Breastmilk Circadian Rhythm
Fact: Your breastmilk follows a circadian rhythm just like sleep!
Breastmilk changes dramatically over the course of the day.
Hormone Production
☀️Cortisol which is a hormone that promotes alertness is three times higher in morning milk.
?Melatonin which promotes sleep and digestion is barely detected in daytime milk and rises in the evening peaking around midnight. In addition to melatonin, your evening and nighttime breastmilk is rich with other sleep-inducing and brain-boosting substances which can help with sleep-wake cycles in infancy when melatonin production is not yet established.
?Prolactin is a hormone that is secreted every time your baby suckles or you pump and tells your body to keep making milk. It also peaks in the overnight hours and early morning. This hormone is also the reason why you may find skipping a feed during the day doesn’t affect you nearly like going a long stretch at night. If you’ve ever been woken up by your leaking, engorged breasts you know what I’m talking about ??
The take-home here: Babies are not born with a circadian rhythm nor due they produce melatonin until a few months old. Breastfeeding can help promote sleep and establish a circadian rhythm due to the secretion of these hormones through your breastmilk.
Pumping and Circadian Rhythm
Breastfeeding or pumping in the middle of the night is important to establishing your supply in the first few months of life as prolactin production is at it’s highest in the overnight and early morning hours. Once the middle of the night feedings go away, you may still need to pump before going to bed to maintain your optimal breastmilk supply.
Try pumping first thing in the morning or 30-45 minutes after your first feed of the morning to get the most bang out of your pumping buck. If you’re trying to build a freezer stash or just trying to pump a few extra ounces to have an extra bottle in the fridge so you can be away from your baby for more than 2-3 hours you can also use a Haakaa silicone pump,
If you have breast or bottle feeding questions, I offer in-home feeding consultations for Kansas City residents as well as virtual consults. I also offer phone calls and email packages if you have a few questions and don’t require a full consultation.
