A breast's primary function is to nourish babies.
While the most visible function of the female breast might appear to be to attract the male of the species, its primary purpose is to nourish and feed babies. The breast is composed of perfectly designed tissue to enable milk production and transference to babies, and all other changes are secondary to this purpose.
Anatomy
Female breasts contain lymph nodes, blood vessels, lobes, ducts, and also fat. There is no muscle in the actual breast; the pectoral muscle lies behind all of the breast tissue over the rib cage. The areola--the darker skinned area around the nipple--contains Montgomery glands which lubricate the area during breastfeeding. The nipple is connected to a series of lobes and lobules via ducts; the lobes are arranged circularly around the center of the breast like the spokes on a wheel. The breast also contains blood and lymph vessels, while the rest of the space is filled in with fat cells.
Breastfeeding
A breast's primary function is to nourish babies. During pregnancy the body begins preparing the breasts for milk production, and after childbirth, once the baby is stimulating the breast by sucking, the pituitary gland releases the hormones prolactin and oxytocin which begins milk production and release. For the first 3 to 5 days after child birth the mother's body produces small volumes of "early milk," colostrum, which is yellowish in color. These small amounts are the vitally perfect first meals for newborns and contain important antibodies and nutrition for the start of life. While breasts are made to store milk, and sometimes become painfully engorged once breast milk production begins, they also produce milk on-demand during feeding. When the lobules are stimulated by the release of hormones from the baby's sucking, the "milk ejection reflex" begins, more commonly known as the milk "let down" which releases the breast milk from the lobes, through the ducts, and to the nipple. The baby latches on to both the nipple and a portion of the surrounding tissue--the areola. Milk production works by demand and supply; the more the baby sucks, the more milk is produced. When the baby is not given access to breastfeeding as needed, milk supply can decrease.
Other Changes
Breasts change depending on the hormones present in the woman's body. During a woman's menstruation when the hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone change, the ducts enlarge, therefore retaining water and causing swelling. This swelling may even become uncomfortable or painful, and lumps may be present. A week after menstruation is the ideal time to perform self-breast exams to check for any changes in tissue. During and after menopause, a woman's breasts also undergo more changes. The glandular tissue that enables milk production shrinks and makes the breast less dense, leaving it easier to detect potentially cancerous tissue on a mammogram. Sometimes, because of the loss of the hormones during and after menopause, a woman's breasts become sore or lumpy, and sometimes they form internal fluid-filled cysts. Regular self-exams and mammograms are required to detect and lumps that might be cancerous.
Tags: milk production, after menopause, after menopause woman, breast milk, breast primary
