I personally believe that every mom should have a choice in how to feed their babies. But to me, this doesn’t just include avoiding shaming moms for how they choose to feed their babies. It’s also offering them support. In my time in motherhood, I have seen so many other moms have to turn to formula despite their desire to breastfeed. In many situations this is because of their lack of support. It’s so easy to look at a struggling mom and say, “Don’t worry about not producing enough milk! Heres some formula instead.” Instead of this, I wish we saw more people saying, “Hey, I see you’re having a hard time. Is breastfeeding important to you? Yes? Then let me help you figure this out.” So if you’re a mom struggling to breastfeed because you don’t have a big enough milk supply, let me try to help you figure this out.
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There are many reasons why women struggle to produce. If you’re struggling to produce milk, don’t feel bad! There’s nothing wrong with you and you’re not a bad mom. If producing enough is causing you so much stress that breastfeeding is too daunting, don’t forget their are other options! I know a lot of moms that’s don’t really want to breastfeed, but also don’t trust formula. Don’t forget you can buy formula from other countries that have different ingredients or seek out donated breastmilk too. You don’t just have two options so don’t get overwhelmed. But if breastfeeding is your goal and you’re struggling to produce, try these few things:
Pump:
A lot of times your milk supply is directly correlated to the demand of milk your baby has. This is why you’ll notice your babies sucking A LOT in those first few days/weeks. They’re trying very hard to increase the milk you’re creating so they have enough food. Your body with correlate nipple stimulation to how much milk it needs to produce. This means if you use a breast pump to produce milk in addition to nursing your baby, it will tell your body to make more milk. The big stationary pumps, in my experience, tend to have better suction. This means they therefore can pump more milk in a shorter period of time. That being said, when you have a baby and other responsibilities sometimes you can’t just sit still for that long. That’s where portable pumps come in handy. You can stick them in your bra and get other things done while pumping. They could be really beneficial if finding time to pump is a problem for you while you’re struggling to produce.
Feed On Demand:
I know this sounds silly because you might be thinking, “duh” but this is a common mistake! Sometimes moms will take the time to pump milk to increase milk supply and then use that milk to give their babies a bottle later. In order to send the message that your body needs more milk you need to be nursing on demand and THEN pumping extra. You want to be telling your body, “hey, this isn’t enough!”, so it doesn’t make sense to just swap a nursing session for a pumping one. Plus your baby is better at getting milk than any pump, so prioritizing them nursing to produce milk is your best bet. Get milk storage bags and freeze your pumped milk for later! Or if you’re only producing a tiny amount during pump sessions that doesn’t seem worth saving, use it in your babies bath for smoother, healthier skin.
Lactation Boosters:
If you’re struggling to produce milk there are also certain things you can consume to help boost your milk supply. There’s a lot of different options that you can find if you Google it, but for me there are a few that I’ve personally tried that have worked. Earth Mama Organics has one called Milkmaid Tea filled with all sorts of organic herbs that are found to help lactation (use code SIDNEY2024 for 10% off). You can also order this Lactation Drink by Munchkin Milkmakers from Amazon that I find is pretty tasty and hydrating. Spoiled Mama also has a lactation tea you can check out as well.
Stay Hydrated:
If you’re not drinking water your body can’t produce milk that’s made mostly from water. It’s crazy how I would notice on days that I drank a lot of water my breasts would be fully engorged with milk, while on days where I forgot a lot of water my baby would have to suck for a lot longer to get enough milk. It’s such a simple fix that if you’re struggling to produce its at least worth a shot. Try a water tracker for a few days and make sure you’re getting as much water as breastfeeding mom needs. If you find yourself struggling to drink that much water, buy a large water bottle that has measurements and force yourself to finish the right amount before bed.
Eat Enough:
On a similar line of thinking, creating breastmilk takes a ton of energy. If you don’t have enough calories throughout the day to fuel that process, you might not be able to produce enough milk. Sometimes I hear of people getting insecure about their postpartum bodies so they try to diet while breastfeeding. Not only can this inhibit lactation, but it can also actually stop you from losing that baby weight. If your body is scared that it’s not going to have enough calories to feed your baby, it may store all the fat from the food you eat just in case. So make sure you just focus on eating plenty of food in order to keep your supply up.
Limit Vigorous Exercise:
If you are someone who is super into exercise, great! There’s so many benefits to exercising, especially as a mom. That being said, if you do happen to be struggling to produce milk, it might be time to change it up a little. Walking, jogging, other cardio, and weightlifting aren’t bad things. But if you’re doing some super vigorous exercise it can sometimes lower your milk production. This isn’t due to the exercise itself, but if you’re burning a lot of extra calories in addition to the calories burned to make milk, your body won’t know where to send its energy. A lot of times this means your milk supply will suffer. So if you can’t increase your food consumption anymore see if limiting any extremely vigorous exercise helps.
Limit Stress:
Saying this as a mom is honestly painful, but if nothing else works, try to limit your stress. I know, I know, this seems impossible. It’s like the whole sleep when the baby sleeps advice. You’re like, “how am I supposed to do that when my baby is hungry, and my partner works 60 hours a week, and the dishes are piling up in the sink? What kind of crappy advice is that?” I know. But, it has been seen in SOME cases that when a mom gets stressed it can inhibit the release of oxytocin, which is the hormone helps produce breastmilk. My advice would be to do your best to limit stressors in your life, and if that’s not possible increase activities that produce oxytocin. This means listen to music you like, be intimate with your partner, play with your pets, go for a walk outside. Fill your day with as many of these activities as possible and similar activities and see if it helps. Sometimes postpartum depression can be a contributing factor to stress as well. If that’s the case, check out this post on what you can do if you’re struggling with postpartum depression.
Conclusion:
The key takeaway of this is that there’s so many reasons why your milk supply may be low. The only reason every breastfeeding woman doesn’t struggle the way you are is because they got lucky. It’s not your fault that you’re struggling and you have support if you need it. If breastfeeding is important to you, stick to it! Let your partner, family, and friends know that you don’t want to just switch to formula. You want their support through this journey. And if you’re really worried about not being able to boost your supply, don’t be afraid to go talk to a lactation specialist! Most insurance with cover a meeting with one, so reach out to one near you or ask your doctor for a referral. Trust yourself that you’ll know what’s best for your baby, and know that you’re doing a great job as a mom.