Lactation – What is it and how does it happen?

For nine months, your body has been growing a baby.  Lactation is like the next step in the continuation of your pregnancy.  Even before you give birth, your body has been getting ready to produce the colostrum that your baby will need in the first hours and days after birth.  You may have even noticed the colostrum that you could express from your breasts prior to birth.  Very simply put, lactation is the process of making and secreting milk. In this post, I will give you some information on how milk is produced in your body.

Milk is made and gets stored in the alveoli in your breasts.  The milk then collects and stores in the lactiferous sinuses, which are found underneath the areola of the breast.  When the baby sucks on your nipples, this causes your brain to release a hormone called prolactin.  This is what gets the milk supply going, and helps to maintain it.  At the start of each nursing session, your baby gets the milk (foremilk) that has collected in the lactiferous  sinuses.  This  foremilk is important for relieving your baby’s thirst.  However, in order to gain weight and satisfy your baby’s hunger, your baby needs to get the hindmilk which is higher in fat content.  That is where a second hormone, called oxytocin, comes into play.  The oxytocin is responsible for causing the alveoli to contract, resulting in the hindmilk making its way down and eventually getting to the sinuses in the breast, and then to your baby.  If you notice a tingling or almost electrical-type  sensation in your breasts during let-down of the milk as your baby begins to suck, this is perfectly normal.

Lactation is a very normal, natural process that begins as pregnancy ends.  I have provided you with some information on how lactation occurs in the breasts, which I hope you find helpful in your breastfeeding journey.