Let Down Reflex
Your let down reflex, milk flow, or milk-ejection reflex happens naturally while breastfeeding and it is basically what makes the milk flow out of your breast. I like to think of the milk as being pushed out of, or released from the breast.
It is a physical and emotional reflex or response. On a physical level when your baby sucks at your breast the stimulation causes contractions in your nipple which help to push out the milk.
On an Emotional level some mums find that thinking about their baby, hearing their baby cry, or any sort of emotional feeling toward their baby can trigger a let down.
Usually the let down reflex happens a few times during a breastfeed but you may find that you only feel it the first time. And if you don't feel it at all, that's perfectly fine too, it doesn't mean it's not happening.
I used to get strong tingling sensations in my nipples and in the first few days after my sons were born I would get strong period type or labour pains too. These were a lot stronger with my second baby and I'm told they get stronger again with the third and so on.
Another sign of milk flow is milk leaking from the breast your baby isn't feeding from. And if you pay attention to your baby's sucking you will notice it change from a fast suck suck suck rhythm to a slower suck suck swallow once the let down reflex has happened.
Ok, so I guess you might be wondering why you need to know about the milk-ejection reflex, especially if it's supposed to happen naturally. Well basically, it is key to fixing low milk supply as well as to expressing breast milk.
Sometimes in the case of low milk supply the let-down can be stalled by poor attachment and positioning.
When you are expressing breast milk the let down reflex probably won't happen naturally, and if it doesn't happen at all expressing can become very difficult.
There are a few things you can do to trigger the reflex, either while breastfeeding or expressing breast milk:
• Relaxing…use anything that will help you relax like music, a comfortable chair, candles, sitting somewhere warm, even simply relaxing your shoulders can help.
• Massaging your breasts towards the nipple or putting a warm cloth on your breast.
• Focusing on your baby, smelling an item of their clothing, looking at their photo, or sitting near your baby can help.
• If you're expressing breast milk, try watching TV or taking your mind off it. Expressing into a container that doesn't have measurements on the side can help. I used to keep on checking how much I had expressed and then get nervous if it wasn't enough...not helpful when trying to achieve a let down.
If you are breastfeeding successfully or you haven't had your baby yet it's good to have an idea of how your milk flow works.
If you are experiencing low milk supply or needing to express, then understanding it can help you avoid breastfeeding problems and put you on the road to really enjoying it.
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