eli5: do boobs actually hold liquid milk or are they like camel humps?
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If I was actually explaining this to my five year old, I would say that breasts are mainly fat with some muscle in them along with parts that make and transport milk called ducts. The ducts aren’t like one big chamber—it’s more like a twisting tunnel system with many starting points. Those paths lead to the nipple, which has more than one opening at the tip (like a very tiny sprinkler system). So yeah, when someone is nursing, the liquid milk is basically made in these ducts. It makes the breasts feel firmer and fuller. And after a baby nurses (or the milk is pumped out), then breasts will feel softer for a while. Depending on how old the baby (or toddler) is, this cycle will repeat every few hours or so. When a duct gets clogged or infected, that leads to mastitis which is an awful condition that can turn into a serious health issue.
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