Why many women cannot make enough breast milk

THE STRUGGLE to breastfeed is a defining feature of early motherhood for many women. Of the approximately 90% of mothers in rich countries who start breastfeeding, a quarter give up within a few weeks, often because they fear they are not producing enough milk to feed their babies. For many years doctors have assumed that true cases of poor supply are rare, occurring in no more than 5% of mothers. The prevailing advice to worried parents from health authorities in places such as England and America has, therefore, been to stimulate the release of milk by either putting the baby...