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Help! My Milk Supply is Low! from The Nursing Baby

A guide for the new mother on milk supply - investigating causes and determining solutions.

"It is very, very common for women to believe their supply is down when there is really no evidence for that.

I wondered if you lacked engorgement and assumed that was a sign of lack of milk? But engorgement is inflammation and is mainly *blood* not milk - - once the breasts have settled down, they should be soft most of the time, especially if your baby is nursing frequently. It is not good to live with hard breasts all the time - that's what leads to mastitis! :-(

Another mistake people make is that the baby nurses for a shorter length of time. They worry that the baby has de-latched because there is no more milk, but on the contrary, the breast makes milk *during* the feed so the breast is never truly empty. The baby in such a case has probably learned to nurse more efficiently and the mother is producing the milk far more readily to meet the demand and is having a good, fast let-down.

People worry about the lack of feeling of letdown. Again, as you get used to nursing, often your breasts cope with a letdown better. Some women never have letdown feelings, others experience stabbing pains in their breasts and under their arms for weeks (me :-( ). The only true sign of letdown is that a nursing baby starts swallowing.

A mistake I don't think you've made, but many women do, is that they get worried the baby is hungry and offer a bottle after a feed. The baby gulps it down and they assume the poor thing must have been starving. But the truth is that babies like to suck and a breastfed baby has not learnt that if he sucks at the bottle as if it were a breast, he's going to drown in the milk! But babies are opportunists - if there is an extra meal that is very easy to obtain, they'll find room in their stomach somehow. That doesn't mean they started out hungry however. Keep doing that and the baby will soon learn that it is easier to hold out for the bottle; he loses skill at breastfeeding (nipple confusion) and your supply will plummet due to the decreased demand. Many women wean in this situation, absolutely convinced that "my milk just dried up". Sadly, they are misinterpreting the baby's behavior :-(

Pumping yields are another misleading problem. The amount you pump has absolutely nothing to do with your milk supply as pumps are grossly inefficient at both getting milk out (estimates are that a good pumper can get about 20% at most) and stimulating supply. They don't stimulate the nipple in the correct way, and they don't provide the all important skin contact, baby smell (babies could well produce pheremones that we are not consciously aware of) etc. Pumping is a difficult skill for many, and a skill that some of us never really master, despite having no problems nursing. If your pumping yields are low, that is a *pumping* problem, not necessarily a nursing problem.

In fact, for a woman nursing on demand, I think true lack of milk is relatively uncommon."

For true signs of low milk, look at your baby. Is the baby wetting 5-6 disposables (or 6-8 cloth)? Can you hear the baby swallowing? Is the baby's weight gain adequate over the past month?

To increase your milk supply:

1. Nurse, nurse, nurse! Allow baby full access to the breast, and never switch breasts until baby comes off himself (or herself).
2. Consider night nursing - using a family bed can help stimulate supply.
3. Drink adequate fluids, and get plenty of rest. Exercise if you can manage it.
4. Fenugreek and Mother's Milk tea are both measures that have been used with reported success.
5. Consult a lactation consultant or your friendly LLL leader if these measures do not help.

These tips are not intended to be medical advice. Please consult your health care provider if you have questions.