How can a woman's body make breast milk?

Contents:

Medical Video: Breastfeeding

The mother's body can naturally produce milk which contains many important nutrients. Yes, breast milk is the most perfect food for babies. There is no food that can match the perfection of breast milk. However, do you know how breast milk is made in the mother's body? Let's look at the following review.

Production of breast milk has begun in the mother's body since pregnancy

The mother's body has begun to prepare itself to produce breast milk starting from the time of pregnancy. When you are pregnant, you may realize that your breasts are getting bigger so you have to buy a bigger size bra. This happens because the glands in the breast to make breast milk have begun to develop since the first trimester of pregnancy. The hormones that appear during pregnancy cause milk ducts to develop in size and quantity.

READ ALSO: 8 Surprising Facts About Breasts You Don't Know

The nipples are more prominent and increase in size. In addition, the color of the nipple and areola (the area around the nipple) also becomes darker. Experts suspect that the color changes in the nipples and areola aim to help the baby see which one to suck, but there is no evidence to support this.

When all these changes have begun to occur, it means that your body is preparing to produce milk. This milk duct system is generally well developed during the second trimester. So, if you give birth to a premature baby, you can already give it breast milk.

Breast milk production when the baby is born

Your body can start producing full milk within 48-96 hours after giving birth. When the baby's placenta or placenta is out of your body, the hormones estrogen and progesterone decrease. This then stimulates the prolactin hormone level to increase. The hormone prolactin is a hormone that stimulates your body to make milk.

The prolactin hormone encourages small sacs to produce milk called alveoli to extract protein, sugar, and fat from the mother's blood. All of these ingredients are then used to make breast milk. The tissues surrounding the alveoli then squeeze the gland and push the milk out of the mother's breast.

READ ALSO: Does Small Breast Size Affect Breast Milk Production?

On the other hand, baby's mouth suction also stimulates milk production in the mother's body. How to? Your nipples contain many nerves, so that when the baby's mouth sucks on the nipple, this is a signal for the mother's body. Baby suction will stimulate the pituitary gland in the mother's brain to release the hormone oxytocin and prolactin into the bloodstream.

  • The prolactin hormone functions to make milk from the mother's bloodstream
  • The hormone oxytocin causes the cells around the breast milk to push the milk out

All of these processes are called let-down reflex. When it happened let-down reflex, You might experience the following:

  • Active babies suck breast and swallow milk (baby is satisfied after breastfeeding)
  • Breast milk can drip from the other breast while you are breastfeeding the baby
  • You may feel tingling in your breast or breast feels very full after the first week of breastfeeding
  • You may feel thirsty

Cooperation between mother and baby is needed in producing milk

So, not only is the mother's body trying to make milk, baby suction is also needed to make milk. This is a reciprocal process between mother and baby. Hormones in the mother's body to make milk are also stimulated by the release of the baby's mouth suction in the mother's breast. Therefore, the more and more often the baby suckles, the more milk the mother's body can produce. That's why babies who rarely suckle can cause milk production to decrease.

READ ALSO: A flood of breast milk: Is it normal if the milk production is too abundant?

When the flow of milk increases in the early days of breastfeeding, maybe you feel something uncomfortable in your breast. It's okay because this is normal. Increased contraction of alveoli to make milk from the mother's bloodstream can cause the mother to feel tingling, burning sensation, or prickling in the breast.

How can a woman's body make breast milk?
Rated 5/5 based on 2098 reviews
💖 show ads