Hormones and human milk.

The presence of several hormones in milk occurring either by passive diffusion or by active concentrating mechanism from blood can be of great concern to the neonate. According to Fulkerson [1979] when the clearance rates of the hormones out of blood is considered, this worry is unwarranted. Concerning the steroids, when their levels have been monitored in milk after lactogenesis, the worry for the baby seems to be unfounded. But with the new finding of high level of LH-RH in milk whose concentration far exceeds that of blood, care should be taken to examine in the neonates whether the levels of LH and FSH become disproportionately high and induce the secretion of gonadal steroids at a higher level.