On Thu, 19 Sep 1996 21:56:10 -0500, Nancy Penney wrote:
>This is very interesting!  We've all been saying "supply and demand" for
>years without really understanding what we were talking about.  One
>question though -- if milk must be removed to increase supply, how is it
>that a prospective adoptive mother builds up a milk supply from zero by
>pumping?

There are both endocrine and exocrine regulatory mechanisms.
Stimulation of the breast (by suckling, pumping, manual expression, etc.)
produces prolactin, which stimulates the breast to produce milk.  If milk
remains in the breast, milk production is reduced; the more milk remaining,
the more reduction.  The first is most important in the early postpartum
period, the second after production is established.

Jonathan
************************************************
*           L. Jonathan Kramer, P.E.           *
*    Graduate Breastfeeding Counselor and      *
*        Student Lactation Consultant          *
*      Certified Medela Nursing Bra Fitter     *
* Only G-d knows the formula for mother's milk *
************************************************