colostrum

(noun)

A form of milk produced by the mammary glands in late pregnancy and the few days after giving birth. Human and bovine colostrum is thick and yellowish. In humans, it has high concentrations of nutrients and antibodies, but it is small in quantity.

Related Terms

Examples of colostrum in the following topics:

  • Physiology of Lactation

    • This is when the breasts make colostrum, a thick, sometimes yellowish fluid.
    • It is not a medical concern if a pregnant woman leaks any colostrum before her baby's birth, nor is it an indication of future milk production.
    • Colostrum is the first milk a breastfed baby receives.
    • Over the first two weeks after the birth, colostrum production slowly gives way to mature breast milk.

  • Natural Passive Immunity

    • Passive immunity can also be in the form of IgA and IgG found in human colostrum and milk of babies who are nursed.
    • IgA antibodies are transferred from mother to child in colostrum and milk and confer passive immunity.

  • Iron-Binding Proteins

    • Human colostrum ("first milk") has the highest concentration, followed by human milk, and then cow milk (150 mg/L).

  • Passive Immunization

    • The thick, yellowish milk (colostrum) that is produced during the first few days after birth is particularly rich in antibodies.

  • Onset of Labor

  • Mammary Glands

    • In late pregnancy and for the first few days after giving birth, colostrum is secreted.