Everything You Need to Know About Breast Milk Color
What Causes Yellow Breast Milk?
There are several reasons your breast milk may be yellow.2 If you just started breastfeeding, you will likely be secreting fluid which is thick and yellow in color (called colostrum). Eating foods high in beta-carotene—such as carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes— can also alter the hue of your milk. Your milk may also change shades when frozen. Sometimes, freezing breast milk can turn it slightly yellow.
What Makes Breast Milk White?
When your milk has transitioned from colostrum and becomes mature—or reached the final stage of milk production—it will (in most cases) take on a whitish hue. "Mature milk is usually white, light yellow, or has a blue tinge," Shields says. "Sometimes, it takes on the appearance of skim milk. However, it's important to note that while mature milk is
typically white, it can change colors depending on your diet and from the foods you eat. Frozen breast milk may appear yellow since it separates and can even look layered."
Can Breast Milk Be Green—or Even Blue?
While blue breast milk is caused by a different set of circumstances than green breast milk, neither is cause for concern.
- Blue breast milk is usually tinged as such because it is mature milk, or foremilk, which is thinner and contains less fat than its stark white counterpart, hindmilk. Your baby drinks foremilk at the start of the feeding and hindmilk at the end of it.3
- Green breast milk gets its color from dark green vegetables, like
