MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Breast milk also contains antibodies, which means that babies who are breastfed have passive immunity for longer. The thick yellowish milk (colostrum) produced for the first few days following birth is particularly rich in antibodies.

Detailed explanation-2: -A type of immunity that occurs when a person is given antibodies rather than making them through his or her own immune system. For example, passive immunity occurs when a baby receives a mother’s antibodies through the placenta or breast milk.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mothers convey passive immunity to their newborns through the transplacental transfer of antibodies, hereby providing a shield for the infant from pathogen-mediated diseases (1, 9). The amount of transferred antibodies can differ between individuals and is mainly dependent on maternal antibody concentrations (10, 11).

Detailed explanation-4: -A passive immunity acquired by the fetus or newborn from the mother via the placental transfer of antibodies during pregnancy and via breast milk. This type of immunity is short-lived, lasting the first six months of the newborn’s life.