HESI Pediatric Nursing Case Study – Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Practice Test

Milk production is driven by the infant’s feeding. When the neonate nurses, signals from the nipple travel to the brain and trigger release of prolactin from the pituitary. Prolactin then acts on the mammary glands to synthesize milk, so continued suckling sustains and increases production. This supply-and-demand mechanism means more nursing leads to more milk being produced. Oxytocin, while important for milk ejection, does not drive production itself. So the best statement is that the act of sucking stimulates milk production, rather than hormones alone, no effect, or random timing.