How to increase your milk supply?

A couple of my friends just became moms and they keep calling me for advice about breastfeeding. Well, I am not a lactation consultant, but after breastfeeding for almost two years I can give some useful advice. Here is one of my old posts and the points below are especially meant for new breastfeeding mothers.

Every breastfeeding mom knows them…the ups and downs in milk supply. In the first few months of my »breastfeeding career« there were days when milk was leaking and I had to use breast pads. There were days when the supply just met the demand. And there were also days when my breast was soft and felt completely empty. The first ones can be annoying but at least you are sure you have enough milk. The second ones are those that you don't even remember. But the last ones are those you will never forget…

What helped us through those low-supply days:

- Drink plenty of fluids. Put glasses with water or tea all around your home (especially on the places where you usually breastfeed). Also don't forget to drink during the night.

- Make a cup of herbal tea for breastfeeding mothers. Use the one in tea bags with no added sugar.

- Use some Weleda (or similar) oil for breasts and massage them. I use it every evening as it helps preventing tenderness. In couple of hours my brests are surprisingly full. I still don't know what's the magic behind it :-)

- Increase the frequency of feeding. On those days I try to put him on my breast every one or two hours. I often wear him in a sling so he can nurse as much as he wants.

- Try to increase skinship. Sleeping naked together is probably the best way to increase skin to skin contact. Baby massage and babywearing can also help.

- Relax. You probably worked too much the day before. Take some time and nap with your baby. A hot bath can also help.

- Put the pacifier out of your baby's mouth. If you are using a pacifier try not to use it on those days. Use your breast instead. It will signal your breasts that they need to produce more milk.

- Don't get stressed. Those days usually pass as quickly as the come. If you follow the advice your milk supply should increase in one or two days.

- Avoid negative advice. Don't get into those »Are you having enough milk?« discussions. They will probably try to convince you to give your baby some formula. But than your breasts will get the wrong message. Stay confident, and calm. If you need assistance surround yourself with positive and supportive people.

-  Call LLLI or contact your lactation consultatnt. If you have a question or just need to talk to someone knowledgable and experienced you should call La Leche League International. They have very kind and supportive consultants and support groups in most of the countries. For your local LLL contact their web page.

- Breastfeeding works on the principle of supply and demand. The more your baby sucks, the more milk you produce. But it doesn't happen in real time. It usually takes one to three days to reach the balance again. You have to be persistant.

I wish you to reach the balance soon. Good luck!

What are your experiences with breastfeeding? How do you increase milk supply? I will be happy to read you comments and ideas.

Comments

[tanja]

anja,
you summed up well how one feels as what is crucial to do when those dark 'down' days come. I would only add that it was very helpful for me to talk to the LLL consultant Karmen who helped me believe that there's nothing wrong with my milk. I would suggest everyone to call the LLL when they lack the confidence themselves...

[Anja]

Thanks Tanja. I really forgot that one. But I still remember how much it helped you to talk to Karmen this summer :-))) I've added it to the list already. And there is one more I should add...call Tanja, hehe. We really helped each other in the last couple months. And we were lucky that we never had the "bad days" at the same time, so we kept supporting each other. Thank you so much!

[Doc Posh from LiquidVitaminAnswers.com]

This is simply an excellent article full of valuable information.

As a wholistic pracitioner, I send many of my breast feeding patients to a lactation consultant in order to insure that baby receives the full benefits of a natural breast fed diet.

Keep the good information coming.

Sincerely,
Doc Posch

[Anja]

Dear Doc Posch, thanks for your comment. I can see that more and more mothers are breastfeeding here in Europe and even extended breastfeeding is better accepted among people.