It’s ever so easy to doubt everything as a new mum. The most feared is low milk supply. At most, mothers are abundant in milk supply and produce thrice the amount of milk their baby needs but still to clear out Signs Of Low Milk Supply is not a bad choice.
But cases may differ, low milk supply can also be a tragedy of health issues or some unintentional breastfeeding mistakes that do ruin our milk supply.
It’s important to consult your lactational specialist before jumping onto the conclusion.
Factors That Trigger Low Milk Supply
There are a number of contributing factors that trigger low milk supply:
- Medical History
Though medical history can speak volumes. Not all of them reflect your milk supply. Polycystic ovarian syndrome, breast surgery(Both experiences), diabetes cause low milk supply. Experiences with breast surgery vary from mother to mother.
Some mothers easily breastfeed their babies without any difficulties, others find it hard and painful to breastfeed. But you most certainly can breastfeed with breast implants, there might be some extra discomfort but mothers with implants can breastfeed.
- Lower Milk-Producing Tissues: This is quite rare in lactating mothers but lower milk-producing tissues can reflect your milk supply!
- Breastfeeding Mistakes:
There are many breastfeeding mistakes that can ruin your milk supply. Some of them are irregular breastfeeding session, breastfeeding schedule, irregular pumping sessions, improper latch, etc.
How Does Milk Supply Works
Milk production & supply work on demand. The more your baby feeds on you, the more your breasts get empty, the more stimulation your body will receive to produce more milk.
It’s suggested to mothers to not schedule their baby’s breastfeeding sessions since babies are the sole stimulation to produce more & more milk in the initial months of breastfeeding. The initial months of breastfeeding are necessary to establish a good milk supply and it comes with many forth breastfeeding benefits for the mothers & for the babies!
Hence, it’s recommended to not bottle-feed or use a formula in the starting months. It can deeply disturb your breast milk supply. The major conclusion is to feed as often as you can!
Signs Of Low Milk Supply
Though, there can be many signs of low milk supply. It’s not necessary that they are incurable. There are many products, foods, lifestyle, breastfeeding tips, breastfeeding diet, foods to avoid while breastfeeding, lactational food that can resolve most of your milk supply issues.
Also to note, there are many myths that go on & around about breastfeeding & milk supply. Don’t get scared if you come across such myths, it will only discourage you. Hence, do not give too much attention to these breastfeeding myths!
These signs of low milk supply include:
- Baby weight gain: Baby’s weight gain is the biggest measurement for your milk supply. If your baby is not gaining weight as it must, then you probably are dealing with lower milk supply. Please note, babies lose their birth weight up to 5% or 10% at max. After this natural birth weight loss, babies must gain 20-30 gm per day and be back at their natural birth weight in 10-15 days. If you see fault in these data, then you should consult your doctor!
- Less Dirty Diapers: It’s quite given, the less your baby feeds on, the lesser diaper count it will have. Babies take 10 at most diapers a day. It can be 5-6 as well. But if your baby isn’t ruining much of the diapers, then you must consult your doctor.
- Dehydration: People misunderstand low milk supply with fussy babies. There can be n reasons for a fussy baby and it’s not reliable to conclude for low milk supply! On the other dehydration in babies is a great factor to learn about your low milk supply. If its mouth is dry and sticky. Fewer tears. Consult your doctor.
Signs That Do Not Imply Low Milk Supply
As I said, there are many rumors that scare new mothers the most about low milk supply. Most of them are baseless. So, before you try to increase your milk supply. It would be best if you avoid these misconceptions about lower milk supply!
- Fussy baby: As I said, there can be n reasons for their fussiness. A hungry stomach can be one of them but it’s not a reliable implication of low milk supply.
- Small Breasts: Breast milk depends on milk-producing tissues not on breasts size(it’s mostly fat)
- Soft breasts: Heavy, firm, soft breasts depend on your establishment of milk supply. Once your breastmilk supply has been established, you won’t feel your breast weight!
- Your baby’s feeding session: Babies love to feed. Babies love your breasts, too. They can either feed when they are hungry or just playful. Their feeding session can be short or long. It doesn’t predict your milk supply.
- Breasts don’t leak: Once your milk production has established, it’s not uncommon to not have leaky breasts!
- Baby waking up at night.
How to increase low milk supply?
Before you start onto supplements, it’s advisable to first consult your doctor. Your doctor would know better about your breast milk production!
These post will help you increase low milk supply: