How does breastfeeding affect....?

Question

How does breastfeeding affect my estrogen supply? Does it make estrogen higher or lower while breastfeeding and does it stay that way the entire time I am breastfeeding or does it change at all?

Answer 1

fter delivery, estrogen levels drop and remain low in the first several months of breastfeeding. The increase of progesterone during pregnancy also causes the alveoli and lobes to grow. Prolactin, also called the "mothering hormone," is another hormone that is increased during pregnancy and adds to the growth of breast tissue. Prolactin levels also rise during feedings as the nipple is stimulated. As prolactin is released from the brain into the mother's bloodstream during breastfeeding, alveolar cells respond by making milk. Oxytocin is the other hormone that plays a vital role because it is necessary for the let-down, or milk-ejection reflex to occur. It stimulates the alveoli cells to contract so the milk can be pushed down into the ducts. Oxytocin also contracts the muscle of the uterus during and after birth, which helps the uterus to get back to its original size and lessens any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth. The release of both prolactin and oxytocin may be responsible in part for a mother's intense feeling of needing to be with her baby.

Answer 2

it makes your estrogen go, up!