Too few feedings, allowing too much time in between feedings, reduces
mother’s milk production. Both proper time lapse and stimulation are
needed for breast-feeding success.
References to breast stimulation refer to the intensity of baby’s
sucking. The urgency of baby’s hunger drive consistently will influence
the sucking reflex. This drive for food is related to the time needed for
milk digestion and absorption into baby’s system. An infant fed on a
basic 2½ to 3 hour routine and whose digestive metabolism is stable, will
demand more milk. In turn, this stimulates greater milk production than
the infant demanding less milk more often. Here then lies your key to
efficient milk production. Work on getting full feedings.
The Let-Down Reflex
When a baby begins to suckle on his mother’s breast, a message is sent to
the mother’s pituitary gland, which in turn releases several hormones.
The hormone prolactin is necessary for milk production, and the hormone
oxytocin is required for milk release. The most important factor in the
continued release of prolactin is proper nipple stimulation. Without this
stimulation, milk will not be produced no matter how many times an
infant goes to the breast. A consistent routine will help maximize milk
production.
Before the milk is let down, your baby will receive a milk substance
stored in the ducts under the areola (the flesh encircling the nipples). This
foremilk, as it is called, is diluted and limited in nutritional value.
Oxytocin then causes the cells around the milk glands to contract, forcing
milk into the ducts. When that happens, the milk is said to have been let
down. For some mothers, this experience includes a tingling or pressure
sensation. Without let-down, the milk would remain in the glands. In the
absence of any sensation, the most reliable sign of let-down is your
baby’s rhythmic swallowing of milk. The milk released is called
hindmilk or mature milk. This high-protein and high-fat-content milk is
rich in calories (thirty to forty per ounce).
Mothers following PDF have little or no problem with the let-down