When a woman becomes pregnant, her doubts come up and questions like “How will my birth be? Will I be able to give birth? Once the baby is born, or a little earlier, there are others related to feeding the baby “Will I be able to breastfeed my baby? Will I have milk? ”
Most women can breastfeed their babies without problems, but there is a small percentage of women who do not get it, either for lack of help, or for lack of information, or for some disease, or because there is no way That goes well. To try to offer information to future mothers about the process of creating milk and answer the question "Will I have milk?" today we are going to explain everything there is to know about the rise (or fall) of milk.
It all starts when the baby is born
Days before the baby is born, many women already secrete colostrum. Colostrum, as we have explained on other occasions, is a yellowish, dense substance, with an incredible amount of immune cells, amino acids and nutrients. It is called liquid gold because it is the first "vaccine" the baby receives. It is so important for your health that in many hospitals women are told that, even if they have decided not to breastfeed their baby, at least they give her colostrum.
In Babies and more How breasts change during pregnancy, breastfeeding and until weaning, and whyColostrum is enough for the baby, in the first few days, and that's why you don't need to give them any milk supplements. Yes, I know there are nurses capable of saying something as absurd as "look, you only get a few drops of colostrum, you don't have milk, let's give you a bottle", but it's a mistake. Do not give anything else to the baby, because he does not need it. What is losing weight? So is. Babies lose weight the first few days and it is natural and normal. It is as if they were born with extra reserves, aware that the first few days they will not take large amounts of food, while their digestive system begins to prepare to perform their functions normally and while eliminating the meconium.
At the time the baby is born, hormonal changes occur that promote the creation of milk. The body knows that the baby has already left and the hormones progesterone and placental lactogen, which were in high concentrations, blocking the action of prolactin (hormone responsible for making milk), decrease. Both progesterone and placental lactogen use the same receptors in breast cells. When the concentration decreases, they begin to disappear and the prolactin is gradually fixed in the receptors of the breast, to start making milk this way.
The prolactin concentration is variable, with more activity at the time the mother sleeps. Come on, that the mother's body has the mission to take advantage of the moments of sleep to increase milk production and ensure that the baby will have enough food when she wakes up. This dismantles the myth that says "babies do not have to breastfeed at night, because they must sleep all night in a row," because doing something like this would miss the opportunity to eat at night (sucking also stimulates the creation of milk , something highly recommended if done when prolactin is high) and the mother would be at risk of engorgement or mastitis (If it produces milk but is not extracted, it can lead to a major infection).
In the event that the mother does not breastfeed her baby, the prolactin concentration gradually decreases until at 2-3 weeks the levels are the same as those of any woman not pregnant or nursing.
In Babies and more Tips you will listen to increase milk production and that are falseWhen does the milk rise?
Here in Spain it is said that milk rises. In other countries it is said to fall. They are different ways of talking about the same, from the moment the mother goes from segregating colostrum to segregating milk. Milk rises between the third and fourth day. To be more specific, between 50 and 73 hours, although there are women who perceive it beyond the first 72 hours.
The sensations are of heat in the chest, increase of size and even pain. It is often thought that all these symptoms are caused by milk, that is, if the breast is growing and getting hard it is because there is a lot of milk inside, but this is not really true, because it responds to an increase in vascularization of the breasts Something like the preparation of breast structures to start producing milk for a long time. Actually, by now a woman is producing about 20 ml of milk per dose (Very little compared to what the baby will take months later, when the breasts are much less swollen).
Can you advance the rise of milk?
We have commented that the ascent happens between the third and fourth day, but sometimes comes later. This makes us think that there could be something that could be done to get production started earlier. However, there is not much that can be done. When mothers who breastfeed have been compared from the outset with mothers who do not breastfeed by personal decision, without taking medication that "cuts" the milk, it has been observed that the rise occurs practically at the same time.
That is to say, not by breastfeeding more times a baby will start drinking milk before, although this does not mean that it is not necessary to offer it frequently, because it will help a better grip, it will take the colostrum and possible subsequent engorgements can be prevented (if a baby is well taken to the breast, when the milk arrives it will be better able to extract it than another that gets worse). There are even mothers who have tried to advance the moment using breast pumps before the third day and the result has not been better, but even worse, because those mothers breastfed their children for less time.
How much milk will each mother produce?
When the mother begins to produce milk, the body has no idea if she is going to breastfeed a small baby, a larger baby, twins or triplets. As you do not know, it is totally in expectation of suction, and will determine the amount to produce based on what the baby (s) sucks. The more suction, the more production. Less suction, less production.
If the mother has a baby that sucks little, it will produce little. If mom has twins, she will produce milk for both of them. But beware, this will happen as long as the suction is effective. As large as the baby is, if the breast is not taken well and does not breastfeed properly, the production will not match what it really needs and will need help, both for the weight of the baby and for, more than possibly, the cracks in the mother's chest.
What can delay the rise of milk?
We know that not much can be done to advance the rise in milk, but it is also known that there are women who are later raised. The longer it takes to gain more weight, the baby loses and the greater the risk that breastfeeding will end up failing. Consequently, it is worth knowing what factors can delay the rise of milk.
The most common cause is stress. A complicated birth, a first-time mother, an emergency caesarean section, visits that instead of helping, bother, among other situations, can make the mother more nervous than usual, more stressed and this causes problems in breastfeeding. It is known that stress does not harm prolactin in any way, but instead yes it does about oxytocin, which is the hormone in charge of milk ejection. When the oxytocin is altered, the mother secretes her milk worse, the breast is less emptied and consequently less milk is produced.
If we add to this that babies also suffer stress, being able to have a worse grip or a weaker grip, the picture worsens, because the baby does not gain enough weight, can lose sucking force and the mother, seeing that the baby It does not hold well, it can get even more stressed, entering both in a dangerous circle.
It can also delay the rise of milk prematurity of the baby or who was born with low weight (the use of corticosteroids before childbirth can affect milk production), that the mother has inverted or flat nipples, that are given to baby bottles already on the second day of life and the use of the pacifier, which causes a suction of the baby on something that does not modify in any way the production (come on, that to suck the pacifier or a bottle when you still do not need it, much better to suck the chest).
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In Babies and more | Myths about breastfeeding: "During the first three or four days there is not enough milk", Role of pediatricians in promoting breastfeeding: first days of the baby, The rise of milk after childbirth
