Your Prolactin and Breastfeeding Guide

Prolactin is a hormone produced in the brain's pituitary gland. It is present in both males and females and, while it performs many roles in the human body, because of its role in breast milk development, it is known as the breastfeeding hormone.

What Does Prolactin Do to

The key hormone that the body uses to produce breast milk is prolactin. Prolactin prepares your breasts during pregnancy to begin the development of breast milk. However, high levels of placenta-produced estrogen and progesterone prevent prolactin from supplying a significant volume of mature breast milk.

The levels of estrogen and progesterone go down when you deliver your infant, and the placenta leaves your body. The decrease in these two hormones causes prolactin to increase and to signal breast milk to the milk-making glands in your breasts.

Prolactin is responsible for the enormous surge in your milk supply in the first few days after your baby's birth, which also triggers breast engorgement when your colostrum switches to transitional breast milk.

Prolactin and Stilling

The first increase in prolactin after your baby is born is what gets milk production underway, but it's not enough to sustain breast milk production. You need to breastfeed your baby or pump your breast milk regularly to continue producing breast milk.

When your baby breastfeeds, or you pump your breast milk, the nerves in your breasts send a signal to your brain to release the hormones oxytocin and prolactin. The prolactin tells the milk glands in your breasts to make more breast milk, and the oxytocin is responsible for getting the breast milk from your breasts to your baby.

The nerves in your breasts transmit a signal to your brain when your baby breastfeeds or you pump your breast milk to release the hormones oxytocin and prolactin. Prolactin tells your breast milk glands to produce more breast milk, and oxytocin is responsible for getting your baby's breast milk from your breasts.

How to Increase Prolactin Levels

The best way to raise your prolactin levels is to breastfeed or pump very frequently. When your baby is born, you should be breastfeeding or pumping at least every two to three hours around the clock. The more often you stimulate your breasts, the more your brain will release prolactin. There are also certain herbs, foods, and medications that you can try to help boost your prolactin levels.

However, it's important to point out that raising prolactin levels alone is not enough to create a healthy supply of breast milk. The stimulation of the breasts and the removal of breast milk from the breasts is just as important.

Reasons for a Low Breast Milk Supply and How to Increase It

Impact on Your Period

When you're breastfeeding, prolactin levels are high, and estrogen levels are low. The relationship between these hormones keeps your breast milk supply up and your period away. If you breastfeed exclusively, it can delay the return of your period for many months. If you do not breastfeed, or if you choose to combine breastfeeding and formula feeding, the hormone levels change so you could see the return of your period as early as six weeks after the birth of your baby.

When your period does return, more estrogen and less prolactin can affect the production of breast milk. Sometimes, it's just a dip in your supply during your period. But, it's possible that once your period returns, your breast milk supply will remain low.

All About Breastfeeding and Your Period

Lactational Amenorrhea

Exclusive breastfeeding is associated with high levels of prolactin. These high levels of prolactin prevent your ovaries from ovulating or releasing eggs. So, if you breastfeed exclusively for the first six months after the birth of your baby, it is unlikely that you will ovulate or become pregnant. The lactational amenorrhea method of birth control (LAM) is based on high prolactin.

LAM is about 99% effective when followed correctly.

If you breastfeed exclusively without giving your baby any supplements, your child is under six months old, and your period has not yet returned, then the chances of becoming pregnant again are very low. However, once you are no longer breastfeeding exclusively, your prolactin levels will start to go down. Then, your fertility will begin to return, and you will be more likely to become pregnant again.

Can You Get Pregnant While Breastfeeding?

Prolactin and Your Fertility

Prolactin can also interfere with your ability to become pregnant again when you're ready to try for another child. If you're still breastfeeding, or you've weaned your baby but you're still producing breast milk, your levels of prolactin may be high, especially if you have not yet seen the return of your period.

So, if you're ready to get pregnant again, but you're having trouble conceiving, talk to your doctor. Your doctor may order a blood test to check your prolactin level.

Factors That Impact Prolactin Levels

Many things can affect the level of prolactin in your body. Here are some of the things that could interfere with the release of prolactin when you're breastfeeding.

• Birth Control That Contains Estrogen: When there's a change in the balance of estrogen and prolactin, it can affect the breast milk supply. Birth control that contains estrogen is known to cause a decrease in milk production.

• Breast Surgery: Breast surgery performed near the areola or the nipple can cause damage to the nerves that signal the brain to release prolactin.

• The nerves in your breasts transmit a signal to your brain when your baby breastfeeds or you pump your breast milk to release the hormones oxytocin and prolactin. Prolactin tells your breast milk glands to produce more breast milk, and oxytocin is responsible for getting your baby's breast milk from your breasts. As long as you continue to breastfeed (or pump) very frequently, your body will continue to release prolactin and you will continue to make milk.

• Early Pacifier Use: The use of a pacifier in the early weeks of breastfeeding reduces some of the breast stimulation that you would be getting if you put your baby to the breast instead. The more you breastfeed, the more prolactin you will produce. When your child uses a pacifier, it's a lost opportunity to increase prolactin and support a healthy supply of breast milk.

• Numbing Creams: A numbing cream should never be used to treat sore nipples. Not only can it numb the baby's mouth, but it can numb the nerves in the breast, as well. If the nerves cannot send a signal to the brain, prolactin will not be released.

• Smoking: Smoking could lead to a decrease in the levels of prolactin.

• Supplementing: If you supplement your baby with formula or give the baby water between feedings, you aren't signaling your body to release prolactin.

Prolactin When You're Not Breastfeeding

The levels of prolactin in your body are high during pregnancy and right after the birth of your baby. But since your body releases prolactin in response to stimulation at your breasts, if you do not breastfeed or pump your breast milk, the levels of prolactin will begin to go down.

In the first few weeks postpartum, you will still produce breast milk and may experience breast engorgement even if you decide that you don't want to breastfeed. But, in the absence of breastfeeding or pumping, the production of breast milk will slow down and eventually stop.

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