Tips for Healthy Breast Milk Production
Hey mama! Welcome to the blog space where I give information surrounding the full perinatal health spectrum, and provide other healthy tips for the amazing journey of life.
No matter where you are on this journey, I want to congratulate you for getting to this point of educating yourself and learning more! It is so beneficial to be equipped with the armor of knowledge as we are expanding through life, especially as parents.
Have you been wondering how you can keep your milk production strong throughout your breastfeeding journey? Maybe you’ve read that some others “weren’t able” to reach their goals of breastfeeding and you’re looking to get ahead and help yourself prepare for the journey. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Breastfeeding is completely normal and should be treated as such. Understanding the process of breast milk production and feeding your baby is important to reaching your goals – no matter what they may be.
Understanding the Basics
Breastfeeding is the process in which the human breast produces milk and excretes the milk to feed a baby, be it through direct latch, pumping, or hand expression. Speaking on direct latch only, the baby suckles the breast, sending a message to your brain to signal hormones which are then released. These hormones include prolactin (milk producing) and oxytocin (the love hormone which promotes muscle movement to excrete milk).
Full milk is produced 2 to 4 days following birth, by way of increased latching or pumping. The first milk is called colostrum and is a nutrient dense form of milk for the new baby’s digestion system.
5 Simple Tips to Implement to Encourage Milk Production
1. Adequate Hydration: While it may seem simple, this is one of the most vital ways for healthy milk production. The current standard for water consumption is half your weight in ounces. That means, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should be drinking around 80 ounces of water per day. When breastfeeding, much of your liquid intake is going to the production of milk. For this reason, you may find yourself more thirsty or dehydrated than normal. Figure out what your basic needs are for liquid intake and get there!
Keep in mind that the more “soft” drinks/soda/pop, unnaturally sweetened “juices”, and coffees (caffeinated drinks) all affect the body’s ability to absorb the water, creating the increased need for water to balance out your body. Consider swapping them out for healthier, nutrient dense options.
For coffee, try green tea with ginger and ginseng.
For soda, find sparkling spring water and add some fresh fruit and agave.
Adding herbs to water to make tea adds extra benefits depending on the herbs you choose.
Switch your tea up and make a lemonade by adding extra lemons, natural sweetener like honey, and chilling before serving.
2. Maintaining Low Stress Levels: Depending on where you are on your personal journey, this one may come as a bit of challenge. Stress is directly related to the body’s ability to produce breastmilk. This happens because the hormone cortisol is increase, flooding out the oxytocin (happy/love hormone) necessary to encourage milk production. One way to tackle stress is to directly pinpoint the stressors in your life and adjust head on. I believe that journaling is an important way to help identify and redirect our paths in a clear way.
If your problem is balancing tasks around the house with the newborn, consider reaching out to your support system to take on some small household duties to alleviate your stress. Hiring a postpartum doula in advance can help tremendously with this. If finances are an issue, there are many local resources for new moms in need. If lack of sleep is your trouble, there are some books and other tools you can use to help assist. In other ways, there are herbal supplements that may be beneficial to reduce stress levels and help you stay afloat during this transitional period. Consulting your primary care physician can help you in making the best decision for yourself with medicinals.
3. Latch on Demand: In the early days, latching frequently and on demand can be very crucial to starting your baby off with a strong supply of milk. Frequent latches tells the body to keep making more to continue to feed you baby – be it one or ten! You may feel like you’re not producing enough, but you’d be surprised just how much your baby is pulling out on each feeding. As the baby hits various growth spurts (typically around 3,6 and 9 months), you may feel like you are feeding continuously. This may seem a little exhausting but it doesn’t last long. These growth periods are crucial to maintaining a strong supply by telling your body to produce more to keep up with your growing baby’s needs.
You may begin to feel touched out and over-worked, but keep your head strong and see it through! The moments may be challenging, but these days of your child being a baby go by so quickly and you cannot get them back. Take this opportunity to acknowledge and praise your body for staying strong to feed your baby the best source of milk available.
4. Skin-to-Skin: Another strong way of building and maintaining a strong milk supply is frequent moments of skin-to-skin with your baby. During skin-to-skin, the body connection signals the oxytocin in the brain to produce more milk for your baby. Your body literally gets happy to be able to feel that level of connection and wants to do all it can to support your bonding with your baby and the milk production.
Skin-to-skin is also extremely beneficial to both mom, baby, and dad to boost immunity and help recover from illness quicker. Remember to stay hydrated and take in various herbs to keep yourself protected if illness is suspected.
5. Seek out Support Groups: I think often times, new moms experience challenges in breastfeeding because they experience changes that they don’t feel anyone around them can understand. This is why community and building our villages is so important. Through community and support, you are able to encourage one another, as well as offer other beneficial resources. Sometimes, being able to talk with others who understand the experience and can give our tips are the best answers. Laughter is very helpful in boosting your oxytocin levels, so finding others to bond with on the journey is imperative.
Sometimes, we have the trouble of speaking on our personal needs out of fear of being a bother to someone else, or others judgements. It is completely okay to voice your needs to others and seeking out support where needed. There is nothing wrong with this and you are no less of a mother or woman to ask for help. The strongest people know when they need help, and heed to asking others for their assistance. Remember the saying “closed mouths don’t get fed”. It’s very true! Ask and you shall receive! Speak the life you want out loud and watch out things turn around for you.
I hope that you are feeling more encouraged on your breastfeeding journey from this blog. Are you a breastfeeding mom or previously breastfed? Share your tips in the comments to support other moms on their breastfeeding journey.
For more benefits of breastfeeding, we invite you to read our of 22 Benefits of Breastfeeding.