What to do if your baby doesn't have enough breast milk?
First of all, calm down and don’t panic. Next, if possible, find a lactation consultant. Perhaps your feeding process is not set up correctly. Perhaps the baby is not grasping the breast correctly, is the baby’s tummy pressed tightly enough to your body? It would seem nonsense, but perhaps this is the whole problem. The consultant should also examine your child to see if he has a short frenulum, jaw anatomy, and you may need to try other positions for comfort and proper grip. Also pay attention to how often you change breasts; your baby may be sucking your foremilk, which is less fatty.
Increased lactation
In order to increase lactation, you can give two breasts at one feeding. To prevent the baby from sucking only foremilk, you need to monitor when the baby stops swallowing milk and just sucks at the breast
An equally important aspect is the mother’s peace of mind. Household members should take care during these periods that the mother does not get tired of household chores, help her in everything and be affectionate with her.
Excellent stimulation of lactation is facilitated by the fact that mother and baby feel each other’s skin.
When a baby suckles, a signal goes to the mother’s brain about how much milk her baby needs. If the baby is hungry, then accordingly he will suckle more, in response to this, the mother’s brain will send more hormones that stimulate milk production, which then send a command to your breasts to produce more milk. This is a system based on the supply and demand principle. This is why it is important not to overdo it with hormone signals.
If you still need to stimulate milk production, you can use lactogenic agents: fennel seeds, lactation teas, appilac.
Breast massage with oils also helps.
In bad weather, avoid going for a walk, lie down cuddling with your baby, this will also be good stimulation.
If this does not help, then you should think about supplementing your baby with formula.
Supplementation with mixture.
Formula feeding is a type of infant feeding that combines breastfeeding and artificial feeding. But the percentage of formula per day should not be more than 50%, otherwise such feeding will be considered artificial.
Supplemental feeding with formula during breastfeeding is required temporarily. The mother’s task in this situation is to maintain lactation, and not to switch the child to formula.
In the first six months of a baby’s life, he is prescribed supplemental feeding with formula, since feeding cereals and vegetable purees is not allowed until six months. After six months, the issue of supplementary feeding is decided individually.
Start giving your baby a little mixture, about 15-30 grams per feeding. We monitor urination, if there are less than 8 times a day, then you should add the same amount of mixture. If the baby urinates more than 15 times, then the amount of mixture can be slightly reduced.
Offer the mixture strictly after breastfeeding. If he has not finished eating it, then it is thrown out and a new one is prepared for the next feeding. If your baby doesn’t finish the formula the next few times, try removing it and doing the wet diaper test again.
Will it be possible to return to full breastfeeding?
Moreover, this is what needs to be achieved. Lactation consultants have plenty of experience in transitioning from mixed to natural feeding. Of course, this is not a one-day job, mom needs to be patient and be confident in her abilities.
It is necessary to give breastfeeding before each feeding with formula, gradually reducing its quantity, but we also still conduct a wet diaper test to understand whether the baby is getting enough. Applications during breaks should be very frequent.
So, to return to breastfeeding you need to:
- restore physical contact;
- accustom the baby to the breast;
— gradually reduce the amount of supplementary feeding;
- accelerate lactation.
How many months should you breastfeed your baby?
There is no consensus on the duration of breastfeeding. There are opinions that a child needs to be fed until he is one year old, others say until he is three years old, and still others say until the child himself refuses to breastfeed.
The World Health Organization recommends feeding your baby breast milk until the age of two. But from 6 months of age, your milk cannot provide your baby with all his nutritional needs and the time comes to introduce complementary foods.
Most often, a one-year-old child can only breastfeed at night, as it is convenient for both mother and baby.
Benefits of long-term breastfeeding:
— nutritional value;
- protection from diseases;
- reducing the risk of allergies;
- formation of the correct bite.
You should not stop breastfeeding if your baby is sick; it is during this period that your milk adapts to his needs and can be the best medicine.
