Woman says she has pink ‘strawberry’ breast milk in viral TikTok - and it’s perfectly normal

A TikTok user has gone viral after sharing a video of her pink-colored breast milk.

Jo Johnson Overby, 28, held up two bags of breast milk for comparison in a video titled ‘Strawberry Milk’.

“Nobody told me that whenever I had a baby, that if I chose to breastfeed my milk would come in an array of colors,” she said in the TikTok. The mom shows a bag of white breast milk, calling it “the color you’d expect.” She then shows a bag of pink-tinged breast milk, and rhetorically asks her baby why.

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“Do you really want to know?” Johnson Overby asks her audience. “Blood. It’s blood milk.”

The TikTok has garnered over 13 million views since being posted, with many moms saying that they’ve experienced the same thing.

Breast milk can turn pink when blood from cracked nipples mixes into the milk. It’s perfectly safe for babies to drink. Johnson Overby said she was alarmed the first time it happened, and questioned whether she needed to dump it out, or if something was wrong medically.

Rachel Leibson, a nurse coordinator for Lactation Services at NYU Langone Health, told TODAY Parents that changes in breast milk color are completely normal.

“Pink or light red milk is safe to feed your baby. Bright red milk caused by an active bleed is also safe, but it’s difficult to digest and might cause your baby to throw up,” Leibson explained. Though normal, breastfeeding moms should always check in with their doctor or lactation consultant just to be safe.