How_Breast_Milk_Is_Made?


 

If you’ve every been pregnant or if you are pregnant


now, you’ve probably noticed a metamorphisis in your


bra cups. The physical changes (tender, swollen


breasts) may be one of the earliest clues that you


have conceived. Many experts believe that the color


change in the areola may also be helpful when it


comes to breast feeding.


What’s going on


Perhaps what’s even more remarkable than visible


changes is the extensive changes that are taking


place inside of your breasts. The developing


placenta stimulates the release of estrogen and


progesterone, which will in turn stimulate the


complex biological system that helps to make lactation


possible.


Before you get pregnant, a combination of supportive


tissue, milk glands, and fat make up the larger


portions of your breats. The fact is, your newly


swollen breasts have been preparing for your


pregnancy since you were in your mother’s womb!


When you were born, your main milk ducts had already


formed. Your mammary glands stayed quiet until


you reached puberty, when a flood of the female


hormone estrogen caused them to grow and also to


swell. During pregnancy, those glands will kick


into high gear.


Before your baby arrives, glandular tissue has


replaced a majority of the fat cells and accounts


for your bigger than before breasts. Each breast


may actually get as much as 1 1/2 pounds heavier


than before!


Nestled among the fatty cells and glandular tissue


is an intricate network of channels or canals known


as the milk ducts. The pregnancy hormones will


cause these ducts to increase in both number and


size, with the ducts branching off into smaller


canals near the chest wall known as ductules.


At the end of each duct is a cluster of smaller


sacs known as alveoli. The cluster of alveoli is


known as a lobule, while a cluster of lobule is


known as a lobe. Each breast will contain around


15 – 20 lobes, with one milk duct for every lobe.


The milk is produced inside of the alveoli, which


is surrounded by tiny muscles that squeeze the


glands and help to push the milk out into the


ductules. Those ductules will lead to a bigger


duct that widens into a milk pool directly below


the areola.


The milk pools will act as resevoirs that hold the


milk until your baby sucks it through the tiny


openings in your nipples.


Mother Nature is so smart that your milk duct


system will become fully developed around the time


of your second trimester, so you can properly


breast feed your baby even if he or she arrives


earlier than you are anticipating.



Post a Comment

0 Comments