By now, the many wonders of breast milk are no secret. It helps prevent against illness and disease, it's linked to higher IQs in children, and even lowers a mom's risk of developing breast cancer later on. But there's still a lot about breast milk that continues to amaze us, and a viral Facebook post from British mother Jody Danielle Fisher is proving that fact a million times over this week.
Fisher took to Facebook on May 2 to share side-by-side photos of her breast milk -- before and after her toddler was vaccinated.
"Nancy had her 1 year injections on Tuesday afternoon," Fisher wrote, before explaining that the one on the left, with "normal"-colored milk was from the day before she had them. On the right, you can clearly see what she describes to be "blue"-colored milk, taken just two days after the injections.
The reason behind the sudden color change, Fisher says, is yet another example of how incredible breast milk truly is.
"It’s blue from all the antibodies my body is producing, as it thinks she’s sick with what she was vaccinated against!" she explained. "When she feeds, her saliva sends signals to my body to produce more milk with illness specific antibodies!"
Believe it or not, her hypothesis is likely true, according to what we know about the way breast milk changes.
According to trusted breastfeeding source KellyMom, breast milk can actually change in a variety of ways for all sorts of reasons.
It can be sticky and yellow (which is the first kind of milk you'll express, known as colostrum); or thin and watery. It can even take on a hint of green, orange, or yes, even blue, if you're drinking or eating foods with artificial dyes, such as Gatorade, KellyMom explains.
Though to this, Fisher notes in her post that she hadn't recently eaten or drank anything with artificial dyes in it, which is why she doesn't attribute the bluish color to anything other than her body's production of antibodies. In fact, she says it only ever turns this color when her daughter is sick.
Either way, "the color of the milk is usually not anything to be concerned about," KellyMom assures, "however it’s always good to check with a breastfeeding professional to be sure."
The reason for all of this is that the composition of breast milk is constantly changing -- not just throughout the day, but also during a feeding.
"As baby grows, breast milk continues to change to meet the needs for optimal growth, at each stage of baby’s development," says KellyMom. "This means that mom’s breast milk at four months is perfectly suited to the needs of her four month old baby, and at six months, perfectly suited for her six month old."
In other words: A mom's body knows exactly what her baby needs at any given moment. Which is all sorts of incredible when you really think about it.
It's for this reason Fisher says that she's proud of the fact that she's managed to keep breastfeeding her daughter for 13 months.
"You don’t get all this goodness and nutrients from formula or cow's milk!" she wrote. "Way to go boobies!"
Now that her post has gone viral, though -- with over 7.1K shares and counting -- she's received a mixture of praise and also backlash.
"Wow!!!" wrote one mother. "That is sooo cool! So many people just do things without really understanding what is happening! What an education you have decided to share! Good on you!"
Others weren't so appreciative of Fisher's well-meaning post. Like the many anti-vaxxers who came down on the mother for vaccinating in the first place.
To those commenters, Fisher updated her post to reiterate that her photos actually go to show that the vaccines are doing exactly what they're meant to — introducing a weakened version of the illness to force your body into making the antibodies it needs to “heal” itself.
"Don’t come on my post preaching about not having vaccinations and them [being] poisonous," Fisher snaps back, before adding, "I hope your child(ren) never become ill with anything serious or doesn’t pass it on to a poor baby waiting to have their immunizations because you don’t believe in vaccinations!"
Anti-vaxxers weren't the only ones who found fault with the post, though.
So did formula moms, who felt Fisher was inadvertently shaming others who either choose not to breastfeed, or can't, due to physical conditions.
"I’m by no way shaming formula, I formula-fed my 1st, and combi-fed my second and third," shared Fisher. "I was merely showing what women’s bodies can do … and this is one of the reasons I’m still breastfeeding at 13 months, as I’m often questioned as to why I’m still doing so."
Whatever the reason for the color change, you really can't argue that the photos show just how adaptable and responsive breast milk is.
Countless studies have proven that the body has a rapid response rate to a breastfeeding child's illness — though the extent to which this occurs is not yet fully known. Here's hoping that with more research, we only stand to learn more about the amazing powers of breast milk, and its many healing properties. (They don't call it liquid gold for nothing!)