinary model of healthcare management when it comes to birth and early infant feeding, regardless of one’s species! Anyone who breeds cows, horses or other mammals will tell you how important it is for a newborn to receive colostrum, a mother’s very first milk. Loaded with antibodies, colostrum protects an infant from harmful environmental bacteria and viruses. To this end, farmers who raise cattle will immediately coax a newborn calf to its mother, skin-to-skin with her udder. Knowing the serious health consequences of not receiving species-specific colostrum as soon as possible after birth, veterinarians and zoologists will take extraordinary measures (like milk expression and alternative feeding methods) to ensure that a newborn receives its mother’s first milk. In the animal world, it is well-recognized that health, and even survival, is greatly influenced by receipt of this amazing liquid. Although artificial baby milks may be formulated for some species, illness and healthcare costs are significantly higher for those that must be “hand raised” (formula fed).

Human infants are no different. Infants not having received colostrum are four times more likely to become ill and require hospitalization during the first year of life than their human-milk-fed counterparts. Often called baby’s “first immunization,” colostrum provides passive immunity to a newborn because it is so rich in antibodies. In addition to immune factors, colostrum has an amazing ability to stabilize blood sugar levels, far better than formula. This is extremely important to a newborn infant, especially those who may have had a stressful birth, been born prematurely or delivered by a diabetic mother.

Like farmers and veterinarians, We too can ensure that our babies receive colostrum as soon as possible after birth. In cases where baby can be placed directly at the breast, skin-to-skin after birth, we certainly should do so. If not, let’s hand express and spoon- or syringe-feed this liquid gold to our newborns (see blog on hand expression). Our babies deserve the very best, so let’s let advocate for them by behaving like a bunch of animals!