How Breast Milk Supply Works

When your breast milk comes in, your breasts will make milk in a supply and demand process. Every time milk is removed, whether by active breastfeeding or by expressing, your breasts will make more. This is why the mere act of giving your baby bottles of formula will reduce your milk supply. When your body is not receiving messages to produce more breast milk it will not produce more. 

Your breast milk supply is also affected by the way your baby nurses. The more often and effectively your baby breastfeeds the more milk your breasts will produce. If your baby doesn’t take enough milk when they are feeding, you want to express the remainder of what they would normally take to protect your milk supply. 

What Is Low Breastmilk Supply And What Causes It?

When you are not producing enough milk to meet the growth needs of your baby, your milk supply is considered low. Most women who stop breastfeeding do so because they say they don’t have enough milk, but the truth is most mothers produce enough milk for their babies. It is just a small number of women who have a real difficulty in producing enough milk and this is often caused by medical reasons. These include:

• Excessive blood loss during birth 
• Retained fragments of placenta
• Women with a history of diabetes
• Women with a history of thyroid or other hormonal disorders
• History of ovarian syndrome 
• A rare condition known as mammary hypoplasia where there is not enough glandular tissue which is responsible for producing milk
• Previous breast trauma such as surgery

If any of the above are true for you, you may want to consult a breastfeeding specialist to help you ensure your milk supply is adequate. 

How To Tell If Your Baby Isn’t Getting Enough Milk

Even though it is very rare to have a low milk supply, your baby may still be struggling to get enough milk during their first few weeks. They may not be breastfeeding long enough or frequently enough. If you are trying to stick to a breastfeeding schedule instead of feeding on demand, this could be cause. Also, if your baby is not latching well or may have a condition that makes it harder for them to take in milk. 

Here are some signs your baby is not getting adequate amounts of milk: 

• Poor weight gain.
•  Your baby has lost 10% of their birth weight and does not start to regain by days 5-6. At this point you should seek medical advice immediately. 
• Reduction in wet or dirty nappies. 
• Dark colored urine. 
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes.
• Dry mouth 
• Lethargic baby that is reluctant to feed
• Fever
• Diarrhoea

Low Milk Supply Misconceptions

Your newborn will typically feed approximately 10 to 12 times per day. That is, roughly every two hours This is not to be mistaken as a sign that you don’t have enough milk. Remember that your baby will also be nursing for comfort and so sometimes it can be difficult to note how much milk they take at each feeding. 

Here are some PERFECTLY NORMAL things to expect that don’t indicate low milk supply: 

• Frequent feedings
• Your baby wants to be held almost constantly 
• Your baby is waking up at night 
• Your baby is feeding for short time spans
• Your baby is feeding for longer times
• Your baby will take a bottle after being breastfed
• Your breasts feel softer than when you just started breastfeeding
• Yoru breasts are not leaking or have stopped leaking milk
• You don’t get much milk when you pump
• Your breasts are small

How To Improve Breastmilk Supply 

If you think your breast milk supply is getting low or is low you should consult with a breastfeeding specialist or a lactation consultant. They will do an assessment to see if you do in fact have a low milk supply. With a little help, some mothers who are experiencing low milk supply are able to partially feed with breast milk and others go on to develop a full supply of milk for baby. So yes, there are things you can do. 

Some of the things a breastfeeding specialist may suggest include adjustments in feeding position to help baby latch or to facilitate more efficient feeding. They may also suggest more skin to skin contact with baby before feeding to stimulate oxytocin. Oxytocin is the hormone that gets your milk flowing. They may also suggest relaxation techniques to help to reduce any anxiety you may have towards your milk supply as this could be contributing to a low milk supply.  

If your baby was premature or has special needs and is unable to take enough milk directly from the breast you can express and feed them the breast milk. This can help to protect your milk supply. Your doctor may prescribe medication to help increase your breast supply when necessary. 

