One of the most common questions that new mothers have is whether or not their baby is getting enough milk when they feed.
It can be difficult to tell exactly how much milk your child is getting when they breastfeed, but many mothers will try to increase their supply to ensure that their child has plenty of milk to eat when they are hungry. But how can you go about increasing your breast milk supply? We share five tips for increasing your breast milk supply in today’s blog.
How To Increase Your Milk Supply
If you want to increase your milk supply to ensure your kid has enough or to match their growing demand, consider these five tips for building up your breast milk supply.
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Feed Or Pump More – Your body learns to produce breast milk on a supply and demand basis, so if you want to build up your supply, you need to remove milk from your breasts more often. You can do this by feeding your baby more often throughout the day if they are willing, or you can pump more frequently if your child is going longer stretches between feedings. Regularly emptying your supply will help your body get better at producing more milk because it believes that your child needs a bigger supply.
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Pump After Nursing – Sometimes your child may not take much of your supply, or they’ll really only eat well on one side. When this happens, pump after your child is done nursing. This will help to fully empty your breasts, and like the above point, this will signal to your body that more milk needs to be produced, increasing your supply.
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Get Enough Healthy Sleep – We understand that this is easier said than done, especially since you’ll be up in the middle of the night to feed your child, but restful sleep makes it easier for your body to keep its milk supply up. You’re going to be tired during those first few months, but don’t be afraid to nap when your child naps and really focus on getting quality sleep when you can because it will help your milk supply.
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More Skin On Skin Contact – The benefits of skin on skin contact between mother and child have been well documented, but increasing your skin on skin time can also help with your milk supply. Studies have found that skin to skin contact can help your baby get used to your scent and help them become more familiar with recognizing the nipple and developing a secure latch. Poor latching can make it hard for your newborn to get enough milk, which can lead to a decrease in your supply if you’re not regularly emptying your supply. Skin on skin contact can help your child become a better eater and more comfortable with the process, all of which will slowly help to build your milk supply.
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Self Care – This is similar to the third point in that we understand that most of your attention will be focused on your baby, but you also need to take care of your health. Practice good self-care habits, and your baby will be better off for it. Besides working to get healthy sleep, strive to exercise, eat a healthy diet, stay hydrated and find ways to destress, whether that be through yoga, breathing exercises or a warm bath. It’s easier for your body to produce milk when you’re prioritizing your own health.
If you follow these tips, we’re confident that you’ll be able to increase your milk supply in short order. If you have any questions or want any assistance with the process or with any other postpartum issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at MetroPartners OBGYN today at (651) 770-3320.