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The immune system is the body's natural defenses against illness that can be caused by foreign micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
The immune system consists of special cells called immunoglobulins. These cells react to fight infection by bacteria or viruses and travel to the site of the infection to kill the disease-causing microorganisms.
Each time the immune system fights off an infection it creates antibodies. These stay in our blood stream and are ready to fight off similar bacteria if they try to infect us again. This is what gives us our immunity.
When a baby is born, it has certain antibody-like proteins called immunoglobulins, which it has received through the placenta. Another very important one is received from its mother after it is born.
This immunoglobulin is called IgA and is present in the colostrum, the first part of mother's milk. It places itself on the mucus membranes of the baby's alimentary canal in order to help fight the bacteria that can cause gastroenteritis.
Babies do not start to produce their own IgA until around 6 months of age. By their first birthday they have between 15-17% of their adult level.
Breastfeeding is vital to naturally strengthen a baby's immune system because it contains many protective factors including antibodies, immune cells, nucleotides and oligosaccharides (prebiotics), and is the perfect start for a new baby
The added benefit of colostrum in breastmilk is that it is very high in proteins and minerals and also antibodies to protect the baby against infections and kick-start the immune system.
In the mature immune system, yes they do. This is the principle upon which many immunisations work whereby a small amount of the disease-causing organism is introduced to enable the body to create protective anti-bodies, which remain in the blood stream.
The immunisations that babies receive during their first few months will help them fight a range of baby illnesses. However it makes sense to try to do everything possible to prevent babies getting these illnesses, especially those that can cause gastroenteritis.
Therefore it is a good thing to give the extra protection that their immune system cannot provide until they are older and stronger.
A baby's immune system will develop across the first 12 months of life, but critically, it is at its weakest at around 6 months of age. This is the period between when the protection passed on from their mother starts to decrease and they are able to develop their own immunity.
This explains why it is critical that everything baby puts into their mouth is sterilised for at least the first 12 months.
While a completely sterile environment is not necessarily recommended or practical, it is important to take great care not to expose babies to the harmful bacteria that can cause problems such as gastroenteritis and thrush, as they will tend to have a more serious effect on babies than adults.
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