Increasing Milk Supply with a Breast Pump

You can work to increase your breast supply with the use of a breast pump. Using a double breast pump in the first five days after birth can help to encourage your milk supply. This type of pump mimics the way baby feeds and can help to increase long term breast milk production. When your milk comes in, you can start double pumping to express more  milk with less time. This will also help to drain the breasts more and so increase the milk supply by signaling the breasts to make more milk. 

Each mother is different but a good rule of thumb is to express milk right after a feed or an hour after. Think of your pumping session as a means of putting in an order of mil for the next day. Initially the amounts you collect will be small but do not be discouraged by this. With regular pumping these amounts will increase. You want to remove milk from your breasts 8 to 12 times per day whether through pumping, breastfeeding or a combination of both. You want to add in at least one session at night as this is when your prolactin hormone levels are at their highest. All in all, the more frequently you remove milk from the breast, the better it is. You should see a significant increase in milk supply after two or three days after regular pumping. 

If you find that you are unable to express enough breast milk for your baby, you may need to supplement with formula.

Increasing Milk Supply by Hands-on Pumping

The hands on pumping technique is useful if your baby is not directly breastfeeding and you can’t pump enough milk as yet. The entire process takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Here is how to proceed with hands on pumping:

1. Massage your breasts
2. Double pump with the aid of an expressing bra so your hands are free for the next step.
3. Compress your breasts with your fingers and thumb for a couple seconds while pumping. Continue to compress and release both breasts to encourage your milk to trickle down. 
4. Massage the breasts again. 
5. Remove the expression bra and pump and hand express each breast to ensure they are fully drained. 

• Massage your breasts again.
• Finish by hand expressing or single pumping, using breast compressions and switching between breasts to drain them as fully as possible.

Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding

There are some foods that should be avoided or limited while breastfeeding. But you should also pay attention to your body as well as your baby so you can identify if any of the foods you are eating will trigger any symptoms in your baby. Here are a few that are known problem foods for breastfeeding moms. 

1. Sage, Parsley and Peppermint

While these are full of flavor, they are known to affect how your body makes milk. So if you eat a lot of parsley you may find that lactation has curbed. Too much sage and peppermint can also cut your milk supply. Some nursing moms even have a problem with peppermint flavored candy and toothpaste. 

1. Alcohol 

This is one of those things you want to avoid entirely. However, if you choose to drink you want to ensure that you do not breastfeed until the alcohol has completely cleared your milk. For every 12 ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of liquor or 5 ounces of wine you will need to wait a minimum of 3 hours. Pumping doesn’t speed up the rate at which alcohol leaves your system so you will not benefit from doing that. Any milk pumped during that period should be discarded. 

1. Foods that Make You Gassy 

If foods are making you gassy, chances are they are making baby gassy too. If you are not gassy but your baby is gassy you will want to check your diet. Are you eating Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and beans? These may be causing your baby to be fussy and colic. Try avoiding these foods for a couple weeks to see if your baby’s fussiness declines. If it does, you know these foods are the culprit. 

1. Caffeine Containing Foods

Foods such as coffee and your favorite chocolate contain caffeine. Energy drinks and sodas also contain caffeine. You will want to hold off on these or switch to decaf if you must have coffee. 

1. Fish High in Mercury 

Mercury is a toxic metal that can be harmful for babies as they are more sensitive to mercury poisoning. Exposure to high levels of mercury can affect our baby’s central nervous system. Acute exposure can cause permanent damage that can cause impairments and delays in: 

• Fine motor skills
• Cognition 
• Language and speech development
• Visual-spatial awareness

Examples of fish that are high in mercury and that should be avoided include: 

• King Mackerel
• Marlin 
• Bigeye Tuna
• Shark
• Swordfish
• TilefishOrange Roughy

1. Highly Processed Foods

Breastfeeding puts an added demand on your body for nutrients and so it is very important to eat a balanced and healthy diet.  Highly processed foods are very high in calories, added sugars, unhealthy fats and are low in minerals, vitamins and fiber. As such it is recommended that the consumption of these foods be limited or completely avoided. 

Some research shows that what you eat while breastfeeding will affect and influence your child’s diet later on in life. So there is the concern that frequent exposure to processed foods at lactation may affect a child’s eating patterns and habits as they grow.