How Is Breast Milk Produced?

Have you ever asked yourself how breast milk is produced?

The birth of a child is a human marvel. Conception, pregnancy and birth are miracles in themselves.

But there is another miracle that occurs in a woman’s body after her baby is born: She begins to produce milk.

Breasts are glands in the feminine body that consist mainly of adipose tissue. Within this tissue, all the breast milk that a baby needs is produced.

How is breast milk produced?

This source of nutrition comes from specific cells called alveoli. The milk flows through the milk ducts, called lactiferous ducts, towards the breast, where they are stored.

In particular, the milk is stored just behind the areola – the dark pigmented area around the nipple.

Breastfeeding has nothing to do with the size of a woman’s breasts or the size of her nipples.

Size usually has to do with hereditary factors that determine the number of sebaceous glands that a woman has.

In addition, women’s breasts are enlarged during pregnancy, and even more so during breastfeeding.

What happens inside a woman’s breasts?

The important changes that occur inside a woman’s breasts are not visible to the naked eye.

The development of the placenta interrupts the release of several substances, such as progesterone and estrogen.

The purpose of these drugs is to stimulate the entire biological system of the mother. This allows breastfeeding.

Among glandular tissue and a large number of fat cells in the breasts, there is a network of channels. These breast ducts increase both in number and in size due to hormones released during pregnancy.

Within this network, the channels can be divided into smaller channels. At the end of these smaller channels, comparable to a bunch of grapes, are the alveoli.

These alveoli are all taken from the mother’s blood needed to produce milk. The mother’s blood supplies sugars, fats and proteins.

Once breast milk is produced, a network of small muscles pushes this natural product toward the smaller channels.

These same small muscles are responsible for squeezing the glands to produce the secretion of breast milk.

This complex canal system directs the breast milk towards a larger canal where it is stored.

When is breast milk produced?

Experts assure us that the network of channels described above develops in the third trimester of pregnancy. This makes it possible to care for your baby even in case of premature birth.

Between two and four days after birth, milk production grows significantly.

When a woman’s body prepares for breastfeeding, a larger amount of blood is sent to the inside of the alveoli. This explains why women’s breasts become firmer and larger.

The swelling of blood vessels in the breasts together but an abundant milk supply, makes new mothers feel pain and pressure.

However, frequent breastfeeding in the first days of a newborn baby’s life will help relieve these symptoms.

Colostrum

During the first phase of breastfeeding, women’s breasts secrete colostrum. This yellowish pasty substance has a very low fat content and is very high in protein. This is a baby’s source of nourishment during the first days after birth.

The content of colostrum helps the newborn pass his first stool and helps prevent jaundice. In addition, colostrum is a virtual powerhouse of immune cells and antibodies that protect the baby from disease.

There are women who are already experiencing secretion of colostrum in the last weeks of pregnancy. In fact, some women even start producing colostrum as early as their second trimester.

Colostrum, also known as the “first milk”, is formed as the alveoli begin to dissolve and flow. The result is a highly digestible fluid that reaches the nipples via the milk ducts.

When a baby sucks the nipple, the mother’s pituitary gland is stimulated. As a result, the gland releases oxytocin and prolactin. Oxytocin is responsible for causing the breasts to shrink.

When a woman is breastfeeding, the baby’s suction is pressed down on the nipple and areola.

This compression produces a ejection reflex in the mother’s breast and milk is released. This mechanism allows the milk to reach the baby’s mouth.