Читать книгу Need to Know Fertility, Conception and Pregnancy - Harriet Sharkey - Страница 132

One such problem is an excess of the hormone prolactin. This hormone, produced from the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, stimulates milk production after pregnancy, but sometimes women can produce high levels of this when they are not pregnant. This hormone not only stimulates milk production but inhibits egg production.

This means that women who are exclusively breastfeeding don’t ovulate regularly until their baby is weaned. However, if you develop high levels of this hormone when you are not pregnant, your periods will become infrequent, ovulation will be disturbed and you may notice some milk leaking from your nipples. This can be treated with a medication, such as bromocriptine, which suppresses the prolactin production and allows ovulation to occur.