Breastmilk is Brain Food
Many parents track their babies progress on charts which record the rapid weight gain in the first year of life. They use this data as a scale of breastfeeding success: high weight gain = good milk supply, low weight gain = poor milk supply. And they also use the clock to determine how well breastfeeding is going: long periods of sleep between breasts equals good supply, short periods of sleep equals poor supply. Even though that isn’t how it works.
This obsession with numbers is a modern construct entirely influenced by the infant formula industry in the 20th century and entirely overlooks the most important role of human milk in infant growth.
While babies need the basics they can get from infant formula: protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals - it is the less well-known components of human breastmilk which are uniquely suited to developing a human brain.
At no other time in life does the brain and central nervous system develop at the rate it does in the first year. Born with the bare minimum for survival, a newborn is a bundle of instincts and reflexes alongside the automated systems of breathing, digesting and other body functions. Beyond that, there is a blank slate ready to go.
The newborn brain is a lot like your brand new computer. It arrives with the operating system installed, a few other programs bundled into the deal and an otherwise empty hard drive. It is the downloads, uploads, updates and files that steadily fill the hard drive building a unique to you computer system.
It’s the same with your baby. Arriving with the basic operating system, plus genetic variations bundled as extras, it is the growth and development of this unique brain over the coming months and years which makes your child who they will be.
Just as your computer needs power and internet connection, your baby needs breastmilk. During periods of peak brain development, they need more time at the breast as they process and install updates. This “hunger” is not so much about calories as it is those unique properties of human milk which support optimal brain development. Frequent feeding is important during these surges as the baby prepares for the milestones you will measure. Hard-wiring the central nervous system to enable rolling, crawling, sitting standing and walking - the most obvious controlled movements, but also hand-eye coordination, grasping, reaching, tracking and other skills needed for eating solids, playing and moving.
Fussy behaviour, often blamed on colic, wind, teething or insufficient breastmilk, is most likely associated with neurological surges in development. As we seek medicinal or behavioural solutions to the “problem” of unsettled periods, frequent breastfeeds or disturbed sleep, we miss the real reason our baby is out of sync: they are progressing into a new level and the journey is a bit bumpy.
Normal infant development is not always a comfortable experience. New sensations, abilities and movements can be strange. Unexpected outcomes like face-planting the carpet during tummy time, repeatedly rolling over when you don't want to and thumping your fist on your nose instead of your mouth can’t be fun. Supporting, soothing and reassuring are also part of the breastfeeding relationship.
Breastfeeding is food. But it is also much more. Not all cranky behaviour is hunger and frequently seeking the breast doesn't mean a lack of milk.
The human brain is the most complex on earth. The human infant brain is an extraordinary thing, fuelled by breastmilk alone during its most rapid growth. Celebrate that.
Further reading: Formula is not the same as breastmilk: the first year
