Colostrum

During the first three days the breasts produce light, yellow-coloured colostrum. It is a perfect food for the first days of your baby's life. It contains water, protein and minerals in just the right proportion to take care of all your baby's nutritional needs. Colostrum also contains valuable antibodies which protect your baby against diseases to which you have developed a resistance such as polio and influenza. Besides all that it contains a laxative which gets your newborn baby's bowels in motion. by Dr Miriam Stoppard

Hence, even if one cannot or does not want to breastfeed for long, she should at least nurse her baby for the first couple of days so that baby could get the precious colostrum.