There is a fine line between making too much or too little milk. I am here to tell you a secret about milk production. It's frequency. When you stimulate milk let down and remove milk regularly your body will ultimately make more milk.
Human milk is based on supply and demand. When the demand is high the supply follows. This means that you must follow our babies sleep, wake and hunger cues 24/7. When you allow baby to determine the schedule you are more likely to see an increase in milk supply. Human babies need to eat no less than 8 times in a 24 hour period to ensure adequate removal of milk and satisfy their needs for growth.
A few tips that can help get things going when you're working to increase or maintain your supply.
Stay close to your baby, if this isn't possible, take a photo or video. Seeing your baby triggers your brains response to let milk down.
Hold your baby skin to skin. When we hold our babies skin to skin we get a little surge of oxytocin (lactation hormone) and that aids in milk removal. If you're not close to your baby, hands on massage and expression may help.
Hand express. If you have not been properly taught how to do hand expression, ask your lactation consultant right away as this is an invaluable skill for all breast/chest feeding parents.
There are of course some exceptions to this rule, as with many rules in life. Those with history of medical conditions such as PCOS, breast surgery or diabetes may find milk production more difficult and feeding schedules have different demands than what I have stated above and should be working closely with a lactation consultant and other care providers to establish and maintain an adequate milk supply for your baby.
Information published on this site or affiliated sites should NOT replace competent and comprehensive care provided by your lactation consultant and primary care providers. If you are having difficulty with feeding your infant please contact us directly for assistance. If you are experiencing an emergency please call 911 or head to your nearest Emergency Room.
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