Breast Milk Should Be Given to Babies as Soon as It’s Been Expressed

Breast milk should be fed to babies as soon as it’s been expressed. Breast milk ingredients fluctuate over 24 hours to adjust to baby’s needs, according to Spanish researchers, so it should not be stored for a long time.

Breast milk contains various ingredients such as nucleotides that play major role in sleep control at night. New study carried out in Spain showed breast milk ingredients greatly fluctuate during the day. Researchers looked at three nucleotides in milk – adenosine, guanosine and uridine – which act as stimulants or sedatives, causing a healthy sleep, or, on the contrary, restlessness. Researchers examined the milk breast ingredients taken from 30 women during the day (6 to 8 samples were examined). The highest level of nucleotides was found at night time, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

According to lead author Cristina Sanchez, this explains how breast milk can make babies sleepy. You won‘t brew some coffee for someone who’s going to bed. The same is true with breast milk. It contains special “daytime” ingredients that stimulate baby’s activity at daylight and “night time” ingredients that help baby to rest. To ensure healthy diet, breast milk should be given to a baby at the same time as it’s been expressed. Storing expressed milk is a mistake, according to experts.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/Carin.