On Mon, 14 Jun 1999, Dr. Kristina Lewis wrote:
> It is true, however, that popular books on breastfeeding used to advocate
> having a beer or glass of wine prior to nursing to facilitate "let down".
(and a similar message from Don McBurney)
I'v heard this advice as well and find it curious. The milk let-down
hormone is oxytocin, stored and released from the posterior pituiary.
A closely-related posterior pituitary hormone is anti-diuretic hormone
(ADH), and the release of this hormone is definitely _inhibited_ by
alcohol. (In fact, bio-assays for ADH used to be carried out in an
alcohol-anesthetized rat for this very reason).
I think it's likely that alcohol also inhibits the release of
oxytocin, which would make the beer advice strikingly inappropriate on
physiological grounds.
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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