Why Is My Breast Milk a Different Color?

The Color of Your Breast Milk May Change for a Number of Different Reasons.

Just when you think you have seen it all, going through 9 months of pregnancy and a whirlwind delivery, you express one day and low and behold – your milk is blue!

If you pay close attention to your pumped breast milk, you might notice that it changes in color slightly.  It might even seem to change in consistency. This is all completely normal and just shows how incredibly complex and intuitive our breast milk is. 

The color of your breast milk is also sometimes dependent on the food you are eating.  Different foods, medications, and dyes can change the color of your milk.  This change in color is completely harmless.

Here is a simple breakdown of what might be causing your breast milk to be a variety of colors:

Blue or Clear Milk

Blueish or clear milk often seems watery in consistency. This is the fore-milk which is the first bit of milk that flows when you start pumping or nursing. It is thinner and has lower fat content than the thicker, creamier milk at the end of a nursing or pumping session.

Yellow Milk

There are a couple of reasons you might have milk with a yellow hue. It might be colostrum, which is the highly-concentrated and incredibly nutritious first milk your produce after giving birth. Colostrum is thick and has a yellow color, however, this only stays for a few days until your milk comes in properly.

Another reason your milk might be yellow is that you are eating a diet high in beta-carotene. Carrots, sweet potato, and squash are all vegetables rich in the vitamin beta-carotene. A high intake of these could cause yellow or slightly orange breast milk.

Your breast milk might also turn slightly yellow if it is frozen.

Green Milk

Green breast milk might be a result of you having an increased diet of green vegetables. The culprits are usually spinach, kale, and seaweed. Outside of vegetables, food dyes such as those found in Gatorade can also turn your breast milk green or other colors!

Pink or Red Milk

Pink or red milk can also seem rust-tinged at times. Once again, this can be caused by a few different factors.

You might have had some food, snacks or drinks with food dyes such as soda or Jell-O, or eaten items that are naturally red or pink like beetroot.

The red or pink in your breast milk might also be from a small presence of blood in your milk. This seems quite scary, but it isn’t too much of a bad thing. It is usually caused by a small rupture of a blood capillary or those pesky cracked nipples. Blood in your milk is not harmful to your baby and is fine for them to drink. However, just keep an eye on the amount and call your doctor if you have any concerns.

If pumping is causing cracked nipples, which then leads to blood in your milk, you might want to try BeauGen breast cushions to make pumping a little easier on your already sensitive nipples.

Multi-Colored Milk

As surprising as it might be, different colored milk is perfectly normal. Keep a check on your milk and pay attention to the changes. If there is anything that does concern you, have a chat with your doctor. 

Remember that motherhood is full of surprises, and colored milk is one of them!