I talk a lot about humans and kangaroos when supporting new parents. You see one of the few mammals who birth their babies at a more underdeveloped stage than us humans are kangaroos. Kangaroo babies crawl up into mum’s pouch and then latch on to the nipple and pretty much feed 24/7. Human babies, if left to their own devices after birth, crawl up their mum’s chest and then latch on to the breast. They then need to be fed very frequently. But unfortunately we don’t have a pouch. But we have strong arms, I nice curvy body to lie on and we can make a pouch by wrapping fabric to help our arms.
Humans are “carry” mammals. These include all the apes and marsupials. The “carry” mammals birth the most immature infants out of all the mammals. They are completely dependent on their mothers for food, warmth and safety. Our babies are fed frequently and because of this our milk has very low levels of fat and protein.
Other types of mammal are “follow” mammals such as horses and giraffes. These babies can walk soon after birth and feed quite frequently as they can keep up with their mothers. Their milk is a little higher in fat and protein than carry mammalsnas they feed a little less. “Nest” mammals such as dogs and cats leave their babies and return several times a day to feed. This means the milk needs to be higher in fat and protein to help them wait for their parents return. And then there are “cache” animals such as rabbits and deer. They leave their babies in a safe place and return every 12 hours or so to feed them. Consequently their milk is much higher in fat and protein in order to sustain them for long periods.
Many baby books seem to think we are nest animals. We aren’t. Human babies expect to be held constantly and fed frequently. Our milk is the perfect consistency for this. This is normal newborn behaviour.
