In recent months, I have noticed more moms talking about breastfeeding and breast milk. As a chiropractor who sees expecting mothers and newborns regularly, I thought it would be helpful to provide some information about the most controversial topics within the breastfeeding community. Before I get there, however, I want to first mention how amazing a mother’s milk truly is. In an article written by Angela Garbes, she relates that breast milk provides everything the baby needs for at least six months, and that “the nutritional and immunological components of breast milk change every day, according to the specific, individual needs of a baby. It contains specific nutrients to feed the developing microbes in the baby’s digestive system (essential for proper neurodevelopment). The milk changes taste according to what the mom eats, possibly helping “identify the culture to which the child is born. To sum it up, milk is telling the baby about the world its mother has lived in.

Breast Milk for Immune Boosting

Breast milk has been talked about as a super immune booster. There are even studies suggesting breastfed babies are less sick than their formula fed friends. I thought it would be worth explaining exactly how the mom gives her baby the exact type of antibodies and immunoglobins needed by their immune system. Scientists believe that as a baby suckles, their saliva is absorbed by the mom giving her body a real-time analysis of the baby’s immune system. The mom’s body then creates the exact ingredients her baby needs to combat the pathogens the baby is fighting. This proves the point that breastfeeding not only provides the essential nutrients, but also a mommy-baby bond that we are just beginning to understand.

Breast Milk Sharing 

With the benefits of breast milk scientifically proven and so widely known, some babies are still formula fed. There might, however, be moms that don’t have a choice because they can’t produce any or enough of their own milk. This leads me to the topic of milk sharing. Karen Sousa, CD(DONA), CLEC, CHBE is a local doula and advocate for responsible milk sharing. She says “In my experience as a birth doula, lactation educator counselor, and childbirth educator, I have connected thousands of ounces of donor milk with moms in need. I have done my best to explain to hesitant mothers that breast milk is so much more beneficial than formula. If they’re in a bind, milk sharing or donated milk is something incredibly useful to consider.  Even if the woman making the milk was eating French fries as a whole diet and smoking now and then, her milk would still be more beneficial than formula.” The complexity of human breastmilk is beyond what we will ever understand, and despite science’s best effort to replicate it, formula will never provide the same nutrient density and bioavailability as human breast milk. 

As a chiropractor, I am amazed at the capabilities of the human body. I have learned if we give the body the right environment, it is capable of going beyond what science ever expected. If you want to breastfeed, but your baby isn’t latching or is having trouble feeding on one side, there might be something a chiropractor can do to help your baby. If you are having difficulty producing enough milk, your spine might be the source of the problem, and because chiropractors help spinal dysfunction, you too may benefit from seeing a chiropractor.

If you have questions feel free to contact me: 

Dr. Chris Boman DC at Neuroedge Chiropratic

25032 Las Brisas Rd. Unit A  Murrieta, CA 92595 

951-304-2242