Let-down
Also called letdown, let down, let-down reflex, milk ejection reflex
The let-down is the moment breast milk starts to flow, set off by the baby sucking at the breast. It usually takes about 30 seconds of sucking, and it can make milk drip from both breasts at once.
How it's said
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- Milk coming in happens once, about two to four days after the birth, when the breasts grow fuller. The let-down happens at every feed, when sucking starts the milk flowing.
Where it came from
The medical name is the milk ejection reflex. Sucking tells the body to release the hormone oxytocin, which makes the muscles around the milk glands squeeze milk out through the ducts.
The word also turns up in the name of a rare condition, dysphoric milk ejection reflex, where a sudden wave of strong negative feelings comes just before the let-down.