How to resume breastfeeding
If you set out to return milk, listen to the following tips:
- Start feeding your baby from the breast that has less milk.
- Try to worry and worry less. Provide a healthy atmosphere for your psyche and eliminate negative factors.
- Remember to eat well and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.
- Give your little one more time. Chat with him, carry him in your arms, play with him.
- Massage your breasts several times throughout the day. In the evenings, you can do a contrast shower for the mammary glands.
- Feed your baby on demand, even if he asks for food at night.
Why does a nursing mother have little milk?
You may have heard that lactation is subject to one of the main laws of the market - “demand creates supply.” And this is true: the more milk is in demand, the more it is produced. Therefore, the 3 main reasons for the shortage of milk are related precisely to the fact that it is “poorly collected.”
Reason 1: infrequent feedings
It is important to understand what causes more milk. The breast begins to produce new milk several times faster when it has just been emptied. That is, after feeding the baby or pumping, it has the highest rate of milk production!
As the mammary gland fills with milk, the rate of “production” decreases. In an overfilled chest, when you feel distension, special proteins are already working - lactation inhibitors. They transmit signals to our body that a “crisis of overproduction” has begun and lactation needs to be reduced.
This is why you shouldn’t “hoard milk”! By increasing the time between feedings to allow your breasts to fill, you are regularly slowing down the milk factory. It is a trap.
At first, you may be happy about how much milk has accumulated. But then you will notice that it takes more and more time for such breast filling. In the meantime, you will have to give the baby a pacifier or even supplementary feeding so that the breast milk can still “accumulate”. As the gaps increase, iron will be filled more and more slowly, and additional feeding will be required more and more...
Reason 2: poor emptying
Since in an “empty” breast the rate of new milk production is several times higher, the reason for the deficiency may be that the breast is not completely emptied.
This may be due to improper and insufficiently deep attachment of the baby to the breast. If your baby latches on one nipple or a little of the areola at the base of the nipple, he is most likely receiving milk only at low tide (during the oxytocin reflex). After the tide ends, the baby cannot remove the remains. The breast, of course, will still increase its production rate after such feeding, but not as much as after complete emptying. The remaining milk will slightly inhibit the production of new milk.
The same thing can often be observed when feeding with expressed milk. A breast pump does not empty the breast as thoroughly as a well-attached baby. And if you also take into account that mothers usually pump 6-7 times a day, then the milk gradually becomes less.
If the baby does not empty the breast even after maximum improvement in latching, the “breast squeeze” technique may help. We grab the mammary gland from both sides with our hand closer to the base (to the ribs), squeeze it noticeably, but carefully and keep it in a compressed state for some time (at least 2-3 minutes).
Reason 3: rare breast change
As we have already found out, the breasts need to be emptied more often in order to maintain a high rate of new milk production at all times.
However, if the capacity of the mammary gland is small, the baby quickly eats the accumulated milk and begins to “hang” on the chest with rare sips. No need to keep it on an empty chest for long! It's better to stimulate the second breast too.
There is a prejudice, “small breasts = little milk.” Nothing like this! It's just that small breasts fill up quickly. If you try to feed only one breast and save the other for the next feeding, the rate of milk production in it will slow down significantly during the waiting process. This can quickly lead to a decrease in lactation, because... inhibitors do not sleep.
However, there is no direct connection between breast capacity and the size of your breasts. The amount of glandular tissue at the same size can be completely different. Therefore, focus on your baby’s throats, and not on abstract advice from the Internet.
What about “hind milk”? Just with frequent breastfeeding and frequent breast changes, the milk is almost always “back”, that is, fattier. It simply does not have time to separate, since it is supplied to the baby almost in the same form in which it was produced: the fats are well mixed with the other ingredients.
Conversely, if you “hoard” milk, the fat globules are attracted to each other and stick together. Large fractions of fat are formed, which, during feeding, enter the baby after the more liquid “front” part.
