Article Sphere Logo
 

The Secrets To Providing Infant With The Best Nutrition After Birth

By Expert Author: Farrell Seah | Article Abstract
Word Count: 484 words | Views: 54 view(s)
While there are currently many substitute formulations available for providing newborns and infants with adequate nutrition, breastfeeding should never be considered as one of many possible options. This is because the breast secretions furnished by the mother meet not only the nutritional needs of newborns and infants, but their developmental needs as well.

The pre-milk, or colostrum, secreted immediately after birth is important for the development of a healthy digestive system, and both colostrum and mature breast milk play crucial roles in the development of a strong immune system.

To get the maximum benefits from these secretions and ensure optimal growth and nutrition, breastfeeding should always be chosen over artificial formulations and other food sources for as long as possible throughout the first year of life.

Colostrum is the first food available to breastfeeding newborns, and remains the primary mammary secretion for the first 3-4 days after birth. The composition of colostrum is very different from that of mature breast milk.

In addition to being more yellow or orange in appearance, it is also much thicker, and is secreted in far smaller quantities. Because colostrum is a concentrated, easily digested food source that is tailor-made to meet the nutritional needs of newborn infants, breastfeeding babies do not require the large volumes of fluid required for bottle-fed babies during the first few days of life.

Breastfeeding and colostrum play an equally important role in the rapid development of the digestive system immediately after birth, and in the further strengthening of the immune system throughout the first few weeks of life.

Colostrum is rich in non-nutritional proteins essential for the maturation and decreased permeability of the lower digestive tract, and newborns receiving colostrum during the first three days of life show a decreased incidence of diarrhea during their first 6 months.

Colostrum also contains high concentrations of antibodies called immunoglobulins. Rather than being absorbed in the body, the immunoglobulins in colostrum adhere to mucosal surfaces in the throat, lungs, and intestines of newborns, protecting them against infection by preventing pathogens from sticking to or penetrating these surfaces.

In order to ensure optimal digestive and immune system development and meet the changing nutritional needs of newborns and infants, breastfeeding should occur as often as possible, with newborns ideally having constant access to breasts during the first 24 to 72 hours after birth.

A good general guideline to follow for breastfeeding frequency is 8-12 times throughout each 24-hour period. More frequent feeding stimulates increased mature milk production, and also helps prevent engorging as babies get older. If possible, infants should continue breastfeeding for the first 6-12 months to aid in the further development of the immune system.

To prevent the onset of milk or other food allergies later in a baby's development, it is often best not to introduce other foods into the diet during this time.
Farrell  Seah

About the Author/Author Bio

Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website is included. http://www.BuyBovineColostrum.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/The-Secrets-To-Providing-Infant-With-The-Best-Nutrition-After-Birth/50883

Article Submitted: 2006-09-19 | This Article has been viewed 54 times.

Rate Article

Related Videos

How to Protect Calves when Making Colostrum
What Is Colostrum
The Safety of Colostrum
How Colostrum Helps Digestion
The Beginning of Colostrum
 

More "Nutrition Supplements" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Nutrition Supplements" article category.

People interested in the above article "The Secrets To Providing Infant With The Best Nutrition After Birth" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
Natural foods sure, to help or minimize cancer effects and better to optimize your health. Here some top super foods which really recover cancer and also protect with numerous type of cancer.
What is the most effective way to retain one's youth? The secret lies in feeling satisfied with what you have. This can be achieved through mental and the natural training, and also by a combination of both. Some of the more common ways to attain the said include beauty interventions and cosmetic surgical procedures which may assure to take away the lines and fat that come with age. Many of the other fundamental methods of feeling happy with the way things are appear below, so read them to understand how you too can remain at peach and happiness with your self without spending huge quantities of money on beauty treatments.
Life was a lot simpler once there were two types of sweeteners, the white one and the brown one. Nowadays, there are sweeteners coming from the nature (like honey), artificial sweeteners, semi-natural sweeteners, sugar alternatives, and so on. Artificial sweeteners are in every food , from sodas to breakfast cereals and they're standard among diabetics because they'll increase the sweetness of foods without raising blood sugar levels.
For most issues related to teenagers, fads rule the roost. And skin care issues are highest among teenagers. Today any medium, be it magazines, newspapers, television or the Internet are inundated with skin care related articles. These articles could include various therapies and homemade solutions for skin care. Ranging from the totally natural to those which involve chemicals, these articles provide the reader with the much needed solutions to their skin related problems.
Looking for Acai berry information? Are you also interested in finally shedding weight and keeping it off? If you said finally then you must keep reading. The acai berry is grown on a very special palm tree in the amazon rain forest. The acai Berry fruit, a small, round, black-purple fruit is about 1 inch in diameter, kind of like a grape and grows on a very tall tree. Two crops of fruit are pare grown per year. The Acai berry fruit has a single large seed that takes up a lot of the berry. The skin of a ripe berry is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of acai that it is.
The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, now in it's 4th Edition is the definitive resource for selecting a good nutritional product and company. Now the abridged "Consumer Edition" distills the complex technical information and summarizes earlier findings. Also, a new Editor's Choice Award is introduced, which selects USANA Health Sciences' products as the best of the best in the industry.
IBS or irritable bowel syndrome can sometimes go on for many years, depending on how you or cope with the problem. A good way to deal with IBS is through learning the right irritable bowel diet. How? By knowing which food can trigger your symptoms, so you can avoid them...
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Health And Fitness Nutrition Supplements
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish