Lactation

Lactation is the production and secretion of milk by mammary glands, usually after pregnancy. It supplies nutrition and immune protection to offspring.

Prolactin: A pituitary hormone that promotes milk synthesis in mammary glands. Its release rises after birth and stimulates milk-producing cells.
Mammogenesis: The growth and development of mammary glands. Pregnancy-driven gland development builds the tissue that later produces milk.
Breastfeeding: Feeding an infant directly with milk from the breast. It is the most familiar way infants receive milk produced through lactation.
Secretory immunoglobulin A: An antibody that protects mucosal surfaces and is abundant in human milk. Milk transfers this immune protection to an infant's digestive tract.
Oxytocin: A hormone that causes smooth muscle contraction, including milk ejection from mammary glands. Infant suckling triggers its release, moving milk into ducts.
Alveolus (mammary gland): A small sac of milk-secreting epithelial cells within a mammary gland. Alveoli are the primary sites where milk is synthesized and stored.
Breast pump: A device that removes milk from the breast by suction. Milk expression can maintain supply when direct feeding is not possible.
Human milk oligosaccharides: Complex sugars in human milk that shape infant gut microbes and immune development. Their effects extend beyond nutrition to influence the infant microbiome.
Lactogenesis: The initiation and establishment of milk secretion by mammary glands. It names the transition from pregnancy-related breast changes to active milk production.
Lactocyte: An epithelial cell that synthesizes and secretes milk components in the mammary gland. Lactocytes produce the fats, proteins, and sugars found in milk.

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