NationStates Jolt Archive


Aha! Now Mom's Have An Even Better Reason To Breastfeed!

Kyronea
19-07-2008, 15:25
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7513267.stm

Breastfeeding trust hormone clue

Scientists have for the first time shown how a "trust" hormone is released in the brains of breastfeeding mothers.

It is further proof that breastfeeding promotes the maternal bond through a biochemical process.

The team at Warwick University said the hormone oxytocin was known to be released during breastfeeding but the mechanism in the brain was unclear.

Oxytocin also produces contractions during labour and causes milk to be "let down" from the mammary glands.

The hormone is produced in the hypothalamus - the part of the brain that controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, anger and tiredness.

It has been shown to promote feelings of trust and confidence and to reduce fear.

Co-ordination

The study, published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, found that in response to a baby suckling, specialised neurons in the mothers' brain start to release the hormone from the nerve endings.

But surprisingly oxytocin is also released from the part of the cell called the dendrite which is usually the part of a neurone which receives, rather than transmits information.

The model gives us a possible explanation of an important event in the brain that could be used to study and explain many other similar brain activities
Professor Jianfeng Feng

Using a mathematical model, the researchers worked out that this release from the dendrites allows a massive increase in communication between the neurons, co-ordinating a "swarm" of oxytocin factories producing intense bursts of the hormone.

They is an example of an "emergent process", the scientists said - a closely co-ordinated action developing without a single leader, in the same as a flock of birds or insects swarms.

Study leader, Professor Jianfeng Feng said: "We knew that these pulses arise because, during suckling, oxytocin neurons fire together in dramatic synchronised bursts.

"But exactly how these bursts arise has been a major problem that has until now eluded explanation.

"The model gives us a possible explanation of an important event in the brain that could be used to study and explain many other similar brain activities."

A spokesperson for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said breastfeeding for up to two years can have "significant health benefits" for mother and baby.

You get to drug up your kid and make them trust you more! It's win win!
Saint Jade IV
19-07-2008, 15:34
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7513267.stm



You get to drug up your kid and make them trust you more! It's win win!

Except for the saggy boobs. I don't think it would be a win for too many partners.

On a more serious note, I've always been suspicious of the purported benefits of breast-feeding. I couldn't drink breast milk because I had an allergy. Yet I turned out to be intelligent, not immunodeficient etc.
Call to power
19-07-2008, 15:40
surely the bond between mother and baby is usually strong enough anyway?

You get to drug up your kid and make them trust you more! It's win win!

well I suppose you could still drink from your mothers boobies and get these benefits...
The Remote Islands
19-07-2008, 15:41
mmmm!
Smunkeeville
19-07-2008, 15:44
They already knew this, oxytocin is also a hormone that is released during sexual activity and orgasm. It's why baby boys will sometimes get erections while breast feeding.
Call to power
19-07-2008, 15:47
They already knew this, oxytocin is also a hormone that is released during sexual activity and orgasm. It's why baby boys will sometimes get erections while breast feeding.

so if I was to say drink some bottled breast milk (hypothetically of course) I would get a hard-on?
Smunkeeville
19-07-2008, 15:50
so if I was to say drink some bottled breast milk (hypothetically of course) I would get a hard-on?

Probably not. The oxytocin would be so dilute in your grown up body that it wouldn't matter much. Also, there is a line of thought that baby boys just like having titties in their mouths.
Blouman Empire
20-07-2008, 05:44
so if I was to say drink some bottled breast milk (hypothetically of course) I would get a hard-on?

If that's what turns you on.
Katganistan
20-07-2008, 06:19
Also, there is a line of thought that baby boys just like having titties in their mouths.

Grown up boys just like having them in their mouths, too.
Wilgrove
20-07-2008, 10:35
Grown up boys just like having them in their mouths, too.

and how! :D
Brutland and Norden
20-07-2008, 12:33
You get to drug up your kid and make them trust you more! It's win win!
*wants to breastfeed his children, but can't*

Except for the saggy boobs. I don't think it would be a win for too many partners.
Saggy boobs are big boobs. Go get the pushup bras. :)

On a more serious note, I've always been suspicious of the purported benefits of breast-feeding. I couldn't drink breast milk because I had an allergy. Yet I turned out to be intelligent, not immunodeficient etc.
It's not breastfeed --> intelligent or not breastfed --> immunodeficient. Not like that. There are a lot of factors that contribute to intelligence or immunodeficiency. Breastfeeding is just one of them. Perhaps, other factors may had been at work for you. But still, breastfeeding is the best for babies.

They already knew this, oxytocin is also a hormone that is released during sexual activity and orgasm. It's why baby boys will sometimes get erections while breast feeding.
Also, there is a line of thought that baby boys just like having titties in their mouths.
OMG! I thought I was sooooo innocent when I was breastfed! :eek:
Xomic
20-07-2008, 12:41
Except for the saggy boobs. I don't think it would be a win for too many partners.

Saggy breasts > Fake ones


On a more serious note, I've always been suspicious of the purported benefits of breast-feeding. I couldn't drink breast milk because I had an allergy. Yet I turned out to be intelligent, not immunodeficient etc.

And yet you're on NSG, posting....

:D
Smunkeeville
20-07-2008, 14:27
OMG! I thought I was sooooo innocent when I was breastfed! :eek:

You were. You of all people, being a boy, should know your penis acts up for no reason half the time. Living through puberty should have proven to you that erections commonly pop up when you don't want them to.
Brutland and Norden
20-07-2008, 15:35
You were. You of all people, being a boy, should know your penis acts up for no reason half the time. Living through puberty should have proven to you that erections commonly pop up when you don't want them to.
Well, yeah, but then half of the time my penis acts up for a reason. :$