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The smell of breast milk often changes, Mother. Often times, breast milk smells like iron. What do you think is the cause and how to save the right one, Mother? Let’s find out.
Yes, as long as the smell of breast milk doesn’t sting, Mother. It has a distinctive aroma like milk in general. It’s just that, sometimes breastfeeding smells like iron in their breast milk.
Related to this, it is necessary to know in advance that breast milk often has an excess of lipase. This is what can then change the smell of breast milk.
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Causes of breast milk smell like iron
“Lipase is an enzyme that’s normally present in breast milk. It helps keep the fat mixed with the whey portion of the milk and keeps the fat lumps smaller and easier to digest,” says Lilly Lan Chang, MD, MS, FAAP, a neonatologist at Johns Hopkins All Children. Maternal, Fetal & Neonatal Institute. “By breaking down the milk fat, more fat-soluble vitamins are available to the baby.”
When someone has excess lipase, Dr. Chang explains, “Milk fat begins to break down quicker/faster after expression.”
Although the lipase process is normal, at high levels it can cause a metallic or soapy aftertaste and make milk unappealing. Taste changes can occur within hours to days.
Regarding the smell of breast milk itself, Dr. Chang says that while excess lipase can change the taste of milk, it doesn’t harm the baby. In fact, maybe it can be useful for Mother’s milk. “It actually protects against microorganisms and keeps the milk from spoiling,” says Stephanie Nelson, BSN, RN, IBCLC, CCRN-NICU, a Wisconsin-based lactation consultant.
What causes high lipase?
While some medical professionals agree high lipase isn’t talked about enough because it’s hard to tell how many people experience it, and it’s unclear why some do and others don’t. “But once milk is affected by lipase, there’s no way to treat it,” explains Dr. Chang.
Nelson also says that he often sees his clients have breast milk with high lipase, and levels can vary widely between people and even from pregnancy to pregnancy.
From Nelson’s client reports, some people only experience this problem when they freeze their milk. “We get calls from clients about refusing just milk that was previously frozen, and this is often the reason,” she says. But others, can’t even keep it in the fridge, as quoted from the Parents page.
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