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Breast growth is stimulated by increasing prolactin secretion throughout pregnancy. Lactation is inhibited during pregnancy by progesterone produced by the placenta. Progesterone interferes with prolactin binding to the receptors on the alveolar cells within the breast, thereby directly suppressing milk production.
Just so, how does estrogen reduce milk production?
During pregnancy the combination of estrogen and progesterone circulating in the blood appears to inhibit milk secretion by blocking the release of prolactin from the pituitary gland and by making the mammary gland cells unresponsive to this pituitary hormone.
In respect to this, does estrogen affect milk production?
Milk supply: Estrogen, in particular, has been linked to low milk supply in nursing moms. There may be a slight drop in milk supply a few days after taking the morning-after pill, but milk levels should rebound thereafter. Both progestin and estrogen are considered compatible with breastfeeding by the AAP.
“As you stop breastfeeding, your prolactin, which is the milk-maker hormone, starts to decrease naturally. This hormone not only produces milk, but it also produces a feeling of calm and well-being,” O'Neill says, adding that the other essential breastfeeding hormone, oxytocin, is needed for milk ejection, or let down.