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    Paige Wong
  • 8 years ago
    • Categories: Top Tips

9 Tips on How to Increase Breast Milk Supply Fast


  • Feed on demand

As much as possible, ditch the routine and feed the baby whenever and wherever hunger cues are manifested. Remember that crying is a sign of hunger so you may definitely offer your breasts to see if the baby needs to feed or not.

To add, the more you respond to your baby’s “demand” the more your supply lasts.

  • Let the latch on do the talking

A good latch on entails successful nursing for both mother and child. Proper latch on means comfort on the mother’s end (no painful sucking, no back or neck strain) and optimum benefit for the little one.

  • Quit overthinking

As long as the baby is active/alert, wetting the diapers regularly and (thanks to one of our visitors’ comment) the weight gain, there is nothing to worry about. A common mistake a mother makes is to overthink that her child might not be feeding well, that her milk is not sufficient or healthy enough which, more often than not, contribute to PPD.

Relax and get the rest your body and mind need and deserve.

  • Say no to stress

Stress hampers your let down reflexes from releasing more milk to your breast. Making sure to watch over emotions and communicate with loved ones in case you need help or someone to listen to you. The baby will be on the losing end if the mother lets herself be defeated by such emotion.

Cheer up; things are going to be great soon.

  • Support system is important

It is different when you know of someone who shares the same sentiment and experience as you do. Hence, it is also important that a breastfeeding mother has a strong support system — perhaps a group of mothers, who are or had been breastfeeding, can help.

Gather best practices and encouragement. Help other women too who might be having a difficult time coping with her new undertaking as a mother. Avoid people who judge, criticize or giving unhelpful unsolicited advice about your breastfeeding ordeal and choices.

  • No to alcohol

While it is very tempting to have fun with your girlfriends over cocktails or beer, it is best to abstain from such while breastfeeding.

According to research, breastfed babies exposed to alcohol intake, say one drink a day, might have motor development impairment and change in sleep pattern. Studies likewise show that regular alcohol intake decreases breast milk supply to up to 20%.

Therefore, the absence of alcohol makes up for the fast increase in milk supply. Drink plenty of water instead to replenish the body as dehydration results to less milk.

  • Massage the breasts

Massaging the Breast

Massage the chest until further near the nipple before letting the baby suck. Let the baby swallow a couple before doing the same massage routine to the other breast. Breast massage boosts the fat content and volume of your milk.

  • Power pumping to increase milk supply

Power pumping or cluster pumping consists of pumping milk for 10 minutes and 10 minutes rest for a stretch of one hour in one day. It is done on top of “regular” breastfeeding.

How to increase milk supply when pumping?

First off, please choose a quality double electric pump.

Second is to establish a specific routine in breastfeeding which includes the same place, same beverage to drink, same time of the day and even the same comfortable couch, chair or space.

Third is to massage the breast by making small circles all over minutes before you intend to pump.

  • Supplements to increase milk supply

Most of the supplements recommended for nursing mothers trigger the activity of prolactin. Prolactin is the main hormone that forefronts milk production.

Examples are Domperidone (Motilium) and Metoclopramide (Maxolon). Both prescription drugs treat gastrointestinal disorders and are said to aid in increasing breastmilk supply. Please make sure to consult your doctor first before taking any of these supplements.

 

I hope you enjoy this little post and feel free to chime in with a comment. Let me know if you have any personal review or experience, or if you have any questions about the post. ?
Have fun breastfeeding and if you like this post, do share it with your family and friends. After all, sharing can always accelerate and make the learning curve easier for the new or expecting mothers!

View Comments (22)

  • Hi,

    I love these tips, breastfeeding is the best thing I did, I was both relieved and pleased that I was able to get on with it.

    I was pretty stressed out when I first started, having just had an emergency C-section. I'd not really thought about it before I actually had my daughter, I just assumed that I'd be able to do it with no problem at all.

    Well, it took a long time for supply to meet demand but we got there and I loved it. Disappointed it had to end. I hope to get the opportunity to do it again one day.

    I wish I had had this information to help me 4 years ago, I think supplements were frowned upon, in fact, I didn't even know that such things existed. The spice fenugreek worked quite well for me.

