What Does Breast Milk Taste Like?

Bottles of breast milk in the refrigerator with sign that says don't drink

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The taste ofbreast milkis generally considered to be sweet and creamy with a pleasant flavor. However, when it comes to which flavors you like and don't like, everyone has a different experience. Taste is developed over time depending on your genetics, your culture, and the foods that you're exposed to throughout your life.

Breast milk, just like any other food, can taste different to different people.

Why Breast Milk Is Sweet and Creamy

Breast milk contains themilk sugar lactose.Even though lactose is not the sweetest type of sugar, when there is a lot of lactose present, the sweetness is much greater. Because lactose is one of the main ingredients in breast milk, it appears in high concentrations, giving breast milk its sweet flavor.

Breast milk alsocontains fat.The amount of fat in milk determines its creaminess. When breast milk first starts to flow from the breast,it has less fat.看起来瘦和水。随着牛奶孔蒂nues to flow, it becomeshigher in fat and much creamier

What Gives Breast Milk Its Taste

Beyond sweet and creamy, breast milk is made up of the flavors that come from the foods that you eat every day. When you eat awell-balanced dietfull of fruits and vegetables, you are exposing your child to the tastes of these healthy foods.

As your breastfed child grows and begins to eat solid foods, experts believe that they will more readily accept the foods that you have already exposed them to through your breast milk.

Through your breastmilk, your child can develop a taste for many of the foods that you enjoy, evengarlic, spicy foods, orother cultural dishes

Factors Affecting the Flavor of Breast Milk

A change in the taste of your breast milk for any of these reasons may affect your child. Some babies will not seem to notice or mind the variations of taste while other children will nurse less, go on anursing strike, or even appear to beself-weaning

By understanding some of the things that can change the flavor of your breast milk, you might be able to keep your child breastfeeding longer.

Hormones

The shifts in the levels of hormones in your body from thereturn of your periodor a new pregnancy may influence the flavor of your milk. Breastfeeding is safe if you have your period. It's usually safe to continue to breastfeed if you become pregnant again as long as your pregnancy is not high-risk. If you still want to breastfeed, continue to offer your child the breast.

Exercise

The build-up of lactic acid in your body along with the saltiness of perspiration on your breasts from strenuousexercisecan change the taste of your breast milk. To try to minimize the effect on your breast milk, keep your workouts at a light or moderate level. You can also wash your breasts before you feed your baby to remove the salty sweat.

Medications

Certain medications can change the taste of your breast milk. If you start a new medication and notice your child is not breastfeeding as well, that might be the cause. Talk to your doctor if you think this is an issue.

Smoking

Studies show that the breast milk made by a person after smoking cigarettes will take on the smell and flavor of the smoke. If yousmoke, have your cigarette immediately after you finish feeding your child and try not to smoke for at least two hours before breastfeeding again to keep the smell and flavor of the smoke to a minimum.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol is known to affect the taste of breast milk. It takes about two hours for each alcoholic drink you consume to leave your body and your breast milk. The longer you wait to breastfeed after you have an alcoholic beverage, the less alcohol will be in your breast milk to alter the flavor.

Freezing and Thawing

When youdefrost breast milkthat has beencollected and storedin the freezer, it will sometimes have a soapy odor and taste. It's still safe to give to your child, but they may not like the different flavor and refuse it.

Mastitis

Mastitism是一种乳房感染,会导致你的乳房吗ilk to have a strong, salty taste. If you think you may have mastitis, it's OK to continue to breastfeed, but your baby may refuse to nurse on the side with the infection. Since you may need to take antibiotics to treat mastitis, you should see your doctor.

Body Products

Any lotions, creams, soaps, perfumes, oils, or ointments that you put on your breasts can add different flavors to your breast milk as your baby nurses. If you use any body products on or near your breasts, be sure to wash your breasts well before breastfeeding your baby.

Tasting Your Own Breast Milk

If you're concerned about the flavor of your breast milk, or you just want to know how it will taste to you, you can try it. Breast milk is a natural, healthy food, and it will not hurt you. There is nothing wrong or disgusting about trying your own breast milk.

Can Your Partner Try Your Breast Milk?

Sometimes partners are curious and want to taste breast milk as well. It is OK to let them try it, too. If your partner wants to try it in a cup, just be sure you don't have a health issue that you could pass on through your milk.

If your partner wants to try the milk from your breast, make sure they do not have any health issues (such asthrushor herpes) that could transfer to your skin and affect you and your baby.

Tasting Someone Else's Breast Milk

It's usually OK to tryanother person's breast milkif you know their health history and understand the risk involved. You should always use common sense because it can be dangerous to try the milk from another person's breast.

Breast milk is a body fluid. Therefore, it is possible to contract an infectious disease, including HIV, from drinking someone else's breast milk.

6 Sources
Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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ByDonna Murray, RN, BSN
Donna Murray, RN, BSN has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Rutgers University and is a current member of Sigma Theta Tau, the Honor Society of Nursing.