🪰 Doctor Explains How Motherhood Is a Legit Superpower

Mom’s Body Has Been Busy

We all know being a mom is no small feat.

They literally grow humans in their bodies, store them in there for months, and then go through the arduous task of labor. A painful and taxing process that can last anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.

But the miracles of motherhood don’t stop there… Nope, well after the birthing process, women’s bodies continue to work magic.

In a video on TikTok, a mother lines up bags of breast milk and explains that they look different depending on how her baby is feeling. Some are white, others more yellow, and one looks noticeably thinner.

Some might think these are just normal fluctuations in diet or health, but in the clip, the mother and Dr. Myro Figura explain how breast milk can evolve to help protect a baby from infection. Dr. Myro Figura also describes a possible communication system involving the baby’s saliva and Mom’s immune response.

@doctormyro Being a mother is a super power! (VC: @jessikabaileyg) #breastmilk #breastfeeding #doctorexplains #babyhealth ♬ original sound – Dr. Myro Figura, MD

Lunch Comes With Backup

Breast milk contains antibodies and other protective ingredients that help babies resist infection. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that colostrum, the first milk produced after birth, is particularly rich in antibodies, and that protection continues as breastfeeding goes on.

But, one quick clarification from the video: babies do have an immune system when they’re born. It’s still developing, and breast milk provides additional support, but mom isn’t building the whole department from scratch.

And the contents of that milk aren’t fixed.

In a small study of 21 mothers and their babies, researchers found that white blood cells in breast milk increased during infections affecting the mother or infant, then returned to their usual low levels after recovery. There was also a case where a baby was sick, but the mother had no symptoms.

It’s really fascinating. Something we tend to think of as just nourishment for a growing baby is slowly changing alongside the health of both mother and child.

Can the Baby Send Mom a Message?

This is where Dr. Myro Figura’s explanation gets especially interesting.

He describes a small amount of the baby’s saliva flowing back toward the breast during nursing, potentially exposing Mom to microbes that could help trigger an immune response.

Think of it as a possible message from the baby saying, “Hey! Something’s going on over here.”

Researchers claim this backflow is an explanation for how a baby’s infection might influence the milk. But the full chain of events hasn’t been established, so calling it a system that 100% identifies the illness and provides the exact treatment is more definitive than the evidence allows right now.

But then there’s also a less mysterious connection. After all, mom and baby usually share an environment, which means they encounter many of the same germs. So when her body makes antibodies in response to those exposures, some pass into her milk and help protect her baby.

Regardless of the exact reasoning for intuitive breastmilk, the biology is downright remarkable even while researchers are still figuring out all the communication involved.

Impressive, Even Without the Color Coding

So what about those different-colored bags?

Breast milk does naturally vary in appearance. Colostrum is often yellowish, while mature milk can look white or bluish. Diet can affect color too, so a yellow bag by itself doesn’t always mean that the milk has changed to fight an infection.

The mother’s explanation in the video about her date night also goes a bit beyond what the bags can show. Thinner-looking milk doesn’t establish that her body decided the baby was dehydrated because they’d been apart for four hours.

As convenient as a color-coded update would be, the freezer isn’t handing out lab results.

What we do have is milk that delivers nutrition alongside immune protection, with solid research showing that its immune-cell content can change during illness. That along is something to appreciate the next time someone describes breastfeeding as “just feeding the baby.”

Mom may be sitting there in yesterday’s pajamas, wondering where she left her coffee, while her body handles work she doesn’t even have to consciously manage.