How to Produce and Store Breast Milk?
Breasts secrete milk, a nature’s way of feeding the newborn. It is natural, instantly available and a complete food.
It is safe, inexpensive, right in composition and temperature, easily digestible and contains antibodies which protect the baby against infection and allergies.
Close contact of the baby with the mother while feeding, creates security, and comfort for the child and fulfilment for the mother. Breast-feeding can thus be a mutually satisfying emotional experience. To many women, not having breast-fed their babies is a great disappointment.
Milk is produced by the cells lining the alveoli in the breast gland. During the course of pregnancy, hormones from the ovary and placenta, inhibit milk production. After delivery, these hormones rapidly decrease and when the baby suckles, the nerves in the nipple which are stimulated, send impulses and stimulate the pituitary gland (anterior pituitary) situated in the brain to release a hormone called prolactin in the blood which in turn stimulates cells to produce milk. Another hormone from the pituitary (posterior pituitary) called oxytocin is also secreted in the blood as the nipple is stimulated by suckling, which makes the contractile cells around the gland contract and squeeze milk from the cells into the milk ducts. It is called “let down reflex”. The more the breast is sucked, the more hormones and therefore, milk are produced. Suckling, therefore, is the natural stimulant fur milk production.
The dilated portion of milk ducts behind the areola before ending into the nipple act as reservoirs where milk is stored. The muscles in the nipple and under the areola prevent overflow. These muscles relax when the baby suckles; and allow the milk to flow from the reservoirs into the baby’s mouth. Milk can also be expressed manually.
A thin yellow milk called Colostrum, is produced for the first two days. It is nutritious, rich in protein, minerals and vitamins and contains maximum antibodies which protect baby from infection and facilitate the passage of meconium (the greenish black viscid stools of the newborn). Milk starts flowing from the third or fourth day and breasts feel full with the “come in” of the milk.
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Factors Guiding The Flow Of Milk
Sight, smell or the sound of the baby, conditioning due to feeding time and nipple stimulation (suckling), initiate milk secretion. Some women experience a pleasant tingling feeling in the breast during milk flow. The new born should stay with the mother.
There is always enough milk to meet the baby’s requirement. The average milk yield is approximately 700 to 1100 ml. in 24 hours for the first six months. The more baby demands milk and suckles, the more milk is produced. The milk supply can be thus adjusted to the needs of the baby. Overdistended breasts may sometimes leak. It may be due to unexpected “let down reflex”.
It is better to feed the baby when he “demands” rather than feed at a fixed time. It avoids overdistension of breasts. Weight gain is an indicator that the baby is getting adequate breast-feed. If there are no wet nappies, tight clothing or-any other reason for his crying, the baby is probably hungry. He must be breast-fed. As the baby grows, feeds become fewer and at regular intervals.