ANATOMY BASICS
Breasts are formed in a fetus, early in pregnancy. At birth, a baby's breasts are fully formed but dormant. The influence of hormones in puberty and again in pregnancy cause growth in the maternal breasts and further differentiation of breast tissue. Its important to remember that every breast is different... no two are exactly the same, not even on the same person. But the overall design is the same.
ALL Breasts have an areola and a nipple and some degree of breast fullness/tissue.The areola is the dark pink/brown area surrounding the nipple and it darkens and becomes larger in pregnancy. The bumpy bits on the areola are montgomery glands which moisten the area and have an protective antimicrobial role.
The appearance of a baby's mouth is designed specifically for suckling at a breast and it changes shape dramatically over the first two years. Even if a baby knew how to talk at birth, it couldnt because of the the shape of the mouth and pharangeal area. .... ok so thats the basics... now for the interesting stuff.
AT BIRTH
At birth, babies are placed on their mothers chest. Immediately after birth, the mother's breasts release subtle smells drawing the infants attention towards the nipple. The colostrum of the breast tastes and smells the same as amniotic fluid. Considering the baby's sight is blurred and unfocused, when placed on the mothers chest, it has these 2 large brown lumpy dots that smell and taste good, to aim for. Healthy babies, left on mums chest will attempt to attach to these dots, i.e. the breast and suckle within an hour of birth.
SKIN TO SKIN
When a baby is placed skin to skin on the mother's chest, her body focuses on nurturing the infant immediately. Her body intuitively modifies its temperature to keep the infant warm, (bet you didnt know you could do that). The hormones surging through her body makes her nipples more erect allowing the infant to locate them more easily, and bringing a calming influence over her and by proxy, over the infant. The love hormone oxytocin, is responsible for much of this bonding as well as contracting the mother's uterus, to minimise bleeding.
This causes the baby to seek the breast, to meet its own nutritional needs, and by reducing the baby's cortisol (stress) levels, it reduces its crying, stablising heartrate and oxygen levels etc. God created skin to skin for a reason. He designed sensitive rooting reflexes in a baby's face to assist the baby to open its mouth wide to help attach to the breast. The suckling reflex occurs when the baby's mouth (hard palate) comes in contact with a nipple. Its all there in the design. One to touch, two to open, three to suck...
TIMING
God designed the body to make milk when a drop in pregnancy hormones occur in the first few days after birth. Even if a mother struggles with breastfeeding in those first few days, the milk still usually comes in. The more often she tries to breastfeed her baby, the quicker the milk will come in. Once the milkflow has established, only then does the mothers supply depend on the amount the baby demands. This first production of milk is designed to accomodate the whole "learning to breastfeed" experience in the first few days. Obviously not many women get the skill of breastfeeding correct in the first few feeds, but as milk comes in, and as babies demand more feeds, and after several days caring for a babe, women start to get the feel for holding and caring for their babies and their breasts. God expected this, and wrote it into his incredible design.
IN THE MILK
Breastmilk is also fascinating. Its so specifically designed to meet the needs of the infant. Born relatively immature and fully dependent on its parents for survival, human infants require breast milk low in protein (easy for metabolism and excretion) and high in lactose (essential for the rapid brain development). Breastmilk is perfectly structured in content and volume, from the first small amounts of colostrum in the first few days after birth when the baby's organs are slowly begining to function, to the active needs of the toddler.
Breastmilk contains digestive enxymes, anti inflammatory elements, antioxidants, growth factors and more. The proteins in breastmilk are nutritive, easily digested, but also antimicrobial, bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal. Breastmilk also has antiviral and antifungal capacities and can kill off some forms of cancerous cells. Breastmilk provides immunological protection through various immunoglobulins in the milk until an infants own immune system is established.
IMMUNITY
Born in a sterile state, the infant passes through the vagina, next to the mother's anus, and has contact with the breasts through breast feeding, exposing it to all the normal gut flora of the mother, helping to form its own normal flora. This helps establish an immune defence system. When a baby comes in contact with a virus or bacterial illness, if the mother is also exposed to the same virus/ bacteria, the mother's body produces an immune response that flows through the milk and helps the infant fight against the attack, reducing the severity of the illness in the infant, helping preserve the infant.
PREMATURITY
When a baby is born prematurely, the mother's milk is specifically designed to meet the needs of a premature infant. It is more nutrient concentrated, with higher levels of protien for energy and growth, higher levels of immune supportive elements and the antibacterial, anti inflammatory elements remain higher for longer in the breastmilk of mother's of premature infants, compared to those with term infants. God knew that a premmie's immune system is normally weaker for longer than a term infant. How cool is that!
Breastfeeding, babies, mother's bodies and the like, are wonderful examples of intelligent design. There is no way, in my thoughts, that a woman could choose to somehow change the nature of her breastmilk composition through natural selection, based on the intrinsic needs of an extrinsic infant - be it premature or at term. Nor is it any small matter, when these wonderful elements of design are interrupted and meddled with, as our western medicalised societies tend to do. God created womens bodies to bear offspring before Eve sinned and it was all part of his plan for us. We are created in his image and mirror God's capacity to nurture, to meet our needs and respond to us, even before we are aware of our need. Anyway, I hope you've been able to catch a glimpse of the creators handiwork today. Be Blessed.
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