The division into “foremilk” and “hind” milk is a convention. It is very important for a baby to eat the right amount of milk, so you should not keep him on an empty breast for a long time. He will spend energy and receive fewer calories. This may have a negative impact on weight gain.
As you can see, these 3 reasons are easily eliminated. If you are unable to do this on your own, contact a lactation consultant. An expert who has seen many babies and situations will tell you how best to breastfeed your baby and how to organize feeding in your case.
If suddenly there is little milk per month or after 3 months?
Sometimes a few days after birth a lot of milk comes in, the breasts become very full, the baby gets full and falls asleep for a long time. Perfect picture!
However, by the month you suddenly notice that the breast is not so “full” for feeding, the baby quickly stops swallowing and gets nervous. He does not want to fall asleep or quickly wakes up and looks for the breast again.
Don't blame your mammary gland, it hasn't started working any worse! Check to see if you have one of several reasons described above? Try keeping a diary and recording all your breastfeeding. You may find that your baby eats 7-8 times a day and sucks on one breast for a long time. What about attachment? Are you sure that it is deep enough so that the baby sucks milk well and can receive it not only at high tide?
Very often, little milk becomes due to rare night feedings. When mom sleeps, prolactin (the milk production hormone) rises. The breasts become very full, inhibitors start the process of slowing down production, and unbeknownst to you, lactation gradually decreases.
Around 3 months with the firstborn and about 1.5 months with the second and subsequent children, the breasts stop getting very full between feedings. The so-called tidal lactation is established: the breast may not be dense, as if empty, but it produces the right amount of milk during feeding on the oxytocin reflex.
Some mothers note a slight decrease in milk production around a month and a half, 3-4 months, or six months. This phenomenon is called a lactation crisis. Science still does not have a clear answer to why this happens, how to prevent it, and whether it exists at all (or is it growth spurts in babies, or perhaps the subjective sensations of individual mothers?).
However, the good news is that this phenomenon is short-term and may only last a few days. Overcoming it is very simple: you need to continue to breastfeed at the baby’s request. If he doesn't have enough, he will look for the breast more often and hang on it longer (sometimes just like a newborn). If you want to maintain breastfeeding, be patient for 3-5 days. When using a pacifier or supplementing with formula, a crisis can develop into a real decrease in lactation.
And remember that as your baby grows, his need for milk increases. If he suddenly starts asking for the breast more often, it’s not without reason! He feels how much he needs. Trust in natural processes is the key to successful lactation.
False factors of milk shortage
You shouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that you don’t have enough milk if:
Small breasts
Women with small breasts often worry that they will not have enough milk. I hasten to reassure you: these worries are in vain, since the amount of milk produced in it does not depend on the size of the breast, but only its storage capacity - that is, women with larger breasts can afford to feed less often, while women with small breasts - because their breasts fill faster - it is necessary to feed more often to prevent a decrease in milk production, as well as to prevent congestion and breast infections.
Lack of feeling of breast fullness
This is absolutely normal after the first weeks of lactation: your breasts have simply “adapted” to the needs of your baby. Some mothers never feel full at all, but feed their babies wonderfully.
The baby suckles too often and/or for a long time
This is all very subjective: for one mother, feedings every 2 hours may seem frequent; for another, the same interval between feedings may be long; For one mother, a feeding that lasts 30-40 minutes is very long, for another it is short. There are no clear rules on how often or how long a child should suckle, there is only a recommendation: as often and as long as possible - this is good for both the child and the mother. It is a misconception that a baby gets 90% of the milk he needs in the first 10 minutes of feeding! Let your baby develop his own feeding schedule and everything will be fine.
Unable to express milk from the breast
This doesn't mean it's not there! Therefore, there is no need to pump just to “know.” If pumping is still necessary, try to stimulate the oxytocin reflex, and remember: you still won’t be able to “express” all the milk that is in the breast and that the baby can extract from there by sucking!
Baby agrees to suck a bottle after breastfeeding
This does not necessarily mean that the baby does not have enough milk, but only means that he agrees to eat more.
