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" Breasts come in many shapes and sizes. This has no effect on the milk production. A woman with small breasts can produce the same amount of milk as a woman with larger breasts. The dark area around the nipple is called areola. On the areola you find the Montgomery glands, they look like small pimples. They produce an oil that lubricates the nipple and discourages the growth of bacteria. At the end of the nipple you'll find the nipple pores where your baby receives the milk through. Milk is produced in the alveoli, grape like clusters of glandular tissue deep within the breast. From the alveoli the milk is expelled in small milk ducts and they empty into larger ducts. These larger ducts widen underneath the nipple and areola and form reservoirs where milk collects. The milk collected in these reservoirs or sinuses is the milk the baby receives first when he starts to nurse. It is called "fore milk". It is thirst quenching, high in volume, low in fat. While your baby nurses, new milk is being produced in the alveoli. This milk contains more proteins, fat and calories than the fore milk and this is the milk that puts weight on your baby. It is called "hind milk". The baby's sucking causes a hormone called oxytocin to squeeze this milk down the ducts to the nipple. This is called the "let-down reflex" and you may feel a tingling feeling in your breast. This usually happens a minute or so after your baby starts nursing. "
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