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Our Health Library information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Please be advised that this information is made available to assist our patients to learn more about their health. Our providers may not see and/or treat all topics found herein.

Let-Down Reflex

Let-down is the process by which milk is released from the milk glands to the milk ducts in preparation for breastfeeding. When a breastfeeding woman's breasts are stimulated by suckling or pumping, the pituitary gland produces the hormone oxytocin, which triggers the let-down reflex.

Signs of let-down include:

  • A tingling sensation in the nipples, sometimes with mild pain.
  • Milk leaking from the breast before nursing or pumping, or leaking from one breast while the baby is nursing at the other breast. Some women may experience let-down when they hear a baby cry.