The more you nurse, the more milk you make. The less your baby demands, the less your body will supply. That’s how breastfeeding works. Simple, right?
Let’s face it, it can take awhile to really trust Mother Nature and at first it can seem to be a really messed sort of system. I’ve been there- you get home with new baby and your breasts are humongous and painfully engorged. Baby starts coughing and sputtering every time she tries to nurse. You end up squirting your father in law in the face with breastmilk. Trust me, I’ve been there…
And then there are the awful days when your baby nurses nonstop for 24 hours and your boobs feel like deflated balloons and you’re left wondering if you have any milk at all.
I totally understand how hard it can be to trust in this system and believe that your body will make enough milk for your baby. It doesn’t help that there are huge numbers of other women out there saying that they didn’t breastfeed because they couldn’t make enough milk. We’re so used to measuring exact quantities and manipulating Mother Nature that we find it hard to trust an age old system.
You should read this before you decide you have low milk supply.
The good news is that almost all women will produce enough milk for their babies. This doesn’t mean that there is nothing you can do to boost your supply. Here are some things that I found helpful when I worried about low milk supply:
I always liked the idea of taking a “nursing vacation” to boost your supply. This means just taking baby to bed with you and staying there for the day or a couple of days. Do nothing but nurse and relax together. Sounds great, but would be pretty hard to do with an older child at home.
Also, you can always try these things called galactagogues. They help to increase milk supply. I once read about how in some cultures it is the job of the grandmothers to prepare all these delicious recipes that contain galactagogues to feed the new mother. In our society, sadly, it’s much more likely that you’ll have to pop out to Sobeys to get something for yourself. Some options are fenugreek or oatmeal. Jack Newman also recommends blessed thistle with fenugreek. I drank a nursing tea that I got from Dominion religiously for baby #1’s first six months. Not sure if it actually boosted my supply, but it made me feel better.
A last resort is to get a prescription for domperidone from your doctor. It’s supposed to be very effective at boosting milk supply, but of course it is always better to steer away from meds if you can.
Anyone else have tips for boosting low milk supply?
Felicie is a teacher turned work at home mama to two busy little angels, aged 22 months and 4 and a half years. She is a proud member of La Leche League Canada and has helped to organize three World B[..]
Guinness
Power-pumping
Baby-wearing (especially with an accessible shirt so that baby can rest on your bare skin)
And while it may not boost your supply, coconut oil can improve the quality of the fat in your milk.