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How does breast milk protect babies?
As a newborn baby, you had some temporary immunity passed on from your mother, both in the womb and via breast milk. She supplied you with antibodies, special proteins that help your body fight germs. The antibodies in breast milk are not digested by stomach acid, unlike most proteins. Doctors sometimes inject people with antibodies to provide short-term protection from an infection: hepatitis, for example. However, your body eventually breaks these antibodies down. Once they are gone, you lose your temporary immunity to disease.Enlarge
Breastfeeding helps babies fight off germs.
When was your last cold?
Over 200 different viruses cause the common cold. Cold and flu viruses change themselves often, so you will never be completely immune to these common infections. Even if you become immune to one cold virus, you can still become ill with another virus or another form of the same virus. On average, adults catch between two and five colds every year, while children catch between four and eight. People who live in cities and children at school may have even more.
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