In plain words
The milk ejection reflex is also called . Hormones cause small muscle cells around the milk ducts to squeeze. Milk then moves from storage areas toward the nipple. The reflex can start with a baby sucking, a pump, the sound of a baby, or even a thought of the baby. Many mothers feel tingling, warmth, or a pinch, and some see milk spray or leak. Some feel a brief sad or uneasy feeling at letdown, which is called . The reflex can be strong or weak, and it can change over time. Stress and pain can slow it, so a calm setting helps some people.
The deeper version
The milk ejection reflex is a neuroendocrine reflex. Sensory input from the nipple and reaches the hypothalamus, which triggers release from the posterior pituitary. Oxytocin contracts myoepithelial cells around the alveoli and ducts. Newton and Newton (Journal of Pediatrics, 1948) described the reflex and its responsiveness to psychological cues. Ramsay and colleagues (Journal of Anatomy, 2005) used ultrasound to redefine how milk moves from storage to ducts during the reflex. Reflex strength varies between mothers, and a forceful or fast reflex is linked in some studies with flow patterns that infants find hard to manage. Stress and pain can inhibit the reflex through central pathways. The controversy concerns how much this variability explains feeding problems.
Where it comes up
- How breastfeeding works: supply and demandFeeding Your Baby
- Pumping: how, when, how oftenFeeding Your Baby
- Oversupply and forceful letdownFeeding Your Baby
- D-MER: the sad feeling at letdownFeeding Your Baby
- Cluster feedingFeeding Your Baby
What mothers here say about milk ejection reflex
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Newton M and Newton N — The let-down reflex in human lactation, Journal of Pediatrics (1948)
- Ramsay DT and colleagues — Anatomy of the lactating human breast redefined with ultrasound imaging, Journal of Anatomy (2005)