>>I am wondering about something else.  We know stress knocks out oxytocin.
Most women are stressed these days.  Could that be a factor in the point
made that more and more women have an inadequate supply?<<

I recently reviewed a lot of related literature, and I don't believe this to
be true in most cases. Stress is a common experience, and if it could kill a
milk supply that easily, I do wonder if the human race would still be in
existence! But what I find really interesting is that cortisol, which is
released under stress, is actually a necessary component of the milk recipe
(Lactogenic Complex= insulin + prolactin + cortisol), so it can't be all
bad, though balance is certainly an issue. Additionally, oxytocin actually
plays a positive balancing role during lactation in *reducing* a woman's
*response* to stress in her environment.  In severe stress situations there
are stories of some women losing their milk (most likely an inhibition of
milk ejection), but there are also stories of women responding with
overproduction. And in the middle are all the other women who just keep
making milk. My suspicion is that many of the cases of "lost milk" in the
middle are women who nurse less because of whatever is going on and just
don't realize they are nursing less.

My bottom line is that I believe in the robustness of the process and while
I know that severe stress/trauma can cause problems (and I know of cases),
it should be considered the exception and not the rule. 

~Lisa 

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