Do All Moms Have Milk? The Midwife's Guide with Answers
Introduction
Do all mothers have milk ? This is the classic million-dollar question that is often at the center of the thoughts of pregnant women, especially if they are expecting their first child.
If you want to clarify things on this matter, this article, preceded by an index to give you the opportunity, if you want, to get to the heart of the various facets of the topic by clicking on the titles of the various paragraphs, is just for you!
To complete the information you will find, you can use the video course “Al Profumo di Latte” as a reference point, accessible from the button at the end of the paragraph and curated by Doctor Maria Chiara Alvisi, the midwife of the DrSilva team .
To access content dedicated to the well-being and development of your little one, you can visit me on the Instagram profile @drsilva.com_official .
Physiology of lactation
Let's start by answering the question " Do all mothers have milk? " by specifying that , after the birth of the baby and the placenta , regardless of whether the birth was natural, vaginal or cesarean, a physiological process takes place that is the same in all situations.
To understand its charm, we need to take a small step back to the beginning of pregnancy.
The mammary gland is one of the first areas of the body to respond to the hormonal changes typical of early pregnancy.
It is no coincidence that many women realize they are pregnant even before seeing a positive test because they feel turgid and tense in their breasts.
During pregnancy , however, the breast does not produce milk . The reason? The presence of the placenta .
This prodigious organ, in addition to having the task of nourishing the baby, is also responsible for promoting the synthesis of hormones, progesterone first and foremost , which block lactation.
Once the placenta is born with the afterbirth , the blockage just mentioned is also interrupted.
The breast can then begin to respond to a completely new neuroendocrine mechanism and, in fact, begin to produce milk.
Immediately after birth, the puppy, through sucking on the nipple, comes into contact with colostrum , which comes out in extremely small quantities because the newborn's stomach is very small - and not ready to accommodate large quantities of milk.
What has just been specified is the cause of the physiological loss of weight that occurs after birth.
After 3-4 days on average , colostrum turns into transitional milk. Within about two weeks, the formation of mature milk is completed.
These timeframes, as just mentioned, are considered rough references.
The situation varies from woman to woman and it is important to remember that there are very rare cases in which a delay represents a concrete impediment to breastfeeding.
The physiological process described in this paragraph is only the first step.
In fact, it is necessary to consider some subsequent steps, which are essential for milk production to increase , following the puppy's needs.
What are they? Find out in the next paragraph!
All women have breast milk: the factors that favor its production
IBCLC professional consultant and perinatal educator Paola Negri provided an answer to the question “Do all mothers have milk?” more than ten years ago in the book Tutte le Mamme Hanno il Latte (yes, without the question mark).
This text, aimed not only at new parents, but also at health workers, doctors and educators, aims to reflect on the factors that, over time, have led to the reduction of breastfeeding ( in Italy , on average, less than 50% of mothers continue breastfeeding after their baby is three months old) .
As already mentioned, the physiological process of lactation must be accompanied by some good practices , scientifically proven and fundamental to be able to say , without a question mark, that all mothers have milk.
One of these is skin-to-skin after birth - in English skin to skin - which must start as soon as possible.
As you can read in This article , published in 2019 and signed by experts active at some Swedish academic institutions - for example the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm - has been demonstrated, for decades now, that skin-to-skin contact between the mother and newborn dyad favors the initiation of breastfeeding and the continuation of exclusive breastfeeding.
In the article, it is mentioned This interesting study dates back to 2010 and was conducted by some experts from Loma Linda University (California).
A prospective cohort study based on data from 19 hospitals revealed a correlation between early skin-to-skin contact in the first 3 hours after birth and exclusive breastfeeding during hospital stay.
There are also other factors that allow the neuroendocrine cascade, which is fundamental for the production of breast milk, to be started in the best possible way.
Essential, in addition to skin-to-skin contact, is that the new mother is in an intimate and non-judgmental space.
The answer to the question “Do all mothers have milk?” is therefore yes .
The exceptions are very rare and concern uncommon conditions such as Sheehan's syndrome , ischemic pituitary necrosis caused by a strong hemorrhage during childbirth (damage occurs to the gland at the base of the brain that has the task of producing prolactin).
In physiological clinical pictures, it is crucial that several aspects are treated immediately.
One of the most important concerns the prompt correction of any suction problems, a topic I will discuss in the next paragraph.