breastfeeding

Mallory Smothers knew that her baby was coming down with a cold, but it wasn't until she saw her breast milk that she realized her body knew too.

When babies get ill, mums know that all normal service goes out the window.

But it was when her little one got a sniffle that Mallory Smothers clocked a difference - in herself.

The Arkansas mother, who pumps her breast milk for feeding, snapped a picture of some 'before' milk - when her baby was well - and 'after' milk - when the tot was struggling with illness.

Stunned, she took to her Facebook page to share her findings.

"I pumped the milk on the left Thursday night before we laid down for bed," she explains.

"I nurse Baby every two hours or so overnight and don't pump until we get up for the day. I noticed in the wee hours of Friday morning, 3am or so - she was congested, irritable, and sneezing ALOT. Probably a cold, right?

"When we got up Friday morning, I pumped, just as we always do. What I pumped is on the right side of the photo."
breast milk
She says that she read an article in a medical journal about how mothers' milk changes to tailor to babies' needs in more ways than just caloric intake, which explained the difference in colour between the two bags.

She says: "This doctor discusses that when a baby nurses, it creates a vacuum in which the infant's saliva sneaks into the mother's nipple.

"There, it is believed that mammary gland receptors interpret the 'baby spit backwash' for bacteria and viruses and, if they detect something amiss - the baby is sick or fighting off an infection - Mum's body will actually change the milk's immunological composition, tailoring it to the baby's particular pathogens by producing customized antibodies."

Mallory applauds science in action thanks to her pictures.

"Look at how much more the milk I produced Friday resembles colostrum - the super milk full of antibodies and leukocytes you make during the first few days after birth - and this comes after nursing the baby with a cold all night long."

She adds: "Pretty awesome huh?! The human body never ceases to amaze me."

The post has been shared more than 71,900 times and has had an incredible response online.

Carrie Nelson wrote: "I breastfed both my two and found this to be very true!! Our bodies are truly amazing!" while Chelsea Galbraith added: "I never tried breastfeeding when I had Jenna. But this is just too awesome! Definitely makes me consider it when we have another child!"