An Ode to Prolactin

Thanks to Prolactin, I find myself wanting to nibble these two faces on a daily basis.

In my breastfeeding post below, I mentioned Prolactin, the hormone that helps a woman's body in the production of milk. I mentioned how it is mainly produced at night: it is the reason why night-time breastfeeding is so important.

What I didn't talk about was the positive effect Prolactin has on nursing moms, namely this one (that'd be me). As I found detailed online:

Prolactin is called the "mothering hormone" because it "physiologically produces in the mother an intensification of her 'motherliness,' the pleasurable care of her child (Montagu, 1971).

In a nutshell: it makes me feel funky-good! The comment I've been getting most often from friends since Samina's birth is how unwaveringly calm I seem. Like nothing can get me down. And it's so weird, but they're right! For the first time in my entire life, I have this calm, warm glow around me at all times (ok, at almost all times...I do have 2 children...and a husband...hi, Andrea!). Most days, I honestly feel like I can and could and would - and do - take on anything. Dealing with our heavy stroller in 100+ degree heat, carrying Samina and a load of groceries up two flights of stairs at the same time, frantically trying to multi-task cooking dinner and folding laundry whilst playing "restaurant" with Sofia, that inevitable and unkind Italian bureaucracy (for the record: it does double when you double the members in your family), the arrival of any unwanted and unexpected extra bills to pay...I've become Superwoman. Or, should I say, SuperMom.


Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prolactin and, therefore, Nature for having the foresight to give new mothers their own built-in happy pills. It does, however, disturb me to think of what I might turn back into once the nursing stops...hi Andrea!

Stay Tuned.