help producing milk to breastfeed.?

Question

I am only 16 weeks right now but was not able to produce milk or atleast enough to feed baby. i was wondeirng if there was anything i could do later in pregnancy to help produce. I did produce the collostrum not sure if that how u spell but and then a week later very tiny amounts of milk and breastfed my first for almost 3 weeks but baby was always hungry and had to supplement. I never got engorged after i stopped it just went away boobs never got large and full feeling and so i know i wasnt just producing and not the fact that i didnt do it long enough i didnt even produce when trying to pump with my second child. So is there anything i can do to help out with this baby i would love to try and breastfeed. Sorry for the awful writing here and misspellings.

Answer 1

OK, my experience has been different than the above posters. I was unable to breast feed my twins because I did not produce enough milk. When I left the hospital I was told to pump every 2 hrs for 30 minutes to get my milk to come in. I did not work! I was only getting about an ounce at the most after pumping for 30 minutes to split between to babies. I worked with lactation specialists and they told me that there are women that just cannot produce and that your OB may be able to prescribe a medication to help you. Well I did not do that because I did not want any medication going through me to the babies but if you would consider it may say something to your OB.

Answer 2

Over 97% of women are able to breastfeed and produce enough milk.



The reason you suffered breastfeeding failure is because you supplemented.



Too many women unfortunately mistake a baby for being perpetually hungry to "not making enough milk" Reality is, newborns nurse AROUND THE CLOCK to hit their growth spurt and bring in your milk. It may seem like you are nursing all the time, because you will be. That's how you make milk. It's supply and demand.



Even if baby is constantly nursing, you keep nursing.



If you give a bottle, you will start to make less milk.

More milk out = more milk in.



Supplementation almost always leads to nursing failure.



Make sure to pick up a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and meet with a lactation consultant.



When baby is born, have him room in with you, feed him on demand, and do not give a pacifier or bottle. Do not have him circumcised (this has been shown to GREATLY interfere with the establishment of nursing.)

Answer 3

There isn't anything you can do during your pregnancy to "encourage" more breast milk. You can, however, educate yourself on breastfeeding to make this next experience go more smoothly. Take some classes, research online(Kellymom is a good site), and get in touch with a certified lactation consultant after you have your baby to ensure everything is "working" properly.



Also, stay away from supplementing. Very few women actually lack milk production but many think they do and start supplementing with formula because they are scared/nervous that baby isn't getting enough milk. This in turn can cause serious harm to their supply, especially in the early days. Put baby to breast OFTEN and allow him/her to suck as long as they like. This is the best way of encouraging your supply to come in after giving birth.

Answer 4

Unless your first baby was not wetting enough diapers and not gaining weight, you were producing enough. You most likely were given poor advice and supplemented without true medical reason. It's fairly common, and unfortunately, most doctors, nurses, and midwives don't really know much about breastfeeding. ALWAYS check with an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) before supplementing with formula. Most of the time, it's not actually medically necessary.



Just because your baby wants to nurse often does NOT mean that you're not making enough. Babies are supposed to be hungry a lot - especially if they're breastfed. A newborn's stomach is only about as big as a marble. Of course they're going to need to eat often.



The only reliable way to know if you're making enough milk is to keep track of wet diapers (baby should be wetting 5-6 a day after the first week) and weight gain (baby should be back up to his birth weight around 2 weeks old and gaining normally after that). Most women who think their supply is low are mistaken, unfortunately, and it doesn't help that so many medical professionals can give really poor advice and recommend formula so quickly. If your baby is wetting enough diapers and gaining weight, they're getting enough and your supply is fine.



See here:



Cluster Feeding: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html



Is Baby Getting Enough Milk? http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html



Is Your Milk Supply Really Low? http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply



Growth Spurts: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html



Frequent Nursing: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/frequent-nursing.html



My Baby Is Fussy! Is Something Wrong? http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html



Even if baby is not gaining weight very quickly, formula supplements are not necessarily needed. See here: "How might I increase baby's weight gain?" http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain_increase.html



Your boobs don't have to get large or full feeling at all, really. Not every woman experiences engorgement. That doesn't mean you can't produce enough milk. See here: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/breast-fullness.html Breast fullness and softness are NOT an indicator of supply.



The best thing you can do to prepare for breastfeeding during pregnancy is educate yourself. Knowledge is power.



I highly recommend this book - "So That's What They're For!" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159337285X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1580620418&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1F7RKWZVK7AHGG9KA3SY



I also highly recommend visiting La Leche League group meetings while you're still pregnant. They're completely free, and the leaders will even come help you for free after your baby is born. Check here to find a group near you: http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html



Bottom line:



~ put your baby to the breast as soon as possible after birth (within 30 minutes to an hour after birth, preferably)



~ let them nurse as often as they need to for as long as they need to (milk is produced on a supply/demand basis - your body knows how much to make based on how often your baby nurses)



~ avoid supplementing unless it's absolutely medically indicated (as that reduces time spent at the breast, fills up the baby so they won't want to nurse as much, and can contribute to nipple confusion/bottle preference)



~ avoid artificial nipples for the first 4-6 weeks, since pacifiers and bottles can interfere with breastfeeding when introduced before it is well established



~ avoid pumping and bottlefeeding milk unless baby absolutely cannot latch onto the breast (pumps cannot stimulate the breast like a nursing baby, so pumping should not replace nursing unless you must be separated from your baby or they can't latch on)

Answer 5

I attended a breastfeeding class and they informed us to feed the baby for 30m every 2 hours (so a 1.5 hour break) and to wake the baby to feed at night every 3 hours.



I breastfed twins using that. I also did eat-play-sleep cycles putting them to bed drowsy but awake to help their sleeping.



You shouldn't really be breastfeeding for 3 hours straight. That is using you as a paci, and isn't really going to increase your supply much.



30m every 2 hours is about ideal. But do wake the baby at night to feed until 8 weeks of age. They can sleep up to 1 hour per week of age. But if they sleep the night right away and you don't wake them that will kill your supply.



I also pumped after feeding my guys. So it was feed baby A, feed baby B, pump. With changing them that gave me about 15 - 30m of downtime every 2 hours. At night I extended the EPS cycles to 3 hours to get in two 1.5 hour blocks of sleep.