Transitional Breast Milk: What Is It & When Does It Begin?

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Transitional breast milk is the milk your body produces in the first few days after childbirth. In the first two weeks after delivery, your breast milk transitions through three stages or has three breast milk types — interim (colostrum), transitional, and mature milk. The thick, yellowish-colored, nutrient-rich milk that your breast produces immediately after delivery is called colostrum.

Then, gradually, more plentiful milk called transitional milk comes. Your breasts produce transitional milk for approximately two weeks since birth (1). After that, the breast milk changes into mature milk, which nourishes your baby as long as you choose to breastfeed.

Keep reading to know more about transitional milk’s nutritional composition and benefits for the baby with tips on storing it.

When Does The Transitional Breast Milk Phase Begin?

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The second phase of milk or transitional milk is produced approximately two to five days after your baby’s birth (2). As the body begins breast milk production for transitional milk, you may notice a fuller and firmer breasts.

Things to know

During the initial weeks of breastfeeding, release of the hormone oxytocin may lead to cramping or “afterpains” in your uterus. It is important to relax and rest to maintain and enhance milk production (2).

How Does Transitional Breast Milk Look Like?

The transitional milk has a creamy consistency and can range from bluish-white to creamy yellow (3). Transitional milk that follows colostrum may be slightly yellow before turning to a shade of blue-white. Bluer milk indicates a higher water content. The color of the milk could become whiter as your breasts begin to produce mature milk. Human milk can be many colors depending on what you eat, the medications you’re taking, and how long it’s been since the last feeding.

How Much Transitional Breast Milk Does Your Body Make?

There is no fixed quantity of transitional milk, and it could vary from one mother to another. A study noted that mothers could produce approximately 500 grams per day of transitional milk from day five since the baby’s birth. However, it may not be the same for all women. Nevertheless, the volume of transitional milk produced is higher than colostrum (4).

Nutritional Value Of Transitional Breast Milk

Transitional milk contains more calories than colostrum, which contains a high concentration of protein and antibodies. The concentration of breast milk antibodies or immunoglobulins, specifically IgA IgA and IgM, varies in different stages of lactation. IgA is the predominant immunoglobulin in breast milk at any stage of lactation. Transitional milk also has the highest amount of IgA. However, it also has the highest IgM and some IgG.

Immunoglobulin proportions in colostrum, transitional, and mature breast milk

The amount of protein and immune factors, such as antibodies in transitional milk decreases slightly as breast milk composition changes from colostrum to transitional milk, but the amount of fat, sugar, and calories increases, benefiting infant nutrition during the developmental phase.
Breast milk typically contains several bioactive molecules that protect against inflammation and infections. However, the milk subjected to heat treatment or freeze-thaw cycles may not contain the same bioactive molecules as before (5).

Can You Store Transitional Milk?

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Yes, you can store transitional milk. When it comes to storing transitional milk, it is always better to adhere to CDC guidelines to maintain the safety and quality of the expressed or pumped milk. The storage guideline is applicable for all the stages of milk (6).

There are various sources that provide information on how long breast milk can be stored at room temperature, in the refrigerator, and the freezer. Before beginning the process, it is always a good idea to consult with your doctor or a lactation counselor (5).

Breast Engorgement During the Transitional Milk Phase

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Breast engorgement is when milk transitions from colostrum to transitional milk as extra blood and fluid fills the breast to help support making milk. Engorgement also occurs when the breast produces too much milk, causing the breast to become hard, swollen, and painful. Breast engorgement is a common experience that a breastfeeding mother can go through, especially during the transitional breast milk phase.

The breast produces only a small amount of colostrum milk at first, and the transitional milk suddenly increases during the transitional milk phase, causing breast engorgement. A sudden change in feeding schedule, such as skipping a feed or pumping session, can also result in breast engorgement (7).

A mother and blogger reports her experience of breast engorgement, and when she was nursing her son, “Baby G (the baby) would latch on and moments later painfully rip away, fussing and sometimes screaming. This would continue on and off for the entire duration of the feeding. He would splutter, cough, and gag, and he often would pull away during let-downs and get milk sprayed all over his face. I would scramble to get a burp rag to stop the flow while simultaneously holding a wriggling, whining baby. If I wasn’t fast enough, milk would spray into his open mouth, causing him to cough and splutter some more.

“I thought perhaps it was possible that I was producing more milk than my boy needed – I did have engorged breasts if I didn’t nurse soon enough, and I leaked through my nursing pads frequently. Though I doubted that hyperlactation was the cause of my problems, I decided to stop pumping for a few days to see if anything changed, and all of our problems were magically gone (i).”

You should breastfeed your baby whenever the baby shows signs of hunger, every one to three hours, to ensure an easy and trouble-free supply. If you have any questions about breast milk or breastfeeding, please speak with your doctor or a lactation consultant.

Quick tip

If the baby exhibits difficulty latching to the fuller breasts, express a little milk to soften the areola and help your baby latch easily (2).

Infographic: Transitional Breast Milk Vs. Mature Breast Milk

Transitional breast milk, as the name suggests, is the milk produced by a new mother after colostrum and before the emergence of mature breast milk. But, how different is transitional breast milk from mature breast milk? Find out in this infographic below.

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

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Julie MatheneyMS, CCC-SLP/CLEC/IBCLC

Julie Matheney did her Master's degree in speech-language pathology and has worked on feeding and swallowing disorders for over a decade. As part of a hospital-based rehabilitation team, she works on helping children to feed and swallow.

Read full bio of Julie Matheney

Swati PatwalM.Sc. (Food & Nutrition), MBA

Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist, a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a toddler mom with more than a decade of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. She started her career as a CSR project coordinator for a healthy eating and active lifestyle project catering to school children.

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Rohit GarooBSc, MBA

Rohit Garoo is a writer-turned-editor with over 9 years of experience in content writing, editing, and content marketing. He did his bachelors in Science at St. Xavier's College, Hyderabad, and masters in Business Administration at Osmania University.

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Anindita GhatakB.Tech

Anindita Ghatak holds a B.Tech degree in Biotechnology from Amity University, Kolkata. During the course of her studies, she has worked on different research projects in the fields of Microbiology and Bioinformatics. Anindita has over three years of experience writing medical articles for journals.

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