Pregnancy Mystery

A healthy immune system can easily recognize any foreign substance that enters into the body. Cancerous cells are even detected right away and the antibodies immediately fight to eliminate it. Scientists discovered the significance of lactoferrin to the immune system while doing another research about a mysterious biological phenomenon called pregnancy. The scholars have been questioning about the reason why during pregnancy a woman’s body tends to keep the fetus when it obviously contains foreign antigens. Later, they found out that at time shortly after conception, a woman’s immune system is down-regulated. That is why the fetus is allowed to grow in the womb and is not recognized as a foreign matter. This is the very reason why pregnant women are not allowed to take lactoferrin and other unnecessary antibiotics without the prescription of a qualified medical practitioner.

Immediately after giving birth, a woman’s body produces colostrums or the first milk, which restores her immune system and provides powerful immune chemicals to the infant as well. Colostrum is an extremely complex fluid rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, and several biologically active molecules essential in growth. Lactoferrin is the primary immune-system chemical present in the first milk of women after giving birth.

Studies have shown that the mother’s beestings or first milk is the only source of significant immune substances for the infant. Synthetic formulas cannot offer the same nutritional, immunological, or physiological value, despite the continuous effort to produce formulas that mimic breast milk as closely as possible.