Abstract
The regulation of milk production and composition in the human is an intricate and complex process that integrates structure with function in the presence of hormonal, behavioural, and nutritional factors. While some of these factors directly influence milk production and/or composition, other can be inferred only from indirect evidence. This review will highlight four major determinants of milk production and composition: the anatomical factors of the breast at the level of both gross and molecular structure; the hormonal factors, including reproductive and metabolic hormones; maternal behavioural factors as they relate to infant feeding patterns; and nutritional factors as they relate to the maternal diet and metabolic adaptation to the lactational process. While all of these factors are essential for optimal lactational performance, this review will focus primarily on the nutritional factors that influence the outcome of lactation, i.e. milk production and composition.
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Motil, K.J. (1996). What determines the production and composition of breast milk?. In: Bindels, J.G., Goedhart, A.C., Visser, H.K.A. (eds) Recent Developments in Infant Nutrition. Tenth Nutricia Symposium, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1790-3_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1790-3_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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