Are you new to breastfeeding, and you are wondering, does breast milk stain clothes?
Although breastfeeding is a natural procedure, many new parents find it to be difficult. You and your newborn child have a lot to learn about breastfeeding.
So you just had a baby, and everything is going great.
Doctors recommend that you breastfeed exclusively for a few months so that the baby can get all the necessary nutrients from the milk and build up their immunity.
While this is all well and good, you also have to consider the impact this has on other things, especially your clothes.
So does breast milk stain clothes, and what can you do about it? Keep reading to find out what you need to know.
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Does breast milk stain clothes
Breastfeeding is bonding time between mother and baby.
It is an essential part of child care and has many benefits for both mother and child.
However, breast milk definitely stains clothes, which can be quite embarrassing, especially when you’re out in public.
It can be worse or better depending on the type of fabric material you’re wearing and the type of breast milk your body is producing at the time.
The worst culprit for staining your clothes is colostrum, a gold-colored, sticky type of breast milk produced a few days after giving birth.
Breast milk consists of lots of sugar, water, protein, and antibodies.
Its stickiness makes it quite challenging to get the stain off your clothes.
Regular breast milk will also leave a visible stain when it dries up but is relatively easy to get rid of.
How to get rid of breast milk stains on clothes
Breast milk stains are normal and should never give you any added stress.
Some of the ways you can use to get your clothes clean and stain-free include:
Rinse in cold water
Breast milk stains get worse and more difficult to remove the longer they stay on your clothes.
It is why you should rinse out your shirts and bras as soon as possible once you notice a stain.
Coldwater is the best option for this as using hot water will only cook the protein in the milk and make the stain almost impossible to get rid of.
Use an enzyme-based detergent
Breast milk contains a lot of protein, and an enzyme-based detergent will break down the stain quickly.
Just apply the detergent to the stained clothes and leave it for at least 15 minutes for the reaction to occur.
After that, you can wash the clothes as you usually would.
There are many enzyme-based detergents in the market, but you should go for any that has protease as part of the ingredients.
Get some oxygen bleach
For milk stains that have set in for some time, an oxygen bleach solution is the best way to go about it.
Oxygen bleach has no chlorine and is completely safe for you to use on your clothes.
It is usually mixed with hot water to activate it, but you should then add it to more cold water when it comes to breast milk stains.
Once you create this solution, you can soak your clothes overnight to get rid of the stains.
After that, you can simply wash your clothes the usual way.
Does breast milk stain clothes? Yes, it does.
Breast milk stains on your clothes are usually unexpected, and quite a bother for mothers.
They can make you smell, as well as look dirty and unkempt.
The good news is that there are various ways to make sure that the stains aren’t permanent and your clothes are still okay.
In addition, make sure that you also check the cleaning instructions for your clothes so that you don’t make any mistakes.
Related Post: Why Is Breastfeeding So Hard? 3 Secret Feeding Hacks
Iesha is a loving mother of 2 beautiful children. She’s an active parent who enjoys indoor and outdoor adventures with her family. Her mission is to share practical and realistic parenting advice to help the parenting community becoming stronger.
