Breast milk is the only source of nutrition that newborns can receive before 6 months of age. Many mothers often express their milk for their babies to feed, however, in some cases, they find that the milk has a green color, which is different from the normal white color. So what are the reasons for this and is green breast milk dangerous? Let’s find out!
1 Reasons for green breast milk
Recently, a breastfeeding mother shared a picture of her pumped milk on social media, showing that it had an unusual green color, and she was worried whether it was because she took a lot of fever-reducing medicine. Many people commented and advised her not to feed this milk to her baby, but to wait until the illness and antibiotics are gone before resuming breastfeeding.
However, according to Dr. Nguyen Viet Thanh – a pediatrician (Ca Mau City), greenish breast milk is completely normal and there is no need to worry.
Green breast milk appears when the mother’s breasts are full and there is a long period between pumping sessions. On the other hand, breast milk will return to its normal white color when it is fully expressed.
2 Is it safe to breastfeed with green milk?
Although they have different colors, the nutritional composition of these two types of milk is not different, mainly in terms of the ratio of ingredients.
Green milk is more diluted, contains less fat, and more electrolytes, while white or slightly yellow milk will become thicker and contain more fat. Therefore, mothers can still breastfeed when their milk is green.
3 Should breastfeeding be stopped when taking antibiotics?
If a pregnant mother is prescribed antibiotics, she can still breastfeed as usual. In most cases, the antibiotics prescribed for pregnant women are safe for both the mother and the baby and are available in liquid form for the treatment of infants when necessary.
Source: Vietnamese Women’s Newspaper