Nature Works in Beautiful Ways for Child Rearing- Part 2 - About Child Science

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About Child Science

Nature Works in Beautiful Ways for Child Rearing- Part 2

I would like to continue in more detail, my observations of the relationships between the secretion of mother's milk and the relating hormones.

The deep gift of mother's milk: Giving as is needed

In the history of Western civilization, it has been documented that orphanages and hospitals received breastmilk since there was no technology to produce formula from cow's milk. Mothers who would be breastfeeding their own children, would work as nurses in these institutions and feed the babies there also. They became the wet nurses for these babies.

These wet nurses were able to secrete sufficient quantities of milk for the number of babies they were feeding. Thus, their bodies would produce more and more milk in proportion to the number of babies that were to be breastfed. When the nipple is stimulated through the baby's sucking, the quantity of prolactin in the blood surges by two to four times. The more the stimulation strengthens, the more saturated the blood becomes with high levels of prolactin. The duration that this level of prolactin is maintained also increases. Hence, the quantity of mother's milk produced is proportionate to the amount of hormone in the mother's blood.

The relationship between the mother's emotional state and breast milk.

The secretion of milk by the mother is not solely dependent on the mother's actions, but is rather a joint activity of mother and child. However, depending on the mother's emotional state or the circumstances surrounding her environmental conditions, it is possible for prolactin to stop secreting. The cerebrum controls the secretion of prolactin from the pituitary gland.

Thus, the state of mind of the mother largely influences the secretion of breast milk in an indirect way. Just by having negative thoughts such as, "I shouldn't have had this child," or "I don't have confidence in child rearing,"or "nobody is supportive of me and gives me a helping hand," the secretion of prolactin can come to a screeching halt, which ultimately stops the production of breastmilk.

This may be a product of evolution that nature has worked out over the years. If the mother is not ready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood, or cannot love her child, nature does not allow her the capabilities to be an effective mother by stopping the secretion of her prolactin.

Therefore, in this complicated world, it seems critical that the mother be fulfilled materially, as well as spiritually in order to be able to pass on the energy of life and raise a child to be an effective member of society. This is a pertinent topic of discussion for contemporary society.

Kobayashi, Noboru (1991). Ikuji no tameni shizen ha arayurukoto wo suru - 2 (written in Japanese). Tokyo: Child Research Net. Retrieved September 17, 2001, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.crn.or.jp/LIBRARY/KOBY/MIRAI/cbs0085.html

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