At the University of Otago, researchers have traced the precise neural pathway through which prolactin — the hormone that enables milk production — also makes the act of caring for a newborn feel genuinely rewarding rather than merely obligatory. By revealing how this hormone triggers dopamine release in the brain's reward center, the science reframes maternal bonding not as a matter of will or instinct alone, but as a biological process that can succeed, falter, and potentially be restored. For the one in five New Zealand mothers who experience peripartum mood disorders, this discovery offers
Prolactin pathway explains why motherhood feels rewarding, not just necessary
Approximately one in five mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand suffer from peripartum mood disorders, affecting maternal wellbeing and family functioning.