Physiology of Human Female Lactation

This comprehensive Monograph examines all peripheral and central mechanisms of regulating the secretion of milk from the lactating breast. The author reviews the complete female breast development, starting with the early childhood, up to pregnancy and lactation. Structural and ultrastructural data on the alveolar-ductal system, together with details of breast innervation, are used to investigate the physiological process of lactation.
Readers will appreciate the special focus on reflexes, both in the child and the mother, that help to regulate maternal milk production and secretion. Following this, the author sheds a light on the composition and dynamics of milk components during the different periods of lactation. The final section of this volume focusses on practical aspects of modern breastfeeding, like the use of breast pumps or galactogogues, to influence the productivity of milk production.

These fundamental principles and structural details will be particularly useful for physiologists and clinicians working in gynecology and pediatrics.

Provides physiological background to an often only clinically discussed topic. Examines morphological and molecular characteristics of the lactating breast. Critically discusses the effect and use of galactogogues on lactation.

Autorentext

Prof. Alekseev Nikolay Petrovitch, Department of General Physiology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Research interests: role of sensory systems in the regulation of lactation, as well as the development of breast pump for women, working on the physiological principles of milk ejection.

The author works together with D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, on the physiology of women's lactation.He is the author of 192 articles and two books on sensory physiology and lactation physiology.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Origin and development of the breast.- Chapter 3: Structure of the lactating breast.- Chapter 4: Breast function during the initial period of lactation (lactogenesis I and II).- Chapter 5: The period of established lactation (lactogenesis III).