    • Oh great! Glad to know that fenugreek did help you earlier when you are breastfeeding. Thanks for telling me that. And that's so nice to hear you sharing your wonderful breastfeeding experience, and was delighted to learn that you'd love to do it again one day. That's so inspiring. Thanks for dropping by here and leaving us a comment. :)

  • These are great tips! I struggled with my supply with all 3 of my children, but did the best with my first (but was also stressed the entire time!) I love the advice to remove as much stress as you can, and have a good support system. So very important! Also, there are also lots of delicious lactation cookie recipes that I have seen and created (who doesn't love cookies, LOL!) that have helped a bit too with my supply. Im currently pregnant with our 4th and really hoping to have the most success with breast feeding this time, without stressing myself out in the process. Thanks for the great post!

  • My wife sometimes lack breastmilk supply which is pretty scary for her because our baby is currently only two months old. I also agree that stress is a no go when it comes to lactation. The reason I say that is because it upsets our bodies balance. The milk given to our baby is also lower quality. Thank you for your tips on increasing breast milk supply. I will have my wife try out your other tips.

    • Glad to hear that the tips are set to help your wife increase her supply soon. Just come back and give us a head-up to answer any question posted by you.

  • Great article and I made sure I forwarded both this blog and your website to my younger sister. You see, my sister has just had the first baby within our family. Which is exciting, however, she is having difficulty in consistently producing breast milk. But now I understand it's because she under an enormous amount of stress and because I know this I am going to take it upon myself to help her around her home.

    • Thank you, Amberlee, for stopping by and leaving a great compliment on our post. We really appreciate your effort in sharing our site to your younger sister. Your compliment surely adds to our pleasure to continue adding contents to our site and helping as many breastfeeding mamas as possible. Cheers.

  • Oooo, man I learn so much from your posts! I am taking a lot of notes for when I have baby number 2. Did not know about power pumping or the massage technique. I hope that this information helps more moms who struggle to produce. I think people give up too quickly when there are so much options to try even if you still have to supplement. Why give up completely when its so good for your baby, you know?

    I know you're going to help so much moms out there. Keep up the good work! :)
    Marlinda

  • I am a very firm believer and I stand to it strongly that every baby deserves to be breast fed. I always encourage new mothers to do so. Its best for baby, no matter what you may think. Like many mothers do for example that their milk is weak...
    A mothers body is the most amazing thing, it produces milk according to baby's every need, changing and getting stronger as baby grows.

    I love your post, thank you so much for giving such awesome wonderful advice and information to new mothers and encouraging them to breastfeed.

    When pumping I always found stimulating the nipple before hand relaxes the breast and it pumps easily and more milk.

    I do have a question though, I am soon to be a mother again, and I had a recipe for a "Jungle Juice" which consisted of natural herbs and some natural juices which you drink which also made a lot more milk. It was tasty and really worked. I lost my recipe when moving house. Maybe you could be so kind as to look into it and give us the recipe so we can all benefit again from this amazing juice?

  • Hey,
    Thanks a lot for the valuable information - I am sure any breastfeeding woman will appreciate those tips as I think majority has experienced the feeling of lack of milk and thousands of questions to ourselves if milk is enough, what to do to increase the milk supply.
    Even though I had very successfull breastfeeding experience with my first son, with the second son everything started as from scratch. First three months (he is turning 3 months next week) - all the time I am worrying whether milk is enough and it is a lot of stress. But as you say - if baby is active and wetting diapers regularly - everything is OK. I would also like to add that baby should gain weight - at least, this is what doctor said to me. So all 3 things - baby is active, wetting diapers and gaining weight - then everything is OK.
    Keep up the good work!

    • Hi there, Arta... What a great feedback for us! Thank you for reminding us on the weight gain as another indicator that the baby is in a good condition. We'll definitely add in this indicator within the post. Really appreciate you kind suggestion.

  • Hi there,

    Thanks for the tips. They certainly are very useful. Your site provides a good amount of help not just for moms who are breastfeeding for the first time, but also for moms who wants to relactate. I know for sure since I have been jumping from one site to another, searching for the perfect solution that will bring my milk supply back. So I appreciate all your effort in putting this article together.

    Please keep them coming.

    Cheers!

  • Ok, you are right, these tips are helpful for young mamas. Thanks for your sharing. I will tell my friends to practice these tips.

  • This is definitely a good bit of information. Slow lactation is definitely a big concern for moms. Especially more so for neophyte mothers who will definitely get into a fit of worrying if they don't provide sufficient breast milk.

    That being said, your advice on the methods to generate breast milk are spot on. The article is practically a checklist for my wife, and we went through the motions of practically all of the stuff you put down. Great advice. For us, the latch and the use of pumps really helped.

    The slow milk can be frustrating, but it is not an insurmountable problem. It's important to be calm and look for ways to feed the baby.
    .

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