Did you know that some babies produce milk? I guess you did not know that!

As a nurse, you never know it all - I am all for continuing professional development, and I do that by attending teaching sessions and reading frequently. I was reading a medical journal yesterday, and I found out about something particularly interesting, some babies 'produce' milk. How's that possible?????????/ Let's find out - For your reading pleasure batch by batch :)

Hold on for a second - Yesterday, Mother told me about a cousin of mine who's 29 years old now. When she was born, she was producing milk which her parents had to express. Guess their rational for that? Their action would ensure a good breast shape for their daughter. True or false? I may never be entirely sure. I cannot deny her breast is 'good looking'. A result of the action her parents took or good genes?

Why do some babies produce milk?

Witch's milk or neonatal milk is milk secreted from the breasts of some newborn human infants of either sex.^[1] Neonatal milk secretion is considered a normal physiological occurrence and no treatment or testing is necessary.^[2] It is thought to be caused by a combination of the effects of maternal hormones before birth, prolactin and growth hormone passed through breastfeeding and the postnatal pituitary and thyroid hormone surge in the infant.

Breast milk production occurs in about 5% of newborns and can persist for two months though breast buds can persist into childhood. Witch's milk is more likely to be secreted by infants born at full term, and not by prematurely-born infants.^[2]

The consistence of neonatal milk was estimated to be very similar to maternal milk.^[3]

Neonatal milk production may be also sometimes caused by medications.^[4]

In extremely rare cases neonatal mastitis may develop but it is unclear if it is related to neonatal milk secretion.

In some cultures the tradition of removing the milk ("milking") has been reported. This practice can prolong milk production and other problems can not be excluded.^[1] While breastfeeding may also contribute to prolonged milk production and breast enlargement, temporary or permanent weaning is not recommended.

In folklore, witch's milk was believed to be a source of nourishment for witches' familiar spirits.^[5] It was thought to be stolen from unwatched, sleeping infants. In other cultures expressing milk from the infant's breasts is supposed to contribute to a good breast shape in adulthood.^[1]

Blood from the nipples is nearly always benign and frequently associated with duct ectasia; it should only be investigated when it is unilateral.^[6]

Source: Wikipedia

Thoughts??????????

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