Breast milk?

Question

any suggestions on how to increase my breast milk?

my son never seems satisfied and when i pumped it only made 2oz

Answer 1

You could pump between feeds. This should increase how much you produce.

I used Domperidone (a tablet for reflux/stomach problems) for quite a few months with my children and it made me go from 1oz every 4 hours to 7oz in 4 hours. There has been a debate about whether you should take it to increase your milk because it's not been completely tested. However, my doctor says its fine as only minute bits go through your milk and domperidone gets given to babies neat and doesn't harm them. You can buy it over the counter as motillium 10.

Wikipedia says concerning domperidone..

Lactation
The hormone prolactin stimulates lactation in humans, and its release is inhibited by the dopamine secreted by the hypothalamus. Domperidone, by acting as an anti-dopaminergic, results in increased prolactin secretion, and thus promotes lactation.

Although it has never been officially approved for use in the United States, domperidone is sometimes purchased from pharmacies in other countries for this purpose. Since, according to the FDA, domperidone is not approved for enhanced lactation in any country,[3] it is sometimes self-prescribed from original research or prescribed "off-label" for this use in countries besides the United States.[4]

Answer 2

You might only pump 2oz but you can put baby on and he will get another 7oz or more out. Baby has a much better technique at getting at the milk that a pump has. Feed rather than pump!!

Answer 3

How old is your baby? Also the more you pump the more you WILL make. even if you only pumped 2 oz, doing it a couple times a say will by the next day or 2 make more. try pumping even if you think you are dry, after he has eaten, then your body will think its him and make more faster, worked for me. Also many women who have inadequate breastmilk (which really only happens naturally in like 5% of the pop) is from amongst other things, not drinking enough fluids, your body cant make enough milk if you simply dont have the fluids to do so. So drink your 4 glasses of milk and 8 glasses of H2O a day!

Answer 4

How much you pump is not an indicator of how much you HAVE. If you are pumping 2 oz. in one session- this is about right.

To make more,
A multivitamin or prenatal vitamin
Drinking lots of water
Eating oatmeal- not scientifically proven but it does work to increase breastmilk in nursing moms who have tried it.
Nursing frequently and on demand.
Using no supplementation- formula or pacifiers.

How do you know you are not producing enough? Is the baby wetting at least 6 diapers a day? Is the baby growing? Is the baby satisfied between and after a feeding (without a growth spurt)- in a growth spurt or a very young baby there is a lot of growing, nursing and comfort nursing and all are normal.

If so, then you are doing just fine. NO, you are NOT going to have to supplement with formula!

Answer 5

Make sure you are drinking 64 ounces of water per day, also, pump even after you nurse each time... the more you teach your body that it NEEDS to make milk, the more milk your body will make. There is also a tea called mother's milk tea, it helped me. You can get it online or at certain grocery stores, especially ones that carry lots of organic products. If none of this helps or works, talk to your doctor there are products they can perscribe to you that will increase your supply. Good luck and congrats on the baby!!

Answer 6

Don't gauge your milk supply by how much you're able to express because your baby is capable of getting much more milk from you than any pump on the market. Some women just don't "let down" for pumps the way they do for their children and this may be the case for you.

The best way to increase your supply is to nurse and pump more frequently. It's all supply and demand.

I've heard that oatmeal is a good supplement for boosting milk production.

The herb fenugreek will boost supply as well, but make you and your milk smell like maple syrup.

If your baby seems as though he isn't getting enough from you, it may simply be that he's going through a growth spurt and he needs a little more. Meeting his demand and feeding him more frequently will cause your supply to increase.

I haven't met a mother yet who truly couldn't produce enough milk for their baby. I honestly think it's a cop out for moms to say, "Oh, I just couldn't produce enough so we switched to formula and my baby is much happier." I think that such 'happiness' is held only by the mother who no longer has to nurse on demand. Motherhood is all about sacrifice and kudos to you for giving your son the best.

Answer 7

Stay with it,give no formula,Offer breast often ,other side...DrinkMothers milk tea drink as much water as you can then just a little more.

Answer 8

Drink lots, nurse more, and try agnus castus or some fenugreek. Also, make sure you're not too tired as this can affect your flow. Also, it might be that your son just like to comfort nurse too, nothing wrong with that, my daughter was the same :-)

Answer 9

Just try to really stay nourished and healthy and don't be afraid to eat the more rich foods. Water also helps the flow.

Answer 10

feed him more regularly. breast milk is made on demand, the more he takes the more you will produce.

make sure you eat healthily and get enough rest, these are con tributary factors in how much you will produce.

Good luck