Operation Lactation

A very common concern for breastfeeding mommas is their milk supply. So here's the scoop 🍦🍦

First, it is worth noting that everyone starts out with colostrum. This is cool stuff, however, there is not much of it. The way I simply describe it is that colostrum is concentrated breastmilk. So it contains all the amazing things that your baby needs without all the extra fluid, which is PERFECT because your baby is born with a tiny stomach (about the size of a marble). At a single feeding, a baby will take in about 2 teaspoons of colostrum in the first day or so of life. Bottomline, the first few days of life there is not much volume, but colostrum sure packs a punch AND IT IS ALL BABY NEEDS. Okay, now you know, do not expect geysers of milk at the beginning. But let's talk about how to get there...

Breastmilk works like capitalism: supply and demand. Nature really figured this one out. A newborn has a little belly and colostrum is available in small amounts to fill that little belly, and those small feedings mean that a baby will eat more frequently (about every 2-3 hours), therefore your baby is frequently DEMANDING milk and telling your body to SUPPLY more milk. In the first week of breastfeeding, every time your breast empties your body makes something called prolactin receptors and they are what determine how much milk can be produced. So this is why it is so important to feed baby "on demand".

A couple things to consider that can be a detriment to milk supply are pacifiers and formula supplementation. Pacifiers can be a good tool, there is no denying it, however if a baby is spending too much time sucking on a pacifier and not feeding frequently enough, you are missing out on opportunities to build more prolactin receptors. Similarly, formula supplementation can decrease the time baby is spending at breast, therefore fewer receptors. So I would suggest utilizing a breast pump when supplementing with formula in order to provide plenty of stimulation.

There are special situations when a baby is not able to nurse, so in order to get those prolactin receptors in production a breast pump is used to provide the "demand" and stimulation. When exclusively pumping for your newborn it is still important to frequently be emptying and stimulating like a baby would be nursing (every 2-3 hours).  It is also worth noting that there are times that supplementation is recommended and required, and in these situations follow the advice of your healthcare professionals.

Peace, joy and blessings!