When your baby starts sucking on the breast, two types of hormones are released in you: oxytocin and prolactin. Let’s talk a bit more about these!

After giving birth, your body makes a hormonal shift from being pregnant to producing breast milk. The hormones prolactin and oxytocin help produce and expel the milk.

Prolactin is the milk-forming hormone and is secreted in pulses from the pituitary gland, a small gland in the brain. Most prolactin is secreted at night.

Oxytocin is our calm and peaceful hormone that helps to expel the milk. The release of oxytocin is promoted when the in     dividual is calm and safe. Oxytocin is also secreted from the pituitary gland and is the hormone released during, for example, a massage, which makes us feel calm and comfortable. Oxytocin also helps the uterus to contract, this is why breastfeeding contributes to reduced bleeding after childbirth.

The breast milk is adapted to a child’s needs and your child will be the one to place an order for their next meal. Simply put, breast milk production is increased if the baby is breastfed *often* (especially at night) and conversely, production decreases if you breastfeed less often.

The first breast milk that the baby drinks is more diluted to quench the worst thirst, while the later milk is more concentrated and filling. This means that a nursing baby can never be breastfed too often. If, for example, it is hot outside and the child becomes thirsty, i.e. wants to breastfeed more often, the composition of the milk will adapt to the need.