New Delhi, Aug 10 When a woman hears the news she has conceived and will be mother soon, many thoughts cross her mind about pregnancy, birthing and finally her journey to parenthood.
Most moms-to-be in nuclear families don't have any experience of handling a baby post birth. This makes them nervous about the whole process and apprehensive about whether or not she will be able to breastfeed the baby. As a lactation consultant, I often come across mothers who have many questions related to breastfeeding and milk production such as when will the milk production start, what does lactation delay look like, will I produce enough colostrum?
It is important to understand that hormones play a major role in pregnancy and milk production. During pregnancy, hormonal activities increase, and this in turn causes the mammary glands to produce milk. However, this is all just preparation for breastfeeding. Mature milk production can start within three to five days of the baby being born.
Before Birth
Milk production starts during the midpoint of pregnancy that is around 16-22 week of pregnancy. During the second trimester, your breasts begin to create colostrum. Colostrum is the first food your breasts produce for your baby. It is usually thick and yellowish and contains high amounts of proteins and antibodies to strengthen your baby's immune system. Many mothers are not aware about this because it does not flow like mature milk. It might start as few watery drops as this is first milk that's called "colostrum".
Colostrum does not leak and not all pregnant mothers produce it during pregnancy, for many colostrum starts after the birthing process. This is absolutely normal. During the pregnancy a mother-to-be should not express or pump colostrum as it might trigger the labor process. Mothers can use a breast pad just for comfort. If there is good quantity of colostrum or leaky colostrum, one can express it with hand after 37 weeks of pregnancy and store it.
After Birth
You may start producing breast milk months or weeks before your due date of delivery. One of the first signs that your breasts have started producing milk is that they will become fuller and heavier, and they may even hurt sometimes. Immediately after the birth, a mother will see a transparent or yellowish colour of drops at the nipple area i.e. colostrum or liquid gold.
It is the first stage of milk production. It is thick, sticky, concentrated and very nutritious. The baby should suckle at the breast with in one hour of birth, this period is called Golden hour. Colostrum is known as "liquid gold" because it's packed with protein, growth factors, white blood cells, and antibodies, especially Immunoglobulin A
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