Top 5 Tips to Increase Your Milk Supply
Summary
For a new mother, it can be quite upsetting to have a hungry baby and not be able to satisfy the child’s hunger. As parents, we love and nurture our children and we strive to give them everything they need and then some. Learning to care for a new baby can be stressful enough. We don’t need the added stress of our bodies not producing enough milk to satisfy our little bundle of joy.
Below are 5 tips to naturally increase your milk supply, so the above scenario doesn’t happen:
1. Increase your breast feeding schedule.
By increasing the frequency of your breast feeding schedule, you will also be increasing your daily milk production. It may be difficult to increase how often your child is eating, especially if the child is already waking up frequently in the night. If possible, try to increase the number of feedings during the day. This may help promote more sleep during the night, which can also be extremely helpful for both mother and baby.
2. Express milk if your baby doesn’t want to increase his feeding schedule.
Sometimes a mother will attempt to increase the number of daily breast feedings, but her infant doesn’t want to eat that much. If this is the case, you can express the milk from your breasts either by hand or with the use of a breast pump. The mother shouldn’t worry about keeping or storing the expressed milk unless the infant is bottle fed by others (babysitters, husband, etc). Expressing milk will ensure high levels of milk production.
3. If possible, drain both breasts at each feeding.
It may not always be possible, but if you she can, the mother should drain both breasts by hand after each feeding. Of course, the mother should first offer the first breast to the infant before offering the second. Making sure that both breasts are drained will help the milk reproduce quickly.
4. Use herbal remedies that are safe for both mother and baby.
Herbs such as milk thistle and fenugreek are safe both the mother and the infant and can be used to increase milk production. Mothers open to alternative treatments should visit their local health food store to find milk thistle and fenugreek supplements. When taking regularly (according to product instructions), there will usually be a significant increase within just a few days.
If you’re concerned about taking something natural while breastfeeding, speak to an herbal expert to be sure. You may also speak to your doctor. Not all people agree that herbal supplements are safe and so if you feel at all nervous, I would not recommend going this route to increase your milk supply.
5. Avoid substitutes so that your baby feeds more vigorously at each feeding.
Avoiding pacifiers, sippy cups and other items that promote the sucking movement will help the child to feed more vigorously during each feeding, ensuring that more milk is drained from the breast. Babies who use pacifiers have to eventually stop by the time they are 15 months old or they run the risk of teeth and gum issues, so this is another benefit and reason not to offer a pacifier to your baby.
