i am a new mom how do i increase my breastmilk?

Answer 1

Drinking lots of water and eating oatmeal can increase your supply alot!!
Also you can take an herbal supplment called Fenugreek...it will double your supply in like a week. Its very safe and my dr actually recommended it. You can get it at GNC for $6.99. The only side effect is that you'll smell like maple syrup..but that just means its working!

Answer 2

just make sure you are hydrated and eating well. There are some myths about beer, milk, orange juice. Don't believe any, the only way to increase breast milk is through increased stimulation. Basically the more your baby sucks the more your body will produce to accomodate the baby - it makes sense huh? But just make sure you DO NOT supplement with formula then you will not increase your milk and as a matter of fact you will decrease. It may seem like you are not making enough the first 3-4 weeks and it can be very demanding but hang in their and your body will adjust and produce enough for the baby to grow healthy.

Answer 3

Drinking water, getting rest and staying healthy are essential to keeping a good milk supply, but the key to increasing it is to nurse often or pump often (every couple of hours). The breast makes more milk faster when it is empty than full or comfortably full.

The milk does come in after 2-3 days of having the baby, so if you are within that time frame, be patient and relax.

Answer 4

nurse on demand. pump in between. increase your water intake. some people say fenugreek and oatmeal help to increase supply, theres also domperidone in you get desperate.
it usually takes a couple weeks to get situated into a good pattern. try to not get frustrated and relax, it will happen. the less you use soothers or supplement with bottles the better it is for your supply.
theres a tea you can get at healthfood stores called mothers milk tea, its supposed to help increase supply.
the main thing right now is if baby is having enough wet diapers. 6-8 a day for newborns is normal. if wetting at least that much then babe is getting enough fluid. for a newborn to nurse every 1-2 hrs isn't uncommon either, so don't use that as a guide to thinking you don't have enough. good luck and congrats

Answer 5

This is a common breastfeeding question. When mothers observe certain normal changes and behaviors, they may assume their milk supply has decreased. This is often a "false alarm." Other times, a mother's milk supply may truly need to be increased.

At times, mothers are unnecessarily alarmed about their milk supply. They may not be aware of the normal process of breastfeeding. For example, by about the time a baby reaches 6 weeks to 2 months in age, mother's body has learned how much milk to make. Around this time, many women no longer feel "full." In addition, baby may be only nursing for five minutes at a time. These are not signs of decreased milk supply. They simply mean that both mother and baby are becoming more adept at breastfeeding. Mother's body has adjusted to the requirements for her baby and baby has become very efficient at removing the milk.
Another age-related "false alarm" is that babies will experience several "growth spurts" in the first few months of life. Generally, these occur around two to three weeks, six weeks and three months of age or they may happen at any time. These are days when baby wants to nurse longer and more frequently to build up mother's milk supply. Follow baby's lead on this by letting him breastfeed as often and as long as he wants. This will help bring up milk supply quickly. The breasts work on the law of supply and demand. The more baby "tells" mother's breasts to make milk, the more milk she will have.


These are additional important signs that indicate your baby is receiving enough milk:

The baby nurses frequently averaging at least 8-12 feedings per 24-hour period.
The baby is allowed to determine the length of the feeding, which may be 10 to 20 minutes per breast or longer.
Baby's swallowing sounds are audible as he is breastfeeding.
The baby should gain at least 4-7 ounces per week after the fourth day of life.
The baby will be alert and active, appear healthy, have good color, firm skin, and will be growing in length and head circumference.

The following link will take you to LLL.org It's a page with many links to pages about supply issues
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBmilksupplyissues.html

Also if you have further questions you can join the mother forum to ask questions at http://forums.llli.org/index.php

To find your local LLL http://www.llli.org/webindex.html

HTH! Good luck and keep up the good work! Breast is best!

Answer 6

By letting baby what nurse as often as he or she wants for as long as he/she wants. It will take a few days for your milk to fully come in.

Your body will naturally make the milk baby needs. Don't try to put baby on a schedule as he/she know when hunger occurs.

If you really want to increase your milk even more, you could pump on one side while baby nurses the other. Some women do this so they can stock up the freezer before going back to work.

Best to you and the new baby...congrats on your decision to breastfeed!!

Answer 7

Nurse on demand. Pump often (only with supply issues). Drink lots of water. Hot compresses on breasts.

Out of all of those the best you can do is nurse on demand. Baby will stimulate your milk production. If you do use a pump make sure it is a hospital grade one. The cheapie manual ones will not up your supply.

Answer 8

Why do you think your milk supply is low? Many times moms think they have a supply problem and it's really something else. (poor latch, growth spurt, normal nursing pattern, teething, etc.)

The number one way to increase milk is to nurse or pump more often.

The link below will be very helpful to you.

Answer 9

After nursing, use a breastpump on a low setting for another ten minutes. Also, pump and/or nurse about every two hours.

Answer 10

PUMP. PUMP. PUMP. THE MORE YOU NURSE (AND PUMP), THE MORE MILK YOU WILL PRODUCE. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY, GO GET ONE OF THOSE "MEDELA" BREAST PUMPS. YOU CAN GET THEM AT THE PHARMACY. THEY ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!! YOU CAN DO BOTH BREAST AT THE SAME TIME IN MAYBE 10 MINUTES AND IT DOESN'T HURT OR PINCH LIKE THE CHEAP GADGETS DO.

ALSO, BE SURE THAT YOU ARE DRINKING PLENTY OF FLUIDS YOURSELF. STAY HYDRATED.

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK -- NOW GO PUMP THEM BABIES!!!