Is My Milk Supply Adequate

Things That Might Make you Worry about the Adequacy of Your Milk Supply

Some of the things that can make a mother worry about the adequacy of milk supply are given below. However, all these things are actually normal and not a cause of concern. Moreover, every woman can breastfeed her baby. So, take out all your worries from your mind.

When your baby is 6 weeks to 2 months old, your breasts might feel softer and no longer full like before. This is perfectly normal.

During this time the feeds get shorter and your baby may feed for only 5 minutes at a time. Don’t worry. This phase helps you and your baby adjust to the breastfeeding process.

Initiate early skin to skin contact between you and your baby after birth as it promotes bonding and facilitates breastfeeding.

Your breast milk might look more watery. This is how it is supposed to look and it does not mean that your milk is too weak.

• During growth spurts your baby might want to feed longer and more often. Growth spurts usually happen around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks 
  and 3 months. This process actually helps build up your milk supply and should not make you think that your supply is too low to satisfy
  your baby.
• Your breasts are too small and you are worried. However, the size of your breasts is not related to how much milk you produce.

What If You Think You Do Not Have Enough Milk?

Don’t worry. Let your baby’s doctor know about it as there are some treatments which may help increase the amount of milk. Meanwhile, you can do the following 
things at home:

• Make sure that your baby is positioned well and is sucking well. Remember for effective and pain free breastfeeding it is important to hold your baby in the correct position and help him to latch onto your breast properly.
• Make it a point to offer both breasts at every feed.
• Feed often, say every 2 to 3 hours and let your baby decide when to end the feeding. To ensure continued production of milk, frequent and unrestricted breastfeeding is important.

• Take plenty of rest. Eat nutritious food. Drink plenty of water.

Say Yes! ‘I can!’

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