Breastfeeding can be a discouraging process, especially if you feel that your baby is not getting the milk that he needs to grow. If you suspect that your milk supply is lower than your baby needs, you can increase your milk supply using a few tactics that tell your body to create more milk. Breastfeeding works using supply and demand, so the more milk your baby eats, the more your body will make. Before you give up breastfeeding in favor of bottle feeding, try a few remedies to jump start production.
Step 1
Pump with an electric or hand pump between feedings. A pump uses vacuum force to extract milk from the breast much in the way a baby would. Because you're removing more milk from the breast, your body will produce more to replace that milk. When you pump, do so in a relaxed setting and store the milk in hygienic bags labeled with the date in your freezer. It can be used to supplement feeding or be given to your baby when you are not available to nurse.
Step 2
Nurse your baby on demand, rather than using a set schedule, suggests the website of Dr. William Sears, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. While you may have read that babies should eat every three or four hours, nursing on demand means keeping your baby close at hand and nursing whenever she seems interested. This nearly constant nursing builds supply as you remove milk from the breast.
Step 3
Offer both breasts during a feeding. You may be used to your baby emptying one breast at one feeding, and the other breast at another, but offering both breasts at each feeding gives your baby a better chance to empty the breasts and eat more of the healthy, fatty hind milk which helps her to grow, says breastfeeding website KellyMom.com. It also wakes a sleepy baby as you switch breasts for another chance to nurse.
Step 4
Allow your baby to use your breast as a comfort item throughout the day. Abstain from pacifiers, as they can placate your baby and cause him to nurse less throughout the day. Instead, when your baby seems distraught, offer the breast. Even if he's not hungry, he'll begin to suck and stimulate production.
Step 5
Visit a lactation consultant or pediatrician if your efforts don't seem to be increasing your milk supply. Some women have a low milk supply and will need prescription drug therapy in order to kick-start the production. Drugs like Reglan can help stimulate production on a short-term basis to help you regulate your supply, according to the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. Your doctor or lactation consultant can also make suggestions on your breastfeeding techniques and tactics to help you find ways to increase your supply.
Things You'll Need
- Breast pump
