Upon delivery, this natural process starts intensely, by reflex. Breastmilk is made possible by two hormones produced by a master gland below the brain: the pituitary gland.
Stimulating your nipple by sucking your baby triggers the secretion of these hormones:
Prolactin controls milk production in the mammary gland.
Oxytocin controls the ejection of milk through the nipple.
By sucking the nipple, it induces production and release of prolactin, which stimulates the production of milk by the mammary gland.
It is recommended to put your baby in as soon as possible, because your baby during the first hours of his life a strong sucking reflex, whose intensity will decrease for 24 to 36 hours and then revert to its effectiveness.
The first three days, you produce colostrum, it is a yellow liquid, thick produced in small quantities. It is a substance rich in proteins and antibodies that will boost your child's immunity and resistance to infections.
Colostrum also acts as a mild laxative and helps get rid of the meconium, which is still in his intestines.
And about the third day, lactation occurs. It can create tension in your breasts and you will feel that they are congested, the skin stretches, the veins appear dilated and you can feel like small hard balls that truffent gland. This discomfort may be accentuated by a slight increase in your temperature. Above all, put your baby in as much as possible in order to prevent breast engorgement.
It is normal during this period, your breasts leak alone between two feedings and try your bra strongly. For added comfort, put nursing pads in cotton wool to absorb these flows of milk.
If breastfeeding is a natural phenomenon, it also depends on everything that affects your central nervous system:
- fatigue
- stress
- annoyance
- the sensation of pain when your baby feeds
- fear that not drinking enough can reduce or even stop lactation.
Rest and proper diet are your best assets to good breastfeeding.