Oxytocin: The Biological Guide to Motherhood by Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg

Author:Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg [Uvnäs-Moberg, Kerstin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Praeclarus Press
Published: 2016-11-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Effects on Digestion and Metabolism in Breastfeeding Mothers

In order to nourish the fetus in the womb and to give milk to the child during breastfeeding, perhaps for several years, the mother has to transfer large amounts of calories to the fetus or infant. During pregnancy, the mother transfers about 150,000 calories to the fetus. During breastfeeding, a mother who exclusively breastfeeds transfers about 1,000 calories per day to her baby via the milk.

The mother has to cope with this extra energy demand. In our Western world, the need for extra calories during pregnancy and breastfeeding is easily compensated. Food is available, often in abundance, and pregnant and breastfeeding women may eat as much as they want and need in order to compensate for the calories they transfer to the fetus or the baby. This has, however, not always been the case. In order to help women create and feed children when the supply of food is short, women, like other mammals, are provided with a multitude of physiological adaptations, which were described in the previous chapters and which help them use energy more efficiently.

Clinical Studies

Some clinical studies were performed to investigate the role of breastfeeding on the endocrine system of the gut in women and possible associations between the levels of gastrointestinal hormones and breastfeeding variables. Also, the relationship between the levels of the different gastrointestinal hormones and breastfeeding variables were assessed.

1. Six blood samples were collected in connection with breastfeeding in six women during established lactation. The mothers’ experiences of the milk-ejection reflex were noted. The third blood sample was collected one minute after the occurrence of the milk-ejection reflex. Gastrin, insulin, and prolactin levels were measured with RIA (Widstrom et al., 1984).

2. This study was performed on 15 multiparous women in connection with a breastfeed. Gastrin and somatostatin levels were measured in 11 blood samples collected during the breastfeeding session. The amount of milk received by the infants during the breastfeed was recorded (Widstrom, Winberg, et al., 1988).

3. Fifty-two primiparous women participated in the study. Eighteen blood samples were collected in connection with a breastfeed on day four after birth. Thirty-six women who were still breastfeeding were subjected to a second experiment three- to four-months postpartum. The women’s smoking habits were recorded. Somatostatin levels were measured by RIA. (Oxytocin and prolactin levels were also measured as described in a previous chapter.) Milk yield in connection with the breastfeeding session and the duration of breastfeeding was recorded. In addition, the weight of the infant at birth as well as placental weight was noted (Widstrom, Matthiesen, Winberg, & Uvnäs-Moberg, 1989; Widstrom, Werner, Matthiesen, Svensson, & Uvnäs-Moberg, 1991).

4. Repeated blood samples were collected during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Oxytocin, somatostatin, gastrin, and insulin levels were measured and linked to the outcome of breastfeeding (Silber et al., 1991).

Main Results

Gastrin and insulin levels exhibited a peak-shaped rise within a few minutes after onset of breastfeeding (Widstrom et al., 1984; Widstrom, Winberg, et al., 1988).

Somatostatin levels sometimes rose and sometimes fell in response to suckling.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.