What can I do to produced more breastmilk for my baby?

Question

My baby girl is 7 months now and I kno I am doing a good job by breast feeding her this long but sometimes my breasts are on "E" when it comes to milk and I want to know what I can do to make more milk without taking any pills....

Answer 1

What makes you think that you have supply problems? Is your baby gaining weight well? Is she meeting milestones? Having plenty of wet and dirty diapers? (What goes in must come out.)

The feel of your breasts, the way your baby behaves, the frequency of nursing sessions, teeling (or NOT feeling) the sensation of let-down, and especially the amount of milk you can pump (man's best imitation is nothing compared to what your baby can get) are NOT valid ways to determine if you have enough milk for your baby.

The breasts don't actually fill up between feedings. The milk is made "on demand" when your baby asks to nurse. Kind of like a short order cook. :-) Your breasts are really never empty because they are always ready to make milk. Baby just needs to ask for production to kick into gear.

How often does she nurse? How long? One or both sides? Does she eat solids or take any bottles? Are you exclusively feeding at the breast or do you pump too?

The very first way to increase supply is to nurse more often. Nursing more frequently works better to increase supply than nursing longer per session.

Make sure you are staying hydrated. Maybe the hot weather is getting you dehydrated and that is having an effect on your supply? Drink plenty of water.

Take a little "nursing vacation" with your baby if possible. Spend 2-3 days doing NOTHING but resting and nursing your baby. Nurse frequently and have lots of skin to skin contact with baby. Stay in bed together and rest.

Some herbs can help to boost supply, if yours is truely low. Fenugreek is the most commonly used one. (DO NOT use fenugreek if there are peanut allergies in your family. It's also not a good idea is you have diabetes, asthma or blood pressure problems. See the link below for more details.) You'll need to take at least 2-4 capsules of fenugreek, 3 times per day in order to see any changes in supply. You will most likely start to smell like maple syrup when you are taking enough.

Blessed thistle and alfalfa are other herbs that are commonly used to boost supply. There is also a tea called Mothers Milk Tea that helps some moms...but I think you really do have to drink a lot of it in order to make a difference. Tuna fish and oatmeal are foods that can help some women boost their supply. (Of course tuna should be eaten in moderation.)

Call a local La Leche League Leader or a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) if you think that you need one-on-one help. A LLL Leader will help you for FREE and might even come to your home if she can. (She's a volunteer, so it'll just depend.)

Consider taking your baby in to the doctor for a weight check if it will soothe your worries. Most doc's offices will let you do this for free without an appointment. Just call and tell them you are coming in and would like a nurse to weigh the baby. Maybe seeing how well she is gaining on a scale would help you? (Always make sure she is weighed on the same scale and in the same state of dress...preferably just her clean diaper...in order to get accurate readings.)

Answer 2

Nurse. As you nurse the baby, your breasts *automatically* produce more milk. If you have been nursing for 7 months already, your baby knows just how to suck to get more. You don't need to worry about it *at all*!! If, for any reason, your milk supply *has* dropped, your baby will nurse more often to get the amount of milk she needs.

Just about the *only* thing that could cause you to have less milk now if you had enough earlier is hormones. If you started using hormonal birth control, this could cause it. If you *stop* and change to a different form of birth control, your supply will return. Or if you are pregnant, your supply will often drop, but this is usually only in mid-pregnancy. In this case, you can keep nursing (throughout the pregnancy and beyond if you want), but your supply will probably never return to its former level. Lastly, if you have a thyroid imbalance (easily tested at your doctor's office), it can also cause a decrease in milk production. Effectively treating it will bring your milk back.

You do *not* have to eat or drink anything special to make more milk. Almost none of the usual recommendations will help *at all*, and some can actually have the opposite effect. For instance, drinking more than your body needs was shown in one study to dry up a mother's milk supply. Herbal tea blends promoted to increase milk production contain fennel--an herb that *does* help some women produce more, but, ironically, causes some women to produce *less* milk.

And even the *legitimate* suggestions on how to increase your milk production are intended for a woman who has a very young baby (less than 2 months old); they won't really help you because you have a different problem. Unless the problem is hormones, the only thing that will help is to nurse more.

Answer 3

Drink Mother's Milk Tea (contains fenugreek). The herbs are thought to be a home remedy to increase lactation.

Drink non-alcoholic beer containing hops. Same thing.

Practice relaxation techniques. The hormones prolactin and oxytocin, which produce and release the milk, are linked to your stress level. If you are experiencing a stress response ("fight or flight"), no matter how minimal, that could hold up your milk.

Read up as much as you can about the mechanism of breastfeeding, and practice visualizations of your milk flowing down to your baby's mouth.

Stay hydrated! (though don't flood yourself with water) And maintain a healthy diet with plenty of protein and calcium. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins; this makes your milk even more nutritious for the baby.

Keep trying! The stimulation provided by the baby's mouth is needed to start the milk making mechanism.

Answer 4

Eat and drink healthy. Breast milk is a demand situation. The more the demand the more the supply. Sometimes when you think you are on E you really aren't so whenever your baby wants to feed let her this will help stimulate the milk flow.

Answer 5

One thing I did to increase my milk production was to pump. If you aren't used to it, in the beginning it will feel like nothing is happening. After a week or two you should start feeling increased production. If you can, try to pump for an additional 5 minutes after nursing. Even though you're on "E" by then ~ that extra stimulation will help your breasts learn that they need to produce more. Another thing used was Brewer's Yeast supplements. I know you said you didn't want any pills, but this is all natural, maybe that makes a difference for you.

Answer 6

If you go to your local health food store, you should be able to buy a tea that's made especially for women who are lactating. It's called "Fenugreek" tea and it increases milk production. I used it while my son was in the NICU and I had to pump. It seemed to work well (mooooooo!) and it tasted pretty darn good. Also, being that it's summer and hot nearly everywhere, make sure you're increasing your fluids. Everytime you sit down to nurse, you should drink a big glass of water or milk. I'm a maternity nurse, I've given this lecture hundreds of times, but for some reason it rarely sticks. I'll admit I'm guilty of not drinking enough now, but sheesh! My baby's 20 months old and is still nursing :)

Answer 7

There's a few things you can do if you don't want to take any supplements.

You can try nursing or pumping more often. (that didn't work too well for me.) What worked really well for me when I had a low breast milk supply was herbal tea. The best kind I found was Breastea. You can buy it at www.breastea.com. It's not horribly expensive, and it REALLY worked for me, I even have extra breast milk now.

Answer 8

Feeding on demand (feeding whenever baby is hungry, not on a time schedule) is the best way to keep your supply up. Our son nursed whenever and for however long he wanted and it kept me going.
When I did notice a drop in production I used molasses to increase my supply. I would mix a large spoonful in a glass of milk a couple times a day. It made the milk taste like maple syrup. I also added oatmeal to my diet. The best to use is the non-instant stuff. I ate it mostly in cookie form, but it works anyway you eat it.

Here are a few websites on breastfeeding, hope they help.

www.kellymom.com
http://www.lalecheleague.org/bfinfo.html
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/
www.breastfeeding.com
http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/info.html

Answer 9

Drink lots of fluids. After you have fed your baby, try expressing ALL your milk and save them in the refrigerator. Some times your body will produce more milk, sorta like the "supply and demand" theory.

Answer 10

Make sure you drink lots of milk and water. Every time you nurse your baby, you should drink a glass of water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol because they can reduce your milk production. Pumping can help increase your milk supply. Make sure you are eating healthy, too.