9 Alternative Uses For Breastmilk

Breastmilk is a truly amazing substance. It’s completely natural and contains everything needed to support human life. Not only has it allowed humans to survive for all of time, but it has helped them to thrive. It’s full of amazing ingredients that do many different amazing things for the human body.

It has been meticulously studied for many years and researchers are still continually discovering ingredients in it that they had never noticed before. Breastmilk is even being researched in the effort to find a cure for cancer. Breastmilk is undoubtedly the perfect first food for babies, but it also has a number of surprising other uses.

Cooking with Breastmilk

Some people find the idea of using breastmilk in food kind of shocking. Some might think that it’s weird or even gross. Think about it from this perspective though – it’s completely normal and commonplace to drink and cook with milk from animals such as cows and goats. The biggest difference between animal milks and human milk is that animal milks are designed for animals and human milk is designed for humans. Not to mention the many benefits that come with consuming human milk. So, it makes complete sense to use human milk when cooking.

1. Using Breastmilk in Place of Other Milks

Ever start a recipe and realize you forgot to check to make sure you have all the ingredients beforehand? Well, if you’re breastfeeding, and the ingredient you’re missing is any type of milk, then you’re in luck. Breastmilk can replace almost any other milk in recipes. Of course, pumping or expressing milk can be time consuming and sometimes difficult. For this reason, you may not want to be replacing everything with breastmilk all the time. However, when you’re in a pinch, it can be a real life saver.

2. Breastmilk in Coffee

Something that would be easy to regularly use breastmilk for is in place of coffee creamer. In fact, it can actually replace both creamer and sugar in your coffee as breastmilk is naturally very sweet. It doesn’t take a lot, so it should be easy to express the right amount. Keep in mind that it won’t change the colour of your coffee as dramatically as commercial options.

Medical Uses for Breastmilk

Breastmilk is like nature’s medicine. It contains amazing immune boosting properties. It’s full of antibodies that help to fight illnesses and shorten and reduce the severity of sickness in babies. Breastmilk has tons of natural, safe and effectivemedical uses. Even so, this article is not meant to take the place of professional medical advice. Contact your medical care provider if you need medical treatment of any kind.

1. Drinking Breastmilk to Prevent or Shorten Sickness

The antibodies in breastmilk are not only good for babies but provide benefits for all ages. Even after your child is weaned, you can give them breastmilk in a cup to help shorten sickness. You could also give it to your partner that way if they are comfortable with it. It’s especially effective if the lactating mother has been in contact with the sickness because her body immediately starts producing antibodies in her breastmilk for any sickness she comes in contact with. The breastmilk can help to shorten the time spent sick as well as reduce the severity of the sickness.

2. Using Breastmilk to Help Heal Cuts and Scrapes

Breastmilk can also be used topically to aid in the healing process of cuts and scrapes. It’s a safe and natural alternative to antibiotic ointments. It has natural antibodies in it that help prevent infection and promote fast healing. If applied often, you may just be surprised how quickly your own or your little one’s cuts and scrapes heal.

3. Treating Pink Eye with Breastmilk

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is the irritation and swelling of the eye. It can be caused by infection, allergies, and irritants to the eye. Regardless of the cause, breastmilk can be used to treat conjunctivitis. It can effectively fight and eradicate infection, but it can also provide soothing relief as well as flush out the eye if the cause is anything other than infection. Since breastmilk soothes the eyes and provides moisturization of the eyes, it can be used as an alternative to regular use eye drops as well. It will even lessen the appearance of red eyes.

4. Using Breastmilk for Nappy Rash

Breastmilk also provides a very effective alternative for treating nappy rash. After wiping baby’s bum clean, simply apply a small amount of breastmilk to the affected area and allow for it to dry. You can also add a moisture barrier on top of the breastmilk once it’s dried before replacing baby’s nappy. Something like coconut oil or petroleum jelly would work good. The breastmilk promotes faster healing and kills any bacteria that may make the rash worsen. The moisture barrier also helps prevent the rash from getting worse so that the breastmilk can effectively help the rash to heal. Never use breastmilk on a yeast infection, however, because the yeast thrives on the natural sugar in the breastmilk.

5. Treating Acne with Breastmilk

Many women experience bad acne during their postnatal period due to all the fluctuating hormones and the stress of a newborn. Since acne is partially caused by bacteria on the skin, breastmilk can help to combat it. Not only does it kill bacteria to help prevent worsening of the acne, but it also promotes healing of the skin. To use breastmilk for the treatment of acne, simply apply a small amount of breastmilk to the affected area a couple times a day. Breastmilk is completely natural and safe so you can apply it as often as you want, but applying at least a couple times a day will help it to be most effective. You should see results fairly quickly.

6. Giving Your Baby a Milk Bath

Another great use for breastmilk is to use it to give your baby a milk bath. This can be great for any baby to help moisturize their skin, but it’s especially helpful if your baby has eczema, cradle crap, or any other type of skin problem or rash. Breastmilk helps to heal, soothe and moisturize the skin. To give your baby a milk bath, simply add your breastmilk to baby’s bath. Any amount of breastmilk and water is fine, but the higher the concentration of the milk, the more effective the milk bath will be. Ideally, the mixture should be fairly cloudy in appearance.

7. Home Made Soaps and Lotions with Breastmilk

The soothing and healing properties of breastmilk make it a great choice as an ingredient in products like soap and lotion. It provides great natural moisture for your skin. A quick search on the internet will provide you with tons of different recipe ideas so that you can make your own soaps and lotions using breastmilk. You can even take a recipe that you find and adapt it to create your very own breastmilk recipe.  

Collecting Breastmilk for Alternative Uses

Many of the alternative uses for breastmilk require only a very small amount of breastmilk. For this reason, you can hand express the breastmilk in small amounts as you need it. Some uses, however, such as milk baths for your baby, require a bit more milk. If you need more milk than you prefer to hand express, you can use either a manual or an electric pump to collect your milk. To learn more about expression and storage of breastmilk, read here.

Take Full Advantage of Your Breastmilk

Of course, breastmilk is designed for consumption by babies. It provides them with all their needed nutrients and everything they need for survival and proper development. However, with the wonderful and impressive composition of breastmilk, it also proves to be greatly useful and convenient for much more than just feeding our bubs. There is no reason that we shouldn’t take full advantage of this lovely substance that we have access to during the time we nurse our precious little ones.