Breast milk production: the hormones involved
How does breast milk production occur? How can it be promoted?
To answer these questions it is necessary to understand the physiology of breastfeeding . In fact, knowing how some hormones are involved it is possible to prevent some problems on the subject of breastfeeding and promote it in the best way.
Breast milk production: introduction
Unfortunately, there are still too many false myths and a lack of correct information on the topic of breastfeeding .
Often some mothers find themselves switching completely to formula milk after a few months of giving birth. If this is a personal choice, it's one thing, but if it's associated with problems with breastfeeding and insufficient milk, it's a whole other story. In fact, these new mothers often want to continue breastfeeding and the impossibility of doing so creates sadness and a sense of inadequacy .
In these cases, they should be given proper support from the moment the baby is born because sucking problems could have various causes. For further information, I recommend reading my article “ Breastfeeding: Sucking Problems ”.
If these problems are not related to muscle tension in the baby, in most cases they could be prevented and corrected by knowing the physiology of breast milk production .
The concept behind this physiology is that the more the newborn stimulates the breast through sucking , the more milk the breast will produce. All this thanks to some hormones: discover them in detail in the next chapters!
Oxytocin: protagonist of breast milk production
When we talk about oxytocin, we immediately think of labor and induction of labor.
Of course, this hormone is undoubtedly linked to this phase of pregnancy, but it is also the protagonist of the production of breast milk.
Oxytocin is produced by the pituitary gland and has several functions.
In the postpartum period
This hormone promotes contractions in the uterus to return it to its pre-pregnancy size and to reduce blood loss after childbirth.
In breastfeeding
Oxytocin causes the contraction and activation of the milk ducts that carry milk to the nipple.
If you have breastfed or are breastfeeding, you will surely have felt a certain “tingling” when the milk is about to arrive, whether it is called for by the newborn or if it comes out spontaneously.
In breastfeeding, a good oxytocin reflex is important and can be promoted by contact and the mother-child relationship and by effective sucking. On the contrary, stress, anxiety, separation from the child and the consumption of alcohol and nicotine are inhibitors of this hormone.
Prolactin to regulate
Prolactin is the hormone responsible for regulating the amount of breast milk. The pituitary gland secretes prolactin during breastfeeding. Therefore, the amount of this hormone is directly proportional to the amount of breast milk produced.
In fact, a good presence of prolactin allows the breast to fill more quickly and to the extent necessary for the next feeding.
To promote this hormone, the advice is to feed the newborn frequently based on their request.
FIL: the lactation inhibitor
FIL, or feedback inhibitor of lactation , is a protein in breast milk that regulates production, but in the opposite way to prolactin, that is, by decreasing production .
The main purpose of this protein is to prevent the onset of mastitis and engorgement .
Therefore, its quantity is inversely proportional to production: the more FIL is present in the mother's body, the less milk is produced.
When does your concentration increase?
When the baby is attached at very long intervals, that is, breastfeeding by the hour and not on demand.
How long does it take for breasts to fill up again?
After about an hour from the end of the feeding , the breast will have been able to produce a quantity of milk to fill to about 60/70% of its volume . This, however, only if it works at full capacity.