Mothers feel helpless when their baby cries for milk but there isn’t enough to give. It’s a nightmare, and moms would go to any length to produce enough milk for their baby’s needs. 

For starters, give your body some rest. Take power naps. Stay hydrated and eat healthy food. Never miss pumping or nursing sessions. 

But those are just the basics. There is much more you can do. Read this short article thoroughly to learn more about them. 

Why Has Your Breast Milk Supply Decreased? (3 Causes)

It must be disheartening for moms when they can’t provide their kids with nutrients. Mother's milk is all a baby wants. It protects them from sickness or infection and helps them to grow healthily. 

Sadly, moms often complain about not producing enough milk to feed their babies. They can’t figure out the exact reasons. Some may have even tried the best breastfeeding supplements but without success. 

That’s why we’ve researched and found some factors that may be decreasing your milk supply. 

Let’s find out below!

Not Doing On-Demand Feeding

It’s normal if you ignore your baby’s demand for cluster feeding. As a mom, you may have felt tired or been busy with other things. If you’ve repeatedly done that, it can potentially be the reason you are not producing enough milk.

A baby may demand its milk every hour or right after naps. Try to feed them instantly. Your body produces milk on demand. If you put it off, your milk supply can decrease.

Use of Pacifier

The second cause can be using pacifiers. You may find this unbelievable since it’s so common. Pretty much everyone uses pacifiers to one extent or another. But there should be a limit. 

You can’t make it a habit for your baby to use a pacifier 24 hours a day. If this happens, the baby will start to skip feeding sessions. That will again affect your milk supply negatively.

Lifestyle

A mother's unhealthy lifestyle can also affect her breast milk supply. If the mom smokes or drinks, she will produce less milk for her baby. Moreover, nicotine and alcohol diminish nutrients in breast milk. 

Other than that, too much junk or spicy food can add to a mother's misery. Moms need to maintain a healthy sleep routine as well.

So far we’ve learned about potential causes. But how can you actually increase your breastmilk? We’ve covered this answer in the next part with our nine tips.

Continue reading.

What Are Some Tips to Increase Your Breast Milk Supply? (9 Tips)

As a mom, you can do more than you think to solve this problem. You just need to be patient and affirmative. 

While breastfeeding, if you hear swallowing sounds, it means your baby is getting enough milk. But if it makes clicking sounds, that means there is a deficiency. And here we can help you.

You’ll find nine tips below that’ll help your body to produce milk on demand so that your baby will get the nourishment they need.

Tip 1: De-stress and Get Adequate Sleep

New moms get stressed over simple things. It might be your motherly nature or you’re just being too protective. But stressing out too much will deprive you of sleep.

This stress increases when your body can’t fulfill your child’s milk demand. 

Too much pressure increases the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. That further causes the prolactin hormone to produce less milk. So you need to try to stay positive.

You can go for a walk, do yoga asanas, or work out. Basically, whatever makes you feel calm and centered. 

Talk to a friend about what’s bothering you. Listen to your favorite songs. That will calm your body so you can sleep better.

Another tip is to engage yourself in creative activities. This will make you feel more positive and confident. For instance, you can go online, learn DIY techniques for making paper crafts, and try them out. 

Less sleep makes you irritated and you will be more likely to skip feeding sessions. So, stress less and sleep tight.

Tip 2: Keep Hydrated

This is a very important tip. Breast milk is made up of 98 percent water, so if your body isn’t getting enough water, it’s not going to make enough breast milk.

So don’t get dehydrated. Drink water every hour. Keep a water bottle with you all the time. You can set reminders on your phone. Also, use apps to remind and motivate you to drink water on a regular basis. 

For a change, include water-infused fruits in your diet, like watermelon. This will make you more refreshed.            

Tip 3: Keep an Eye on Your Diet

Along with water, the fourth tip is eating healthy. Having a healthy and balanced diet fuels your body with energy so that it can take care of you and your baby.

So what kind of healthy food do you need to produce milk? Healthy carbs are best. Sweet potatoes are chock full of beta-carotene. This element helps increase milk supply. 

Also, beets, carrots, and quinoa are high in beta-carotene. You can have oats, beans, lentils, yogurt, and apples as well. 

Besides, stick to whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Eat chicken, red meat, and fish to get plenty of protein. Get healthy fats from coconut oil, avocados, or olive oil. 

You should try different recipes to stimulate your palate. For instance, a fresh corn salad and sweet potatoes with ham can be a good way to do this.

Overall, these foods will boost your milk production. Be careful about avoiding fast foods.

Tip 4: Munch Lactation Cookies

One more thing to add to your diet is cookies. We all love cookies. During your snack time, you will want to try these delicious lactation cookies. 

Lactation cookies have proven their impact on boosting milk supply. They have galactagogues that fuel milk production in your body. You can buy ready-made cookies or cookie mix. 

Brewer’s yeast can be an additional ingredient to put into your cookies. This will double the results. You can start taking these lactation cookies right after giving birth. 

These cookies are mostly made of oats, wheat germs, and flaxseed. These things combined to help not only in milk output but also in the nourishment of a mother’s body.

If you haven’t tried them, it’s time to take your first bite.

Tip 5: Eat Herbs as a Milk Supplement

Herbs can be a great source of your milk output. You can mostly find herbs in teas or supplements. One common herb that you may have heard of before is fenugreek. 

Fenugreek really helps in enhancing breast milk supply. You can make fenugreek tea to get its benefit or use it in other recipes. 

But some women’s bodies don’t always respond accordingly. If your body doesn’t react well, stop taking it right away. Consult a doctor first just to be safe.

Along with fenugreek, you can also use moringa, fennel, or milk supplements. These will increase your lactation level to a satisfactory point. 

Tip 6: Frequent Pumping

Frequent pumping is necessary to signal your body to make more milk. Whenever a baby cries for milk, make sure it gets some. 

Make sure you’re pumping or nursing at least every two to four hours, depending on the age of your baby. Pumping more often gives your body a signal to produce milk. 

When the baby starts to sleep longer at night, pump before going to bed. Then again in the morning, pump first before starting your day. Also, it’s the best solution for feeding your baby in the middle of the night. 

Tip 7: Power Pumping

The next tip is power pumping. You need to devote an hour of your day to pumping. Spend the first 20 minutes pumping, then rest for ten minutes. While pumping, make sure to massage and compress your breasts. 

The next session after the first break will begin with another ten minutes of pumping. Then rest for ten minutes of rest before starting your last ten minutes of pumping. 

This power pumping is basically stimulating the baby’s cluster feeding. As a newborn or infant grows faster, power pumping is a must. Because at that time the baby needs more milk than the mother is producing.

Tip 8: Drink Dark Beer

This tip may sound weird. But it actually works. Dark beer has barley in it. Barley is a carbohydrate that synthesizes more prolactin. This extra prolactin might stimulate more milk supply.

However, lactation is a complex matter to deal with. Thus, talk to your doctor first before you try this tip. 

Tip 9: Warm Your Breast

You can use a hot washcloth on your breast and dab gently. This will smoothen the flow of your breast milk. Also, take a hot shower for better blood circulation.

You can massage your breasts with lukewarm oil as well. The whole purpose of warming your breasts is to ensure milk availability so that you don’t have to work as hard while breastfeeding.

Wrapping Up

You might have come for a few tips but got nine. These tips will surely help you increase your breast milk supply. You just need to hang in there. 

That’s all from our side. We sincerely believe it will help if you start using one or more tips in your daily routine. We sympathize with your situation and pray that this journey becomes easier for you.

Hopefully, you will have success with the tips published here. And till next time, take good care of yourself and your little one.