How I Increased My Milk Supply?

Months before giving birth, moms should decide if they'd be breastfeeding or giving formula to their newborn. In this way, a mother can consider many different things such as if she'll be giving formula milk, what would be the best brand, of course, there's the bottle and nipple too! Aside from that, you got to consider if you need to use an automatic sterilizer, etc.

For breastmilk, pumping might also be an option and that requires the materials such as the pump itself, the bottles, and storage. But there's one more concern that breastfeeding moms usually would deal with on the first few days postpartum and that's how to increase their milk supply.

The mother's body detects that the baby has been born, the brain signals the breast to produce milk and the breasts become full. Every single mother will experience this regardless if she had planned on giving formula milk or breastfeeding.

One of the reasons why mothers surrender breastfeeding is the notion that they got no milk or their milk supply is not enough to fulfill their babies' hunger thus resorting to giving formula. I have here a few ways on how to increase milk supply based on my own experience and the things I have read online through forums as well as online baby class.

Education

Knowledge is power and knowing the truth will set you free from all the anxiety and worries of this new venture of motherhood. As I engage with many new mothers here in my community, I came to realize that they take care of their baby and feed their baby through the guidance of other people like their immediate family, their moms, their neighbors. This is not bad, but oftentimes, the things that they are taught are not based on facts.

They associate their feeding habits with myths. An example of this is not feeding the baby when the mother is sick. Oftentimes, they stop feeding their babies because they are not feeling well, they have a fever, they have colds, they have a migraine, and so on. While it may be inconvenient, feeding the baby while having this sickness will allow the baby to receive antibodies too through the breastmilk, just make sure that if mom has a cold or cough, she wears her facemask and covers her mouth when coughing.

One of the things that I learned during an online baby class is that the baby's stomach is still very tiny, as tiny as a cherry, and by the second day of life, it is as a size of a strawberry, it grows to a size of a lemon after a week and so on. Thus, considering the size of the stomach, the milk the baby requires is also not that many but he or she requires more feeding, thus nursing on demand is required as soon as baby cries and there are hunger cues, then its time to offer the breast and nurse the baby.

It is also very important to note that due to the size of the baby's stomach, the milk produced by the mother is not that plenty yet. Some may not even notice the milk but worry not, as long as there's a wet diaper, then the baby is getting something out from mom.

More Demand, More Supply

Here comes the real way of increasing the milk supply: empty the breasts always!

The brain signals the mom's body to produce milk when there's a demand. The demand is when the baby latches on mom. As soon as the baby is latching, the brain understands that the body needs to produce milk. So if mothers would resort to giving the bottle instead of getting the baby to latch often, she is not helping her body to create milk.

The more that the mom feeds the baby with the bottle, her body would consider a no-demand thus milk is not produced as well.

So, to increase the milk supply, just let the baby latch. It may be a tiring, energy-consuming, and back aching thing but it is worth it. Our breastmilk contains all the needed nutrients that our growing baby requires. Aside from that, our milk changes its nutritional content accordingly as the baby grows.

Aside from that, latching creates a special bond between the mom and the baby. Based on research, the taste of breastmilk is very familiar to the baby as it is similar to that when he or she was still inside the womb thus it soothes him or her, it allows the baby to relax, and thus most of the time, the babies can sleep in the breast.

More Skin to Skin

We are born as natural carriers. We need to carry our baby as often as possible. It is not true that babies who cry a lot are bad, they just need the warmth of their mother's body. Their mother's body is their home and this helps too with increasing the milk supply.

Skin to skin means getting the baby to touch the skin of the mother, no clothes in between. This enhances the production of prolactin and stimulates oxytocin which helps a lot with milk production. Our body is definitely amazing!

There have been success stories too of premies due to skin-to-skin contact with their mother.

Galactagogues

Considering that the mother is exclusively breastfeeding on demand, galactagogues come in handy to improve the milk supply more. Galactagogues come from the word "galacta" which means milk.

Here are some of the food that has been tagged as galactagogues and I had also tried which I believe helped with my milk supply. I am based in the Philippines and these are the most accessible food possible for those who are also living in the same country.

Malunggay

Everything that has malunggay such as soups, malunggay juice (M2 brand), flakes, and powder. This is a superfood and it is a blessing that this grows abundantly in the country. Either you buy it for as low as Php 10 per pack or you just pick it from your backyard or your neighbor's, this food is certainly a great help for increasing the milk supply.

Hot Choco

I drank hot choco every single day after giving birth. I had this hot choco with malunggay from a brand named Mother Nurture. It is also an affordable one and it comes in eight packs per box.

Coconut Water and Flesh

For snacks and refreshments, I often drink coconut water. Aside from it tastes good, it is a low-calorie, low-sugar that is high in natural electrolytes thus it is perfect for those lactating mothers.

Seashells

My mother's testimony had encouraged me to eat shells. I believe it helped too but since I am not a very fan of those white seashells, I decided to only eat once a week, during Sundays.

Water

Above all, it is best to hydrate when breastfeeding. It was only when I was breastfeeding that I get to drink at least 6 liters of water a day. I can even finish one water bottle while feeding Matti. Breastfeeding makes one very thirsty. I could literally feel my throat drying while Matti is latching.

Supplements

I took supplements too such as Mega Malunggay and Natalac. I take two capsules a day. Today, I stopped taking them as my milk supply is already regulated.

But then again, remember that even if you take a lot of galactagogues, if you don't empty your breast, these won't help.

Conclusion

If there's one thing that you should remember out of this article, it must be more demand, more supply, and hydrate always! Breastmilk is still best for babies and to have a successful breastfeeding journey, we must educate ourselves and persevere!

These things mentioned in this article are based on my own experience and research. If you have doubts and issues with your breastfeeding journey, I highly recommend that you get an appointment with a certified lactation consultant or find a breastfeeding advocate pedia.

xoxo,

mommy jean of momentswithmatti

Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.