I have heard story upon story of women who come to believe that they don’t have enough milk for their babies.  While there are certainly some medical conditions (such as breast reduction surgery) that make building and maintaining milk supply a big challenge, there is one basic fix that all nursing moms should try before they accept a diagnosis of insufficient milk supply:  Nurse your baby on cue at the breast.  Take a day or two and cut out all bottles and pacifiers.  Any time the baby seems to want to nurse, just do it -- even if he or she just nursed two minutes earlier.  Don’t think or try to use a schedule – nurse instinctively. 

Some babies have a greater need to suck than others, and some mothers need more frequent nursing sessions to keep up their supply.  In my experience, my daughter never developed a pattern with nursing other than in the morning, before naps, and at night; I had to assume that all nursing was contributing to her nourishment and comfort.  Other babies are more efficient, vacuuming the milk from both breasts within 15 minutes or less, every 3 hours. 

Certain childcare books advise nursing on a schedule; this may work for some babies, but it puts the health of some babies at risk and sabotages the mother’s desire to nurse – the baby is stressed and cranky from being constantly hungry, the mother’s milk supply dwindles, and the baby ends up exclusively formula-fed.  See Katherine Dettwyler’s critique of schedule feeding (“#2 Physiological”).

Kellymom has excellent information on low supply.  Fenugreek is a potent galactogogue (lactation booster), and can be found in most health food stores; its most potent form is the liquid dropper.  Mother’s Milk tea containing fenugreek is also available. 

If you need inspiration in your efforts to boost your milk supply, remember that there are adoptive moms who induce lactation to feed their babies.  If they can go from no milk supply to successful nursing, this demonstrates that it is possible to go from low milk supply to successful nursing.

Back to Breastfeeding