We all know how much Cleopatra loved her milk and honey baths, well, there is a lot of truth to what trend she started! Breast milk is not only specially designed for your baby, but it also contains antioxidants. This is unique to breast milk because it contains no bacteria, unlike formula. Formula is easily contaminated, whereas breast milk is full of antibodies. It also helps maintain “good bacteria” of the gut by preventing the growth of harmful organisms. So let’s take a look at all the benefits of breast milk in general.
- It helps prevent ear infections
- It helps prevent the spreading of harmful bacteria
- It protects from disease factors like leukemia, meningitis and lymphoma
- It contains an anti-viral protectant to prevent unwanted viruses
- It protects tissue damaged by inflammation
- Promotes a healthy immune system in baby
- Reduces urinary tract infections
- Decreases the risk of allergies, asthma and obesity
What Are the Benefits of a Breast Milk Bath?
- It protects and nourishes dry skin
- It prevents aging
- It reduces itching
- It reduces inflammation of the skin
- It prevents and treats skin and diaper rashes
How Else Can I Use Breast Milk?
You can’t apply it’s wonderful uses, until you know about them, so here are a few:
- You can treat your baby’s eczema with a warm breast milk bath. Simply use 150 mL to 300 mL of breast milk (even if it has slightly expired) and place it into your baby’s bath. This will form a protective layer on. your baby’s skin, but take your baby out after no more than 15 minutes.
- Treat your baby’s blocked tear duct with some breast milk to help prevent further infection.
- Treat a stuffy nose. Babies recognize the taste of their Mother’s breast milk already, so all you have to do is get a sterile, clean dropper and just enough breast milk to dispense a couple of drops in each nostril, then use an aspirator to remove loose mucous.
- Treat cradle cap and dry facial skin with breast milk. Simply apply and rub.
- Treat diaper rash. Using breast milk has been proven to be as effective as diaper rash cream, if not better, when treating a rash.
- Help treat insect bites during the summer months with a little bit of your breast milk.
- This one is for the Mommas, help relieve your sore nipples from breast feeding, but rubbing some of your breast milk onto them. It’s free and you can save yourself from purchasing the nipple cream.
- Treat teething by making your baby an ice pop made from your own breast milk. Get yourself a baby mesh feeder and place the breast milk ice cube into it securely and allow your infant to suck on it, safely. The antioxidants, will help relieve some of that horrible teething pain instantly!
- Mommy, do you have some dry skin on your face? Try using some of your own breast milk on your skin and see what happens! It helps reduce dry skin and prevents aging. Should I market that?
I hope you are able to use more than just one of these tips. One of the stories I like to share is one of when I was working. I was at a home visit with one of my clients and she had said that she was going to “pump and dump” her contaminated breast milk because she had chosen to have a glass of wine. We discussed these other options, but she was a young teenager and not very convinced. I jokingly said, “Well, you can always dump it onto your dead plant and see what happens!” So, she actually did and the following week at our visit, I was amazed to see that her wilted plant had sprung back to life and was upright! Now how amazing is that for breast milk!? Can I get a witness!
