Expressed breast milk is light green

Breast milk is the most important food for babies, and it plays a very important role in their growth. However, have mothers ever paid attention to the color of their breast milk? Do you know that different colors of breast milk have different nutritional values? Let me introduce it to you below.

The secretion of milk goes through three natural stages, and each stage has its nutritional characteristics. The initial breast milk contains a lot of minerals, which is what we often call "gray milk". Many people think that it is easy to have diarrhea after eating such milk, so it is a pity to excrete it in vain. After the baby sucks for a while, the milk becomes white, which is the main manifestation of increased protein and carbohydrate compounds. Towards the end, the milk is white and thick, with a lot of fat. Only when the milk from these three stages is consumed by the baby can effective nutrition be guaranteed, and doing so can also promote the secretion of milk next time.

If your milk continues to be in the first stage, you can usually increase your intake of protein-rich foods.

Light-colored milk

The baby is mixed-fed, but my own breast milk is light in color, only slightly thicker than boiling water. I don't know if it is nutritious for the child to eat it?

Although breast milk seems light, it is actually nutritious, it just contains less fat. The milk that is excreted at the beginning (usually called foremilk, containing essential nutrients such as minerals and vitamins) contains less fat and is mostly bland in taste. The milk that is excreted at the end (usually called hindmilk) contains more fat and is milky white. Many breastfed children cannot eat the hindmilk, consume less fat, and are mostly thin. Therefore, each time you breastfeed, you should let the baby suck more and increase the feeding time appropriately to taste the fat-rich hindmilk. In addition, eating more animal fats will increase the fat in breast milk, and the breast milk will look milky white.

Light yellow milk

My baby is five days old, but I have very little breast milk. The milk I pump out with a manual breast pump has a yellowish color. I want to ask if this is normal?

A few days after a baby is born, the amount of milk is less, the milk is thicker, and the color is yellow, which is called "collostrum." Colostrum is rich in nutrients and disease-fighting substances, so it must not be excreted but should be used to feed the baby. In order to produce enough milk, as long as the child likes to eat, he should be breastfed without having to do it on a regular basis. In order to ensure the baby's development needs and prevent the occurrence of rickets, a safe amount of vitamin A and D (or fish oil) should be supplemented under the guidance of a doctor while breastfeeding one month after birth, but excessive poisoning should be avoided.

Light green milk

I didn't breastfeed my baby for a week because of mastitis. Now I'm fine, but the color of my breast milk is a little yellow, and it looks a little light green. Is the concentration value too high or too low? Can I still feed it?

Sometimes breast milk will have a different color, which is mostly related to melanin in the mother's diet or medication. The baby's urine may also have the same color change. Introducing drinks with yellowish and red pigments can turn breast milk into light reddish-orange. Green drinks, algae, and some natural vitamin pills may cause breast milk to turn green. This change in color is generally harmless.