Motherhood has always been a mystery. While we are scientifically advanced and even reached the moon, there are a few magical facts that could not be explained in scientific terms. For instance, a newborn baby recognising the mother’s voice and smell is a wonder for the scientific world. This is the reason why motherhood is always considered as a magical experience. Mothers experience many magics which are not explainable by the scientific world. Another such mystery is the witch’s milk or neonatal Galactorrhoea.
Did You Know Facts #22 – Witch’s Milk
In four or five out of every 100 newborn babies, there is the discharge of milk from the nipples. This is due to unusually high levels of the mother’s hormones that leak across the placenta during pregnancy. Premature babies never have this discharge, only those who are full term.
This discharge of milk from a baby’s nipples is considered a natural physiological phenomenon. In normal cases, no treatment is needed for Galactorrhoea. During the last trimester mother, more oestrogen would be produced in the mother’s body. This in turn would pass on to the baby through the placenta. Hence it is observed in term babies and not in pre terms. Pre-terms come out of the womb before this splurge of oestrogen in mothers happen.
The name witch’s milk is coined on the basis of an old folklore, according to which a witch would come to steal this milk. Hence there was a practice to express the milk from the baby’s body. This often resulted in mastitis. Hence it is advisable to leave it as is. In 99% cases , witch’s milk vanishes afert 1-2 months.
Have you heard of witch’s milk before? For more strange facts about babies, check out our Did You Know Facts Series.
Information source: Facts Random History
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