In Praise of Prolactin Action

Sometimes I get a clear message from my baby to SLOW DOWN.

I am a skilled mama with strong biceps and a sling. I can multitask. I nurse and type. I nurse and cook. I nurse and clean. I nurse and…yes, go to the bathroom. I’m sure baby appreciates my ability and willingness to nurse on demand and fill her little belly with all the nutrients she needs, but sometimes, she lets me know that I need to sit down and do nothing but nurse.

She’ll get a little fussy at the breast. No position will be quite right for her. She’ll root a little. Then she’ll cry just a little. Slow down, mommy. Why don’t you just sit down with me, or better yet, lie down with me and take a break. Just nurse and let’s spend some quiet time together.

I heed this call and it’s wonderful. I feel the curious mix of relief and exhaustion as the milk flows. I now have an awareness of what’s happening with us. If she’s awake, sometimes she will gaze up at me and I will look back down at her and tell her I love her and ask her, “Do you like the milkies?” If she’s asleep, or nearing sleep with her eyes closed, I’ll marvel at her beauty and peacefulness. The exchange between breastfeeding mother and baby is amazing. To think, I am feeding my child from my body, straight from me to her, pure, simple, everything she needs right now. From me. Someday, she’ll need more. Someday I can make her healthy solids. Some day I’ll go back to work and earn money again to help support her. But for now, it is this nutrition and this nurturing.

As many nursing moms know, both mothers and babies benefit from breastfeeding. The nutritional benefits of breastfeeding are well documented. The World Health Organization says, “Breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed…[and] exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age.” Additionally, mamas gain health benefits as well as emotional benefits from breastfeeding. As noted by La Leche League, “The child's suckling at the breast produces a special hormonal milieu for the mother. Prolactin, the milk-making hormone, appears to produce a special calmness in mothers.” Nursing also stimulates production of oxytocin, a hormone associated with a sense of well being—also produced during orgasm.

I definitely feel the calmness and pleasure. Although there are challenges to being a new mom—lost sleep, figuring out the new baby, figuring out new ways of relating to my husband, and more—I can definitely feel an underlying calm that almost defies the reality of the situation. And the times I’ve felt most stressed are the times I wasn’t tuning into my baby and allowing nature to do its good work. So nursing on cue can mean more than just feeding baby when she wants to be fed. It can mean taking the cue to slow down sometimes and just nurse. Moms deserve the break. Let the prolactin and oxytocin flow.