The release of oxytocin will make the small muscles that surround your milk-producing tissue to contract. This contracting of the tissue will squeeze milk into your ducts. Let down typically takes two minutes to occur. When your milk lets down, you may feel a small amount of pain or tingling in your upper breasts.
If you've just started pumping, it's not always clear why sometimes you spray milk and sometimes you're not getting anything. Here's how letdown works: When you start pumping, most pumps will begin in the “letdown phase” – which is lighter and quieter – for about two minutes.
Each time baby begins to nurse the nerves in your breast send signals that release the milk in your milk ducts. This let down reflex usually happens after your baby has been sucking the breast for about two minutes.
The let-down reflex generally occurs 2 or 3 times a feed. Most people who breastfeed only feel the first let-down. The let-down reflex can also occur with stimulation of your breasts, such as by your partner.
This will ultimately depend on what's causing the pain to happen. If it's simply an adjustment period, most new mums report a reduction in painful let-down after the first few weeks. But, if there's another cause, such as an infection or clogged milk ducts, the milk ejection reflex might continue to hurt.
Possible causes of slow let-down
Many things can be the cause of a slow or inhibited let-down: anxiety, pain, embarrassment, stress, cold, excessive caffeine use, smoking, use of alcohol, or the use of some medications. Mothers who have had breast surgery may have nerve damage that can interfere with let-down.
An infant who is exclusively breastfed might need anywhere between 478-1356 mL/16.16-48.85 oz breastmilk every day. For infants between 1-6 months old, the average is around 750 mL/25.36 oz a day. A single breastfeeding session might produce between 54-234 mL/1.82-7.91 oz of milk.
The truth is that breastfeeding is a powerful process. Your let-down may take a little longer than usual, causing your baby to fuss at the breast or come on and off but your supply won't be affected, As your baby gets older, you may not notice your let-down as much as you used to.
Even if you don't have a let-down response, you can still nurse your baby adequately and pump milk without any problems.
Many women find that if they cycle through their pump settings again, they can trigger a second or even a third let-down over a period of 30-45 minutes.
Signs of forceful letdown
With a forceful letdown the tingling sensation may be painful. You may notice excessive leaking from the side where your baby is not feeding. Your baby may pull off the breast and the milk squirts out. You may have blanching (whitening) of the nipple with burning nipple pain after nursing.
Each milk ejection initially releases an average of one ounce of milk, with the quantity decreasing as the feeding goes on.
Overactive letdown is a common issue the first 4 to 6 weeks after birth when your body is still learning how much milk to make. If your body produces too much (you have an oversupply), that can lead to a rush of milk to your breasts that wants to come out quickly.
Hindmilk is released with every milk ejection (let-down). By the time feeding finishes on the first breast, the first milk from the second breast will contain more fat compared to the start of the feed on the first breast.
Your milk supply is considered low when there is not enough breast milk being produced to meet your baby's growth needs. Many mothers worry about their milk supply, especially in the early stages of breastfeeding.
Ultimately, if your baby has reached its birth weight and you're pumping enough milk during the day, it's okay to sleep eight hours without pumping at night. Keep in mind there is an adjustment period for your body as it begins to acclimate to the decrease in overnight milk removal.
How do I know whether my breasts are empty? There's no test or way to know for sure. In general, though, if you gently shake your breasts and they feel mostly soft and you don't feel the heaviness of milk sitting in them, you're probably fine.
A newborn should be put to the breast at least every 2 to 3 hours and nurse for 10 to 15 minutes on each side. But rather than worry about duration, it's important to know that the best way to ensure that the baby is getting enough breast milk is by feeding frequency, wet and dirty diapers, and weight gain.
Pumping sessions should be ended once you feel empty and milk stops flowing. This is usually after 2-3 letdowns and around the 20-minute mark. The length of time can vary depending on several factors. Pumping sessions may last anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes.
Healthy infants who breastfeed effectively are often thought to be more efficient than the expression of milk either by hand or with an electric breast pump. Breastfed infants have been shown to remove 50% of the total volume of milk removed at a breastfeed in the first 2 min and 80% in 4 min [31].
The milk let-down sensation (aka “milk ejection reflex”) is often experienced as a tingling or a prickly pins-and-needles kind of feeling. But for some, the sensation is felt deep in the breasts and can hurt or be achy, especially when milk production is in overdrive.
This contracting of the tissue will squeeze milk into your ducts. Let down typically takes two minutes to occur. When your milk lets down, you may feel a small amount of pain or tingling in your upper breasts. Many moms describe it as a “pins and needles” feeling.
Some deep breast twinges during let-down can occur as the milk ducts constrict to force the milk toward the nipple. As your body becomes more used to breastfeeding, these disappear. There can be several other causes of painful let-downs that you may want to consider: Lots of milk.