One of the most stressful parts of breastfeeding is the constant worrying about your milk supply, especially in the very beginning. Even being a pediatric nurse and certified breastfeeding counselor, I still worried about my breastfeeding milk supply with my first and second babies.
You will hear through mom groups the many different ways that people have attempted to increase their breastfeeding milk supply, and some they swear by.
But truthfully, there are only a few evidence-based ways you truly can increase your breastfeeding milk supply (meaning there is plenty of research behind these methods to prove they are effective).
In this post, you will learn all about evidence-based proven ways to increase your breastfeeding milk supply.
Increasing Breastfeeding Milk Supply
Supply and Demand – Nurse, Nurse, Nurse!
Producing breast milk is all about supply and demand. Meaning the more you tell your body your baby needs milk (through breastfeeding or pumping), the more milk your body will make to keep up with the demand.
If your baby isn’t latching many times or you’re only pumping 2-3 times, your body isn’t going to think you need to make any more milk for your baby.
You should aim for your baby to nurse at least 8 to 12 times in a 24 hour period, or every 2 to 3 hours.
You may also find times when your baby will be fussier and want to stay latched to the breast for long periods of time. This is called cluster feeding. It DOES NOT mean you have a low milk supply. It is a way for your baby to continue helping bring your milk in.
This is the #1 thing you should be focusing on when you start your breastfeeding journey.
Be careful continuing on with any other methods if you are still in the first 6 weeks postpartum. At this point, you are training your body for how much milk to make to sustain your baby’s life.
You may accidentally give yourself an oversupply if you do too many of these things too soon postpartum.
Power Pumping
You may find different time combinations, but overall power pumping is a technique used to mimic cluster feeding like your baby.
One example of power pumping may be:
- Pump for 20 minutes
- Rest 10 minutes
- Pump 10 minutes
- Rest 10 minutes
- Pump 10 minutes
- All done!
As you can see, this whole process takes about an hour to do. This is typically done easiest if you have an electric double breast pump.
Pumping After Nursing
After your baby takes a full feeding, you can choose to use a manual hand pump, electric double breast pump, or hand express for another 10-15 minutes. This will signal to your body that you still need to make more milk.
Again, it all goes back to those hormones telling your brain and body you need more milk produced! This will also help you build up a little breast milk stash in the freezer if you’re collecting any milk.
Stay Hydrated
Breast milk is more than 80% water. You may find yourself extremely thirsty when you start breastfeeding. This is because your body is taking its own water to create breast milk for your baby.
It’s really helpful those first few weeks postpartum and beyond to keep a large water bottle or jug around to encourage you to drink plenty of water throughout the day. I loved keeping something like this with me during the day.
Eat Adequate Calories
Those first few weeks of the postpartum period can feel really hard. Do your best to make sure you’re eating three nutritious meals a day.
If you have limited resources or help, I recommend keeping plenty of snacks around. Breastfeeding also made me feel SO hungry all the time. I would keep granola bars on my nightstand to eat in the night during night feedings.
Hands-on Pumping/Nursing
Hands-on pumping or nursing basically just means massaging your breasts at the same time as expressing milk. This helps to release milk from the ducts and also stimulates the release of more milk. This will improve your pumping milk yield as well (you will get more ounces of milk while pumping).
Massage from the top of the breast in a downward motion towards your nipple. Do the same motion from the sides of the breast and underneath as well. If you apply heat before with something like a warm washcloth or heat pack, this can also help with the stimulation and release.
Skin-to-Skin
Skin-to-skin is done when you place your bare baby on your bare chest. This skin-to-skin contact releases beneficial hormones for both mom and baby. The hormones released for mom will help initiate the production of breast milk and cause relaxation.
The hormones released in your baby will help relieve stress and regulate your baby’s heart rate, temperature, breathing, and blood sugar.
Do Your Best to Relax
If you’re feeling stressed or tense, it’s much harder for your body to elicit the letdown reflex. This can be even harder when you’re pumping because you don’t have your baby there to cuddle and look at. Some methods you can try are looking at photos/watching videos of your baby, listening to music, or listening to something that relaxes you.
Don’t Limit Time Baby is Nursing
This is especially important in those first few weeks. You may hear advice to stop the baby at 15 minutes at the breast, but that advice has been found to be outdated and can affect your milk supply. Allow baby to nurse at the breast as long as they prefer.
As mentioned earlier, you may find times your baby wants to nurse multiple times for an hour or two at a time (called cluster feeding). The more stimulation at the breast, the better chances of increasing your milk supply!
Get a Good Latch
This one may not necessarily cause you an increase in your supply, but if your baby has a poor latch you certainly won’t have a great milk supply. If you feel like you may have any issues with your baby’s latch, I recommend working with a lactation consultant to correct it.
A poor latch can impede your milk from coming in, so correcting this will help you to increase your milk supply!
Supplements
Fenugreek is a very popular supplement recommended when wanting to increase your milk supply. Take caution using it though, because it’s been found to actually decrease milk supply in some women.
One brand I used with my first to help increase my supply was Legendairy Milk. They have thousands of positive reviews and their products are made with organic herbs, no additives, they’re vegan, and so much more. The Liquid Gold supplement is one of their most popular but they have many other options with descriptions on their website for what each one is helpful for.
I wanted to end this by saying breastfeeding can be hard, but don’t let it challenge you to the point of it affecting your own mental health. No matter how your baby gets fed, you are a wonderful mother, perfectly made for your baby.
I hope after reading this post you found some methods to help increase your breastfeeding milk supply!
Other Posts You May Like:
- 10 Breastfeeding Must Haves for New Moms
- 12 Best Bottles for Breastfed Babies Who Refuse a Bottle (2022)
