母乳奇妙的味道 The Curious Taste of Human Milk

后来我生下了第一个孩子小R，他开始母乳喂养时没有任何问题。我完全按照如何正确含乳的视频来做，以确保我做得没有任何瑕疵（好像就只有这一种方法）。

我的儿子长得很健壮，跟我在护理学院照护过的那些婴儿很相似，那些生理反射帮助他满怀愉悦、热情和迷恋地去吸吮乳汁。

随着他长大，那些吞咽声和肢体动作，包括头部的扭动以及手的挥舞都表明他吃得很满足。那他品尝到什么滋味了呢？又是什么让他这么开心？

   两年后，我生下了二儿子小O。这一次出师不利。我专门找到了一位愿意让我尝试剖宫产后阴道分娩 (VBAC)的医生，结果没成功，我被紧急推入手术室实施剖宫产。

   后来，我得了产后子宫内膜炎；同时，涨奶又导致了乳腺炎。我筋疲力尽，痛苦不堪。

   尽管如此，小O吃奶吃得相当好，看到他长得好我也很满足。和小R一样，我很关注小O的动作、声音和吞咽，还有顽皮的小手、嘴以及头部的扭动。这些都表明他吃了一顿很满意的大餐。

   这时，我的大儿子小R也表现出了我曾经有过的好奇心。他用最甜美的声音问我：“妈妈，你的母乳是什么味道呢？”他的好奇心让我猝不及防。

就在那一刻我急中生智。我们干嘛不尝尝我的母乳呢？它很安全，它来自我的身体呀。小O以此为食，而小R也因为吃了足够的乳汁而茁壮成长。

小R兴奋地睁大了眼，他对着我咧嘴笑，那是一个学龄前幼儿给父母的最开心的笑。

我们都尝了一点儿。我没想到它会如此美味、让人放松。小R也认为它是甜甜的奶。他笑着走开了，继续玩自己的。而我则依旧很好奇它那甜美的味道，因此决定进一步了解母乳的成分。

这些都是促进婴儿生长发育的纯天然的营养成分。当然，这项研究论述得很详实，但我的观点是，碳水化合物/乳糖的比例很高，就赋予了母乳天然的甜杏仁味。这就是我们看到婴儿吃奶时的热情、迷恋、兴奋和满足的原因。

每种成分都发挥一个特定的作用来使婴儿受益。乳糖不仅赋予了甜味来安抚婴儿，而且也是人类大脑早期发育所必需的。婴儿需要很高的能量来增加体重、发育大脑、帮助吸收。

乳糖提供了必需的能量，与此同时，蛋白质和脂肪在全身系统的生长发育中起着至关重要的作用。在这个关键的成长阶段，所有这些成分都在满足儿童健康的免疫和营养需求方面发挥着重要作用。

此外，有证据表明，人类的乳汁还有助于肠道菌群定植、增强免疫力和预防疾病。这真是互惠互利的双赢！

I didn’t know much about lactation before I had children. The only fact was that my mother had nursed me during my first year of life. A community of breastfeeding family members did not surround me to normalize this phenomenal experience. During the postpartum rotation in nursing school, my curiosity about human milk and breastfeeding dynamics started. The babies in the postpartum unit attempting to nurse and the sweet commonality among the ones put to the breast ignited that curiosity. It was the inborn knowledge of the newborn looking for a nipple and the awareness to nurse – their rooting, sucking, and grasping reflexes working together to give them a healthy start outside the womb. I also noticed the excitement of a newborn latching and sucking with so much enthusiasm. The thirst for latching was nothing other than heartwarming. For the first time, I wondered about the taste of human milk.

These are all-natural components that support the growth and development of a baby. Of course, the study went into much more detail, but my point is that a high percentage is from the carb lactose, which gives human milk that natural sweet almond taste. This is the reason we see the gusto, the passion, the excitement, and the satisfaction when the baby nurses.

Each component has a specific role to fill to benefit the baby. Lactose not only gives the sweetness that brings comfort to the baby, but it’s needed in early human brain development. Babies have high energy demands to increase weight, develop the brain, and aid absorption. Lactose provides necessary energy, while, concurrently, proteins and fats play a crucial role in the growth and development of all systems. All these components play a critical role in fulfilling the immunological and nutritional needs for a child’s well-being during this crucial growth phase. In addition, evidence has shown that human milk also contributes to intestinal colonization, immunization, and prevention of diseases. It’s a win-win situation.