Lactation facts for kids

Kittens drinking milk from their mother

A mother pig feeding her piglets

Lactation is when a mother's body makes and releases milk to feed her young. This happens in almost all female mammals after their babies are born. For humans, this process is also called breastfeeding or nursing.

In most animals, milk comes out of the mother's nipples. But some animals are different! For example, the platypus is a special type of mammal called a monotreme. It releases milk through small holes on its belly. There's only one mammal where males normally make milk: the Dayak fruit bat.

How Milk is Made

Making milk needs special chemicals called hormones. The two main hormones are prolactin (PRL) and oxytocin. These hormones tell the body when and how much milk to produce.

Scientists believe that milk production developed from something older mammals already had. The cells that make milk came from special glands in the skin. This means that because early mammals had glands in their skin, they were able to develop the ability to make milk.

Why Mother's Milk is Important

Mother's milk is more than just food for babies. It also contains special protectors called antibodies. These antibodies help protect the baby from sickness. They work until the baby's own immune system is strong enough.

When a baby is born, it gets some antibodies (called IgG) from its mother through the placenta. But it takes about six months for a baby to make its own antibodies. So, mom's milk gives them other antibodies (like IgA) to help protect them until then.

In the Animal Kingdom

Almost all mammals have nursing spots to feed their young, but nature has some surprising variations.

Monotremes, such as the platypus, are mammals that lay eggs. They do not have nipples. Instead, they release milk through special skin areas on their bellies for hatchlings to lap up.

Scientists have discovered that some non-mammals feed their babies in similar ways:

• Pigeons and doves produce a nutrient-rich substance in their throats called crop milk.
• Flamingos and some penguins feed their chicks with a similar milky fluid.
• The discus fish makes a healthy mucus coating that baby fish eat right off their parents' scales.
• Mother jumping spiders of the species Toxeus magnus feed nutritious milk drops to their spiderlings.

Images for kids

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  A mother coyote making milk, with her teats visible

See also

In Spanish: Lactancia para niños