Like so many mums I agonised about low milk supply.
I had a very sleepy baby who woke to feed infrequently but was still hungry after she had fed. Although, she seemed otherwise healthy she gained weight very slowly and fell from the 50th to the 10th percentile fairly rapidly.
There can be all sorts of reasons why a mother's milk supply may be or seem inadequate. Looking back I am sure that being induced at 37 weeks and then having a c-section was the major cause as it made her very dozy in the first months.
Although, I think it's incredibly important to recognise that breastfeeding does not work out for everyone, particularly those struggling with mastitis, and we must respect every mothers' personal choices and circumstances, there are lots of things you can do that can help.
For the first 3 months I ended up supplementing with formula but after following a load of the tips in the list below my milk supply was eventually sufficient for her needs and my daughter continued to breast feed right up until 15 months.
I do help these tips help if you're currently struggling with low milk supply.
If you're looking for more breast feeding advice from mums who've been through it do check out the links from loads of brilliant mummy bloggers at the bottom of this post ... and feel free to share your own experiences ...
Tips for Increasing Low Milk Supply
- Lots & lots of skin to skin contact - strip both of you down whenever you can
- Rest as much as you possibly can
- Drink plenty of fluids particularly water ... drink small amounts throughout day
- Eat plenty of oats in porridge, cookies & puddings
- Pump after feeds - you will produce very little milk initially and it can be quite demoralising but it does usually help increase supply
- Eat flax seed - you can add it to porridge or make lactation cookies with it
- Fenugreek tablets or 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds mixed with water 3 times a day
- Drink blessed thistle tea - widely available in chemists, it seems to work best when combined with other herbal remedies such as fenugreek and alfa alfa
- Add alfa alfa sprouts to your food or try alfa alfa tablets and tea
- Practice relaxation exercises such as slow breathing or PMR which will reduce anxiety hormones that can inhibit milk supply
- Massage breasts before feeding
- Have a hot shower & apply hot compresses to breasts before feeding
- Eat a healthy diet including plenty of protein, whole grain carbs & fruit & veg but watch out for fruit & veg that may trigger colic and reflux
- If really struggling & family circumstances allow stay in bed for a week
- All over massage
- Get help with latching - it's easy to get obsessed by the "perfect latch" but if baby really does not seem to be getting enough milk get a lactation consultant or experienced breast feeder to watch you feed
- If baby is sleepy or easily distracted switch from side to side during feed - some experts emphasise importance of emptying each breast but this is better than them not feeding at all
- Feed more frequently - some "experts" disagree but letting baby feed on demand does help some although need to be careful that it doesn't leave mum completely exhausted as this won't help milk supply
- Longer, regular feeds - again some "experts" disagree but after first month, milk supply may be increased by long feeds every 2 and a half to 3 hours on a fairly strict schedule; this worked for me but only when my baby was nearly 3 months old
- Be patient - sometimes it just takes time for babies time to feed effectively. Premature, induced and c-section babies may be very sleepy for the first month but after the first month may suddenly start feeding efficiently and so increase supply
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