HealthPartners - Preparing for childbirth

YOUR BREASTS Breast size is related to the amount of fatty tissue in the breast. But the size of your breasts doesn’t affect how much milk you will make for your baby. That’s because breast milk is made in a breast’s glandular tissue, not fatty tissue. A few breast health issues could interfere with breastfeeding. If you have any concerns, please contact a lactation consultant or talk to your health care provider. Nipples come in all shapes and sizes. Your nipples have tiny openings for milk to flow through and muscles around the openings that make the nipples stand up. Around the nipple is darker skin called the areola that gets larger and darker when you’re pregnant. The bumps that look like pimples around each areola are called Montgomery glands . They put out an oily fluid that keeps your nipples moist and clean.

BREASTFEEDING

TYPICAL NIPPLE

FLAT NIPPLE

INVERTED NIPPLE

Making Milk After you have your baby and deliver the placenta, your progesterone level drops. Your body goes into high gear to produce the milk-making hormone prolactin . In your breast, the alveoli take proteins, sugars, and fats from your blood and start making breast milk.

At this point, if you do nothing, your prolactin levels will drop and your milk will subside. This is where the principle of supply and demand comes in. Every time your baby breastfeeds, your brain gets the message to produce more prolactin and oxytocin. Prolactin sends the

NEED TO KNOW

Healthy full-term babies do not need to be fed commercial formula (supplementation) unless it is for medical treatment and breast milk is not available. Giving your baby formula for nonmedical reasons has some risks for your baby. Formula can decrease the healthy bacteria in the baby’s intestines that protect against infection. Formula is also harder to digest, so your baby may not breastfeed as often. Using formula also puts you at risk. If your baby isn’t breastfeeding as often, you may experience engorgement (breasts are very full of milk), not produce as much milk, and not reach your breastfeeding goals. If you need help with breastfeeding, call your health care provider or a lactation consultant.

SCAN + PLAY

signal to make more milk, and oxytocin stimulates your milk glands to move the milk to your nipples. Whether your baby takes the milk directly or you pump and store extra milk to empty your breasts, the more milk you take out, the more milk you will make . It’s simple supply and demand. To start breastfeeding off successfully, you need to do 2 things: • First, feed your baby as soon as possible after birth • Second, feed them again at least 8 or more times in every 24-hour period

Chapter 9: Breastfeeding

101