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HOW THE BREASTS MAKE AND DELIVER MILK
The lactation system inside your breasts resemble a tree. The milk glands (the leaves) are
grapelike clusters of cells high up in the breast that make milk. Milk travels from these
glands down through the milk ducts (the branches). These ducts then widen beneath the
areola (the dark area surrounding the nipple), forming milk sinuses (the tree trunk), which
then empties into the approximately twenty openings in your nipple (like the channels going
down to the roots of the tree). These milk sinuses are located beneath your areola.
To empty these milk sinuses effectively, your baby's gums must be positioned over them so
that baby's jaws compress the sinuses where the milk is pooled. If baby sucks only on your
nipple, only a little milk will be drawn out, and your nipple will be irritated unnecessarily.
Remember the golden rule of effective latch-on: Babies suck on areolas, not nipples. Baby
must have enough of your areolas in her mouth to get the milk
out.
Your baby's sucking stimulates nerves in your nipple that send messages to the pituitary
gland in you brain to secrete the hormone prolactin. Prolactin surges encourage
continued milk production, which goes on around the clock. As your baby continues
sucking, the sensors in your nipple signal the pituitary gland to secrete another hormone, oxytocin. This hormone causes the elastic tissue around each of the many milk glands
to contract, squeezing a large supply of milk through the milk ducts into the sinuses and out
the nipple. This is called the milk ejection reflux , or MER. The milk may come
out so fast that it leaks out the side of your baby's mouth. If you were pumping or expressing
by hand, you would see the milk spray out in every direction.
The first milk your baby receives at each feeding is the foremilk, which is thin like skim
milk because of low fat content. As baby continues to suck, more oxytocin brings on phase
two, squeezing out the later milk (called hindmilk), which is much higher in fat and slightly
higher in protein and, therefore, helps baby gain weight and helps baby's tummy feel full.
Consider this creamier hindmilk "grow milk."
The more milk that is removed from your breasts, the more milk your body makes to replace
it. Frequent removal of milk from your breasts by your baby or by a pump will sti9mulate
your body to produce more milk. When your baby breastfeeds less, the body responds by
cutting back on milk production. This supply and demand system is how mothers produce enough milk for twins or
even triplets.
AskDrSears.com is intended to help parents become better informed consumers
of health care. The information presented in this site gives general advice
on parenting and health care. Always consult your doctor for your individual
needs.
