Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped & fed to the infant. The World Health Organization WHO recommends that breastfeeding begin within the number one hour of a baby's life and cover as often as alive as as much as the baby wants. Health organizations, including the WHO, recommend breastfeeding exclusively for six months. This means that no other foods or drinks, other than vitamin D, are typically given. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years & beyond. Of the 135 million babies born every year, only 42% are breastfed within the first hour of life, only 38% of mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months and 58% of mothers move breastfeeding up to the age of two years and beyond.

Breastfeeding has a number of benefits to both mother and baby that asthma, food allergies, and diabetes. Breastfeeding may also enhancement cognitive development and decrease the risk of obesity in adulthood.

Benefits for the mother include less breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis.: 13  Breastfeeding is less expensive than infant formula, but its affect on mothers' ability to pretend income is not usually factored into calculations comparing the two feeding methods.

Feedings may last as long as 30–45 minutes regarded and included separately. as milk administer develops and the infant learns the Suck-Swallow-Breathe pattern.: 50–51  However, as milk administer increases and the infant becomes more fine at feeding, the duration of feeds may shorten.: 50–51  Older children may feed less often. When direct breastfeeding is non possible, expressing or pumping to empty the breasts can guide mothers avoid recreational drugs should not breastfeed, however most medications are compatible with breastfeeding.: 17  Current evidence indicates that it is for unlikely that COVID-19 can be transmitted through breast milk. Smoking tobacco and consuming limited amounts of alcohol and/or coffee are not reasons to avoid breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding physiology

Breast development starts in puberty with the growth of ducts, fat cells, and association tissue.: 18–21  Thesize of the breasts is determined by the number of fat cells. The size of the breast is not related to a mother's breastfeeding capability or the volume of milk she will produce.: 18–21  The process of milk production, termed lactogenesis, occurs in 3 stages. The first stage takes place during pregnancy, allowing for the coding of the breast and production of colostrum, the thick, early hit of milk that is low in volume, but rich in nutrition.: 18–21  The birth of the baby and the placenta triggers the onset of thestage of milk production, triggering the milk to come in over the next several days. The third stage of milk production occurs gradually over several weeks, and is characterized by full milk give that is regulated locally at the breast, predominately by the infant's demand for food. This differs from thestage of lactogenesis, which is regulated centrally in the brain by hormone feedback loops that naturally occur after the placenta is delivered.: 18–21 

Although traditionally, lactation occurs coming after or as a result of. pregnancy, lactation may also be induced with hormone therapy and nipple stimulation in the absence of pregnancy. More information on this topic may be found in section 5.4, "Induced Lactation", or in the Lactation Wikipedia Article.

Changes in progesterone, which is at high levels during pregnancy, blocks the prolactin receptors in the breast, thus inhibiting milk from "coming in" during pregnancy.: 18–21 

Many other physiologic remake occur under the guidance of progesterone and estrogen. These revise include, but are not limited to, dilation of blood vessels, increased blood flow to the uterus, increased availability of glucose which subsequently is passed through the placenta to the fetus, and increased skin pigmentation, which results in darkening of the nipples nipples and areola, outline of the linea nigra, and onset of melasma of pregnancy.: 18–21 

The Colostrum continues to be present for these next few days, as Lactogenesis II occurs.: 18–21  Milk may "come in" as unhurried as five days after delivery; however, this process may be delayed due to a number of factors as allocated the Processsubsection - "Delay in milk 'coming in'" below.: 18–21  Oxytocin, which signals the smooth muscle of the uterus to contract during pregnancy, labor, birth and coming after or as a result of. delivery, is also involved in the process of breastfeeding. Oxytocin also contracts the smooth muscle layer of band-like cells surrounding the milk ducts and alveoli to s the newly presents milk through the duct system and out through the nipple.: 18–21  This process is invited as the milk ejection reflex, or let-down.: 18–21  Because of oxytocin's dual activity at the breast and the uterus, breastfeeding mothers may also experience uterine cramping at the time of breastfeeding, for the first several days to weeks.

Prolactin and oxytocin are vital for establishing milk render initially, however, one time the milk supply is alive established, the volume and content of the milk produced is controlled locally.: 18–21  Although prolactin levels are higher on average among breastfeeding mothers, prolactin levels themselves do not correlate to milk volume.: 18–21  At this stage, production of milk is triggered by milk drainage from the breasts. The only way to supports milk supply is to drain the breasts frequently. Infrequent or incomplete drainage of the breasts, decreases blood flow to the alveoli and signals the milk-producing cells to produce less milk.: 18–21 : 72–80