**LACTATION**
Lactation is the process of producing breast milk in mammals.
We all have breast both sexes. The male breast is rudimentary and do not produce milk but the female breast undergoes two phases:
- The active phase (produces milk) and
- The inactive phase (does not produce milk)
The active phase begins when a woman is pregnant while the inactive phase begins when she is not pregnant.
Note: At times there are conditions where milk is ejected during the inactive phase and in rudimentary breast of male. This condition is known as Galactorrhea.
MILK PRODUCTION
Production of Breast milk begins during Pregnancy. Breast changes are caused by four main hormones. These hormones cause the ducts and glandular tissue (alveoli) to grow and increase in size. Your breasts start to make the first milk, colostrum, in the second trimester(6 months). Colostrum is thick and clear to yellow in color. Once a baby and the placenta are delivered, your body starts to make more milk. Over the next few days, the amount of milk your breasts make will increase and the color will change to appear more watery and white.
The complex physiology of breastfeeding includes a delicate balance of hormones.
There are four hormones that help your breasts make milk:
estrogen,
progesterone,
prolactin and
oxytocin.
With a feedback mechanism, your body adjust to the hormones that will produce breast milk.
Hormone Levels of Lactation
Estrogen and Progesterone prepare your breasts to make milk. They are released by the placenta during pregnancy. They have two major roles. They increase the size and number of milk ducts in your breasts. They also keep your body from making large amounts of breast milk until after your baby is born. Once your baby is born and the placenta is delivered, these hormones decrease. This decrease signals your body that it is time to make milk.
Prolactinhelps your breasts make milk. After the birth of your baby, prolactin levels increase. Every time you breastfeed or pump, your body releases prolactin. With each release, your body makes and stores more milk in the breast alveoli. If the level of this hormone gets too low, your milk supply will decrease. This is why it is important to breastfeed or pump right after delivery and then at regular time frames.
Note: when there is an imbalance in prolactin released from the brain galactorrhea might occur.
Oxytocin releases milk from your breasts. When your baby (or breast pump) begins to suck and draw your nipple into her mouth, this hormone is released. This release causes milk to be squeezed out of the alveoli, into the ducts and out of your nipple, into your baby’s mouth. This process is called letdown or milk ejection reflex (MER).
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