What is the reason for having breast milk without being pregnant?

Breasts are very important for women. When a baby is pregnant, the breasts can provide breast milk to the baby so that the baby can grow healthily. Some women find that their breasts secrete milk or their breasts are underdeveloped when they are unmarried and not pregnant, which affects their normal life. Let us now understand why women have milk without being pregnant.

How milk is produced

Milk secretion is achieved under the control of the nervous system through the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovarian axis to regulate the secretion of prolactin by the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is the center for regulating milk secretion, and the pituitary gland produces prolactin based on signals from the hypothalamus. Under normal circumstances, the level of prolactin in a woman's body is very low, which can only maintain normal breast development but cannot cause milk secretion. After pregnancy, the increased sex hormones in the pregnant woman's body provide feedback, allowing the hypothalamus to receive pregnancy information and rapidly increase the secretion of prolactin, thereby promoting milk secretion.

Milk secretion in pathological conditions

The secretion of milk in the absence of pregnancy is a pathological phenomenon, and this disease is called "hyperprolactinemia". Patients with hyperprolactinemia, in addition to galactorrhea, often also have varying degrees of menstrual disorders. Severe cases may even experience symptoms such as amenorrhea, hair loss, weight gain, headache, visual impairment, and genital atrophy, forming a group of diseases with galactorrhea, amenorrhea, and infertility as the main manifestations, also known as "galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome."

Reason: irregular work and rest schedule or influence

There are many causes of hyperprolactinemia, including hypothalamic disorders, pituitary disorders, primary hypothyroidism, drug factors, nerve stimulation, etc. If people stay up late for a long time and have irregular work and rest schedules, the body's biological clock will be disrupted, and the regulation of the "hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian" gonadal axis may be broken, which in turn causes hyperprolactinemia.

The secretion of milk by non-pregnant women is also called "hyperprolactinemia". Patients with hyperprolactinemia, in addition to galactorrhea, are often accompanied by varying degrees of menstrual disorders. In severe cases, they may even experience symptoms such as amenorrhea, hair loss, weight gain, headache, visual impairment, and genital atrophy, forming a group of diseases with galactorrhea, amenorrhea, and infertility as the main manifestations, also known as "galactorrhea and amenorrhea syndrome." However, regardless of the severity of the symptoms, the main cause is the excessive production of prolactin. There are many causes of hyperprolactinemia, which can be roughly divided into the following categories: hypothalamic disorders, pituitary disorders, primary hypothyroidism, drug factors, nerve stimulation, etc.

A woman's breasts will secrete milk only after giving birth. However, some unmarried girls may suddenly find wet stains on their bras. If you squeeze your breasts occasionally, you can see a white liquid similar to milk flowing out. To explain the reason, we must first understand the production of milk after women give birth: the development of women's breasts is mainly affected by the effects of estrogen and progesterone secreted by the ovaries. Estrogen stimulates the development of breast lobules, and progesterone stimulates the growth of breast ducts. Milk secretion is controlled by the nervous system through the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovarian axis, which regulates the secretion of prolactin by the pituitary gland.

The above is a detailed introduction to having milk when not pregnant. You must pay more attention to the secretion of milk during the non-pregnant period. If you find any unpleasant conditions, you should go to a regular hospital for a detailed physical examination as soon as possible. When necessary, you should have regular physical examinations to keep track of your physical condition at all times. In life, you should pay attention to breast care and avoid wearing tight bras, which will hinder blood circulation and cause breast diseases.