"Breast-feed- v. To feed (a baby) mother's milk from the breast; suckle.
v. intr.To breastfeed a baby."
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Breastfeeding is the natural way of providing a baby with nutrition, and though not all mothers choose to breastfeed, and not all babies can be breastfed, it is the most commonly used and most recommended method of feeding one's child.

This entry will discuss the mechanism of breastfeeding and its benefits to child and mother. It will also explain the reasons why not all mothers choose to, or indeed can, breastfeed.

Throughout the last two trimesters of pregnancy, the woman's body starts preparing for lactation. The hormones Progesterone and Oestrogen prepare the milk ducts inside the breast, by making them wider. The Alveoli are little bunches of sacs that produce the milk, and undergo changes during the pregnancy to be ready in time for the birth of the baby. Other hormones, such as Oxytocine, influence the woman's body as well. After the delivery of the Placenta (after birth), the levels of Progesterone and Oestrogen drop, and while the baby starts suckling on the areola (the dark area around the nipple), the levels of Oxytocine rise and milk is released from the Alveoli into the milk ducts and carries on from there into the sacs (milk pools) behind the areola and from there into the back of the baby's mouth. In the first few days after birth milk production is low, and the milk comes in the form of Colostrum, a yellowy liquid that contains antibodies to build up the baby's immune system, line the baby's intestines and protect it. The amounts of Colostrum the baby drinks are minute, and do not satisfy its hunger. After 3-4 days, if the demand for milk persists, the woman's body produces Mature Milk to satisfy the baby's hunger and quench its thirst. The milk then comes out first in a thirst quenching, watery form, called the Fore Milk, and then in a fatty, filling form, called Hind Milk. Hind Milk only comes in after the baby suckles for a few minutes, and this is the reason why it is recommended that babies are allowed to suckle for about 20 minutes from each breast.

Breastfeeding works in a system of supply and demand, the more the baby needs feeding, the more milk the mother produces. Stress, tiredness and hormonal changes can affect milk production, though in saying that, many women have breastfed successfully through the drop in hormones that followed the birth, which brings on changes in mood, and sometimes a form of depression. Tiredness is a natural part of being a new mother, especially if a woman has more than one child, and still women can breastfeed through it, too.

The Milk Let Down reflex is felt in every feed, sometimes before a feed or just at the thought of the baby, or hearing the baby cry. It is influenced by the Oxytocine hormone and brings the milk through the ducts into the sacs to feed the baby. Some women feel it as a tingle, others as a dull pain, but it is normally noticed and indicates to a regular breastfeeding routine¹.