Did you know that your breastmilk is constantly changing in response to your baby's unique needs and their environment?

Our bodies are so clever with breastfeeding and breastmilk production being just one area in which our bodies show us what real magic is! As well as containing all sorts of goodies including water, protein, fats, fatty acids, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals which are vital for your little one's growth, breastmilk also contains immunological features that help protect our tiniest offspring in a stage of life when their own bodies aren't quite able to.

Here are some ways breastmilk works its medicinal magic:

• Prebiotics - these are the basic food supply for the good bacteria in your baby's gut. There are hundreds of kinds and your breastmilk will pass on to baby exactly what he needs for his developing gut

• Up-to-date antibodies - through kissing your babies soft skin, your baby suckling at the breast, and your own body's natural exposure to infections - detected by the lungs and gut - in the environments you and your baby are in, your breast milk is able to update itself with the antibodies your (more mature) immune system has busily produced in response to the intruders. Your baby's immune system matures and develops through every encounter with infection and ability to evolve and update antibody responses to them. Breastfeeding and sharing your own immune system responses with your baby is a brilliant head start for your little one.

• Gut protection - our gut is a central part of our immune system and breastmilk is particularly good in the early days at strengthening the guts protective barrier so nothing dodgy can enter the system. Colostrum - the first milk you make for your baby - contains factors that line the wall of the gut to trap and destroy bad bacteria before it can enter the system, as well as white blood cells that defend the body against invaders

So, next time your first-born comes home from nursery with a cold and you're worried about your newest little one catching it, remember that your breastmilk is ready to grab that cold by the horns and fight it off! So, ask someone to make you a cup of tea, sit back on the sofa and keep on offering that new-born some boob.