🥛 Breast milk

Breast milk is the natural food for babies, and for the first six months it can fully replace all other food and drink. WHO and UNICEF recommend putting the baby to the breast within the first hour after birth, giving only breast milk for the first 6 months, with no other food or drink, not even water, and then continuing breastfeeding up to 2 years and beyond alongside complementary foods.

The first milk after birth, colostrum, is especially rich in protective substances, which is why starting breastfeeding early matters so much. Later on, breast milk remains an important source of energy: at 6–12 months it provides half or more of a child's energy needs, and at 12–24 months a third. WHO estimates that if all babies were fed as recommended, almost 400,000 deaths of children under 5 could be prevented every year.

In its nutrients, breast milk is very different from cow's milk. According to USDA, 100 g contains 70 kcal, only 1.03 g of protein, 4.38 g of fat and 6.89 g of carbohydrates, mostly lactose. It has less casein relative to whey proteins than animal milk, no β-lactoglobulin at all, and 0.5–0.8 g of oligosaccharides per 100 g, far more than cow's milk. In a baby's stomach it forms a very soft, delicate curd.

Breast milk or cow's milk? They are very different foods. Per 100 g breast milk has 70 kcal, only 1.03 g of protein, 4.38 g of fat and 6.89 g of carbohydrates, mostly lactose (USDA), about a third of the protein of cow's milk. It has less casein relative to whey proteins, no β-lactoglobulin and far more oligosaccharides, and forms a very soft curd in the baby's stomach. Breast milk or formula? This page does not rank products; WHO and UNICEF recommend only breast milk for the first 6 months.

Breast milk is not a shelf product, so there is no legal name or protected-origin mark to look for. What you buy is the equipment: storage bags or containers meant for breast milk and for the freezer, from a pharmacy, a baby shop or a supermarket. Mark each one with the date and time of expressing, as the CDC storage rules count from then. Infant formula is a separate product with its own labelling; for its choice ask a paediatrician or midwife.

Why it matters to you. Store expressed milk according to CDC guidelines: up to 4 hours at room temperature (up to 25 °C), up to 4 days in the refrigerator, and in the freezer ideally up to 6 months, acceptably up to 12. Use milk thawed in the refrigerator within 24 hours and warmed milk within 2 hours; do not refreeze it or heat it in a microwave. Worldwide, only about 47% of infants are exclusively breastfed until 6 months.