A BYU/Harvard/Stanford team of microbiologists have identified the molecule that is the key to immunity getting to the baby through breastmilk.
This article explains in detail how even years before a women is pregnant cells that produce antibodies are circulating in a moms system, waiting for when mom starts to lactate and then they go to her mammary glands.
I am not a huge science person, so I didn’t understand everything, but I think it is so amazing they figured this out. The human body is amazing and to me birth and nursing are the spectacular show that demonstrate just how wonderful bodies are!
The movie The Business of Being Born, which if you haven’t seen yet you defiantly should, tells how if a monkey is separated from her offspring at the time of birth, she will dismiss and ignore the child. In other words if the mother monkey had to withstand a traumatic caesarean where she did not get to hold her baby immediately after birth, she would have no interest in caring for her offspring. Do not get me wrong I am not saying that women who have caesareans do not have a connection, love or care for their baby. Just like animals we are prepared to form attachment and bonds with our infants. Tell tale signs of this attachment are those “mother” actions like proximity seeking, gently touching, contact with baby, gazing affectionately etc…There is a hormone called Oxytocin which is released in the body across the pregnancy. Studies have shown that higher levels of Oxytocin in mother’s body, the more attached mother will be to child. In caesareans, Oxytocin is over-rided with the synthetic Oxytocin or Pitocin. Pitocin strengthens contractions and using it may avoid having to have a caesarean but on the other hand, it also increases pain and may produce overly strong overly long contractions. This can lead to fetal distress leading to c-section. The cascade of events that end in a caesarean might be started with a little Pitocin. Just be aware of its effects and how fast its use can lead to an emergency c-section. If you are not planning for a c-section it can be a traumatic event for both mother and child, so if you want to avoid unnecessary use of Pitocin here a few tips: choose a doctor who has a low induction rate, don’t induce for suspected large baby, have your baby at a free standing birth center or at home, have realistic expectations of labor length and difficulty and instead of Pitocin use try ways of stimulating Oxytocin release in your own body and lastly and most importantly, have confidence in yourself and baby!