Breastmilk Quotes

“Imagine that the world had created a new 'dream product' to feed and immunize everyone born on earth. Imagine also that it was available everywhere, required no storage or delivery, and helped mothers plan their families and reduce the risk of cancer. Then imagine that the world refused to use it.”
― Frank Oski

“The silence stretched out between us as I stared at him, the tears blurring my vision as I waited for him to save me from this torment. Surely he could find a way.”
― Kathryn Michaels, Crazy for Milk

“I wanted to be ready.
I had thought I was ready.
I really believed I was ready.
That is, until the milk came.”
― Kathryn Michaels, Crazy for Milk

“In my experience nursing is waiting. The mother becomes the background against which the baby lives, becomes time. I used to exist against the continuity of time. Then I became the baby's continuity, a background of ongoing time for him to live against. I was the warmth and milk that was always there for him, the agent of comfort that was always there for him.

My body, my life, became the landscape of my son's life. I am no longer merely a thing living in the world; I am a world.”
― Sarah Manguso, The Two Kinds of Decay

“According to Hinde, when a baby suckles at its mother's breast, a vacuum is created. Within that vacuum, the infant's saliva is sucked back into the mother's nipple, where receptors in her mammary gland decipher it. This "baby spit backwash," as she delightfully described it, contains signals, information about the baby's immune system-including any infections it might be fighting.”
― Angela Garbes, Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy

“Breast milk is so beneficial that a more or less well-nourished mother need not do any more than suckle her baby to ensure it is receiving a healthy diet. When it comes to the nutrients it contains, breast milk provides everything that dietary scientists believe children need in order to thrive - it is the best dietary supplement ever. It contains everything, knows everything, and can do everything necessary for a child's well-being. And, as if that weren't enough, it has the added advantage of passing on a bit of Mom's immune system to her offspring.”
― Giulia Enders, Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ

“Being a part of another parent’s journey to give their baby the best start possible offers me hope for the future.”
― Jessica Marie Baumgartner

“My second child was a picky eater and donating milk helped me deal with feelings of rejection.”
― Jessica Marie Baumgartner