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LivingThe sucking reflex in the newborn and milk production
Living

The sucking reflex in the newborn and milk production

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Newborns have the so-called sucking reflex , it is an innate reflex that allows the baby to feed, comfort and calm him. For this reflex, the fingers, the bottle, the nipple, everything serves to develop an activity that is natural in its growth. This suction begins inside the uterus – we can see the baby on ultrasound sucking his thumb – and lasts at least until the first year of age.

The sucking reflex allows the nipple to be stimulated, these stimuli send the brain the order to produce prolactin, this hormone is very important, since it helps the mother’s breast to continue working long after the first impulse of the milk rise . This is thanks to the suction of the nipple, but it is also very important that the breast empties frequently and completely in order to continue generating more milk.

A good latch on the baby to the breast is essential for the suction to be correct and to avoid problems in breastfeeding.

We are not just talking about breast suction. If we bring a finger or an object to the baby’s lips, such as a pacifier, a rhythmic sucking movement is triggered.

The sucking reflex and milk production

Milk production depends on how much you suck. The baby sucks in a very peculiar way, his jaw and tongue work in a coordinated way on the breast. When the baby grabs the nipple, his lips protrude outward in a circle around the breast, the baby’s mouth creates a vacuum by pressing the nipple against the roof of the mouth with the tongue. In this way it flattens the areola and manages to suck the milk.

Thanks to the baby’s sucking reflex, the entire chain works properly so that the mother produces the necessary amount of milk and the baby develops properly.

 

Nutritive and non-nutritive suction

But the baby not only sucks to feed, but also to calm himself or because he simply finds it pleasant. When they say to you “he is using you as a pacifier”, he is actually practicing non-nutritive sucking, which is also very important and should not be overlooked.

It is a more superficial type of sucking that serves as training, calms you and at the same time continues to stimulate the milk ejection reflex.

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