Breastfeeding mum shocked to discover her milk had turned PINK

A breastfeeding mother said she "nearly had a heart attack" when she saw that her breast milk had turned bright pink - but there was a reassuring explanation.

According to the Daily Mail, the woman was feeding her 16-month-old when the little girl began to act unusually, asking for "more, more!" and she noticed that her milk was an alarming shade of pink.

She panicked - but then realised that the milk had turned the unusual colour because she had eaten a salad sandwich containing beetroot, a juice containing the purple vegetable and then finished off the remaining beetroot from tin she had used later as a snack. 

Not only did it change the colour of her breast milk, but it also turned her and her daughter's urine pink too.  

She made the discovery when her infant daughter started to pull at her mother's nipple, asking for "more, more!"

It was unusual behaviour, so the woman unlatched her daughter, and bright pink milk squirted out.

In fact, the anonymous mother said it made her milk taste sweeter, which is why her child was demanding more of it.

The anonymous woman posted a picture of a bottle containing her bright pink breast milk on the Breastfeeders in Australia Facebook group earlier this week. 

Some of the other mothers on the group were concerned that blood may have caused her breast milk to turn pink. 

• Read more: Mum who naps while toddler is left unattended divides the internet

But the woman reassured them that the colour was because, during the course of the day, she had eaten a salad sandwich containing beetroot, a fresh juice containing the purple vegetable, as well as extra beetroot when she had finished off the tin of beetroot as a snack later on.

Not only had it made her breast milk turn pink, but her and her daughter's urine was the same shade. 

She initially panicked and expressed some into a cup so she could have a proper look at it.

It was then that she realised her beetroot-heavy lunch and juice was to blame for the alarming colour.

She captioned the photo on Facebook: "Sooooo I ate A LOT of beetroot today and this was the end result ...

"Safe to say I nearly had a heart attack until I realised."

• Read more: Pregnant woman gets slammed after sharing her list of rules family must follow when they visit her newborn baby

Some of the mothers were concerned that the milk may not be safe for the baby to drink.

But Australian Breastfeeding Association states on its website: "The colour of breastmilk varies. Colostrum is typically yellowish and mature breastmilk is typically bluish-white. 

"However, there is a wide range of normal when it comes to the colour of breastmilk. Most mothers are unaware of the colour of their breastmilk unless they express."

• Read more: This is what your star sign reveals about your parenting style

The website also explains that foods such as beetroot, carrots, squash, pumpkin, leafy greens and seaweed and other foods with concentrated colour are known to affect the colour of breastmilk.

It means that the milk is still safe for the baby to drink.

This article was first published on Daily Mail and is republished here with permission.