The Milk Bar is….Open

Hi there!  My name is Molly and I’m filling in for Diana this week.  I am an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant here at Missouri Baptist.  I work with moms and newborns on the postpartum floor, and I also facilitate our breastfeeding support group that meets on Thursday mornings at 10. 

One issue that came up this week in our meeting is how newborns need to nurse often, and at different intervals.  Imagine this:  You have just nursed your baby and he has fallen asleep at your breast.  You are congratulating yourself on a job well done, another feeding accomplished.  Now you’re looking forward to closing the “milk bar” and putting your breasts away for a couple of hours.  But wait!  Just 20 minutes later, your baby is stirring and seems like he wants to nurse AGAIN.  Could he really be hungry so soon after finishing his last session?  This scenario is a familiar one for many new moms, and it can be frustrating and confusing. 

Here is one explanation for what’s happening.  When your baby sucks, either at the breast or on a pacifier, his sucking activates his parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers his GI tract to release hormones.  The purpose of this is to aid in digestion.  One of these hormones is cholecystokinin, or CCK.  When CCK levels rise, they induce the baby to feel full and sleepy.  When CCK levels fall, your baby becomes alert and hungry.  So as your baby nurses, or sucks on a pacifier, his CCK rises and he starts to feel very drowsy…after 20 minutes or so, he succumbs and drifts into dreamland.  If he has been breastfeeding, he has had a nice little meal; but with a pacifier, he has missed out on any calories. 

At the breast, this whole process works magically by enabling your baby to nurse for a period of time, drink some milk, and digest it.  By putting him to sleep, it prevents your newborn baby from working too hard and too long.  Hey, sucking is a lot of work when you only weigh 7 pounds!  Afterward, your baby will take a cat nap, and while he isn’t sucking, his CCK starts to drop.  Like an alarm clock, it awakens him a short time later and he demands to nurse again.  It’s time for seconds!  This gives him a chance to top off his meal, in case he didn’t get enough the first time.  Also, it keeps the “milk bar” open and busy, which provides plenty of stimulation to build a generous milk supply.  However, beware of the pacifier, because in these instances, sucking on a pacifier may satisfy your baby, but without the benefit of the meal for him, and the stimulation for you. 

Hopefully understanding this system can help you, as a new mom, feel confident in offering the breast as many times as your newborn requests it.  The result will be a nice weight gain for your baby, and plenty of milk at the bar!