empty breasts

[Christal32284]

I've heard ppl say that the breats is never empty of milk. Is this the case? If so, why would the breasts stop producing milk wile pumping?

[Christal32284]

So could a woman nurse for hours straight and still be able to provide milk?

[mirellevvi]

When a mother is nursing breasts are always making milk, so you could say that there is always some milk in your breast. When a baby nurses directly from the breast the suckling provides stimulation which is translated by your brain as a signal to make more milk because the one that is there is being used up. The more a mother nurses the more milk she will make. To see that you should look at amount of milk in 24 hours not in one feeding. However pumps are not as good as babies in getting the same amount of milk out and they are not as good as babies suckling in providing the signal for the brain to make more milk. So women who exclusively pump will see a decrease in their milk supply because the stimulus in not as great.

To answer your second question, although there is always milk being made inside your breast you should not really nurse for hours straight as you don't allow for the milk to accumulate between the feedings. Also, I am not sure if a baby would actually nurse for hours straight either. babies should be fed on demand and not on schedule.

[Christal32284]

Thanks - that helps!
So, when it seems like our LO isn't satisfied at the breast, is it possible? I'm assuming that there is technically milk in our breasts, but the flow could be so little that they aren't getting enough. If that is the case, how long (typically) would it take for breasts to fill up again. I know this probably depends on each woman's supply/demand - but can you give me a general idea. When it seems like they aren't satisfied is it better just to let them nurse continuously until milk comes in (or let down), or is it better to pull them off for a little while and put them back on once we're "full" again?
I'm not asking for myself necessarily. I'm mostly curious because I see this topic throughout the posts on the sight and wanted clarification.
Thanks!!

[mirellevvi]

A baby should eat between 8-12 times in 24 hours for about 15-30 minutes on each breast. Now, this is the average so it will vary somewhat depending on a woman and baby. Because we can't really measure how much milk is in the breast to tell if the baby is getting enough, there are other ways of doing so. One of the easiest ways is to look at the number of pees and poops. Usually poops as with the absorbent diapers these days pee is a bit harder to tell. Watching the baby for hunger signs, you should feed the baby on demand and let the baby come of the breast. Sometimes babies go through growth spurs, when it seems that they are on the breast all the time. You should let the baby nurse so that your body will respond and make the amount of milk that is being 'ordered'.

Also to keep in mind when a baby does not seem to be satisfied is to make sure that the latch is correct and proper milk transfer is occurring.

When you ask questions you get answers...