These cells are connected to milk ducts through which milk passes and stored breast milk or reservoirs. These deposits are located just behind the pigmented area around the nipple called the areola.


However, milk supply is not a supply and demand process. Milk production in the mammary gland begins long before the mother gives birth to a child. During pregnancy, milk production is mainly controlled by the endocrine system. Alveoli are developed inside the breast, once they are stimulated by hormones. The hormones that stimulate the development of the alveoli include estrogen, progesterone, pituitary prolactin, and placental lactogen.


All these hormones are produced during the second trimester of pregnancy.
While estrogen stimulates growth and cell formation in the alveoli and milk ducts, progesterone regulates the production of milk during pregnancy. Increased levels of progesterone helps to maintain low milk volume at the time of pregnancy. Alveolar cells respond to milk after stimulating the secretion of prolactin from the pituitary gland located within the brain. Oxytocin is another hormone that occurs at birth and is necessary for milk-ejection reflex to occur.
The production of colostrum in mothers usually occurs in two stages, a process known as lactogenesis. While lactation-I started late in the second quarter, lactation-II starts after 48 hours of labor.

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