Colostrum
Breasts will usually produce colostrum in the first few hours following the birth of your baby and before your milk "comes in". This amazing milk is usually a yellowish colour and is fairly thick and creamy.
Your body will actually change the ingredients to suit your baby's needs at day 1,2,3 and so on.
This special breast milk is very easy for your baby to digest and helps prevent jaundice. It also has a laxative effect helping your baby to pass stools, emptying his or her stomach of all the fluids they swallowed before birth.
It contains an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin A, which protects your baby's throat, lungs and intestines from harmful germs. It also lines your baby's stomach and intestines which will help balance out all the bacteria in your baby's gut.
This low fat, protein rich, carbohydrate and antibody packed milk is full of protective white cells called leukocytes. These cells are very important and actually kill off bacteria and viruses which cause disease.
Although all these colostrum benefits are still present in normal breast milk – after your milk comes in – it's not going to be as concentrated, mainly because the amount of breast milk that your baby consumes increases. So at the end of the day your baby is still going to get exactly what he or she needs.
Apart from during pregnancy or shortly after birth, your body will also produce this amazing thick milk while you are weaning, even if your baby is 3 years old. Only this time it will contain lots of sodium, more immunogloulins and less lactose. I guess it's just natures way of giving that final boost of protection.
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