Breast milk. Liquid gold. Double lattes. Whatever you call it, this magical fairy juice has many uses beyond nourishing our babies.

Here is a list of things that you can use breast milk for beyond breastfeeding your child.

(NOTE: THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE AND I AM NOT A DOCTOR. CONSULT A PHYSICIAN FOR YOUR MEDICAL NEEDS! SOME OF THIS INFORMATION HAS SOURCES, BUT MOST IS ANECDOTAL AND SHARED FROM MOTHERS AROUND THE WORLD SINCE THE HISTORY OF FOREVER.)

1. Prevents and treats diaper rash.

   Put some breast milk on the affected area and allow to air dry. If your babe is prone to diaper rash, you can put some breast milk on after every change. Airing out a baby’s bottom is definitely the best way to clear up a rash. Everyone loves naked time (especially when they pee on the couch)!

2. Treats skin rashes and eczema.

   I’ve used my own breast milk on my skin. I have a form of dermatitis and it is very soothing and relieving. Avoiding scents and eating wholesome foods also helps with this. You can use it for chicken pox, poison ivy, adult acne, cradle cap and so on.

3. Treats conjunctivitis.

   Once upon a time, myself, my 3.5 year old, and my newborn baby all had pink eye. It was the worst ever. Breast milk helped relieve the constant itching and burning that felt like tiny shards of glass tumbling around in our eyeballs. We usually don’t use a lot of medicines (or any, if we can avoid it), but desperate times call for desperate measures, and we used breast milk as well as drops and ointment to clear it up.

4. Soothes a sore throat.

   Gargling with breast milk can soothe a sore throat because it has lots of antibodies and other magical properties. Stop making that face! It’s just milk produced by humans FOR humans!

5. Prevents illness in adults that were breastfed and prevents illness in the breastfeeding mother.

   Research shows that breastfeeding can provide lifetime protection from a variety of illnesses like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer, and so on. And the breastfeeding mother reduces her risk of breast and ovarian cancer, anemia, and stabilizes the progress of endometriosis.

6. A great addition to edibles.

   No, not that kind. Make breast milk popsicles (which would be totally awesome for sore throat relief). You could make cookies. You could make ice cream and butter… Mooo! (Just kidding, it would be way better than cow’s milk.) You could make maple carmelized pumpkin encrusted cheese from mother’s milk. Maybe a tasty Alfredo or coffee creamer?

7. Used for luxuries like milk baths.

   Do you have some milk that has been thawing for too long or has expired and you would rather cry for 40 days then pour that gold down the drain? Never fear, use it for a little bit of luxury! You can pour it into a bath and take a soothing milk bath. It is great for skin and anyone partaking in said bath would reap many benefits.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of uses for breast milk beyond breastfeeding, but I hope it gives you some inspiration next time you are faced with glass shards in your eyes, a yellow mask clinging to your baby’s scalp (or eyebrows, like my kid), or a need for treating out of town guests to some (very) local cuisine.

Cheers!

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