How to increase milk production to eliminate additions

Experiencing exclusive breastfeeding is not the everyday life of many mothers, because many, from the very first days in the hospital, return home with an artificial addition with a bottle.

There are many reasons why formula milk is introduced, such as the baby who has difficulty latching on, who cries a lot and does not seem to be satisfied with the breast alone, or is sleepy and loses weight because he latches on shortly or after returning home with exclusive breastfeeding, we go to the pediatrician and this tells us that he has grown little and therefore needs to be integrated with something else.

All these situations have put women in the head, even before the baby is born, that they may have “little” milk, which is absurd and very wrong.

So if for whatever reason your milk supply is not sufficient for your baby and you have switched to mixed or bottle feeding, you may very well decide to start breastfeeding again .

Just think of the mothers who adopt, who are capable of starting milk production by stimulating the breast.

The first thing to do is contact a midwife, check with her that the attachment is correct and that suction is effective, trying to understand with her what has interfered with the production of abundant milk .

Once the problem has been centered, it is corrected and in the meantime the addition is gradually removed and the milk is administered through the DAS and not with a bottle, a method which allows the stimulation of the breast while administering artificial milk.

How to increase milk production

• The baby must feed as often as possible on the breast, and at the same time the other breast can be stimulated, thus helping the production of prolactin. A number of 10 feedings or more in 24 hours should be considered the minimum. Don’t be scared, it’s true that you may be with the breast “in the air” almost all the time but you need to adapt to its rhythms to reach a balance once the right amount of milk has arrived.
• Put on a band and put the baby inside only with a diaper and you without a shirt and bra so as to do skin to skin for at least 2 consecutive hours a day. Carrying the baby in this way helps you a lot also limiting colic and desperate crying. It will also help you understand how to communicate with him.
• Proximity day and night when resting . If you strictly follow the rules against SIDS have no fear. Bed sharing is fine as long as you don’t cover the child with your sheets, don’t get between the two parents and don’t use the pillow. To cover it, use the sleeping bag.
• If the baby doesn’t latch on spontaneously, offer the breast even if he doesn’t show signs of hunger . In fact, for him, suckling does not only mean feeding but also helping him to go to the toilet, relaxing him, comforting him.
• Alternate breasts even two or three times in the same feed.
• Lengthen the feeds by massaging the baby when he stops sucking or while he eats, help him by massaging the breast by squeezing the milk into his mouth just as he is sucking. This means that he not only takes the first part of the milk which is the most refreshing but also the second which is the fattest.
• Replace the formula with whatever you can get. Remember that the milk you express at different times of the day can all be mixed together as long as they have the same temperature . For example, if you have drawn milk in the fridge in the morning
• Relatives, friends, who come to visit you don’t have to take care of the baby in your place but they have to do the housework and cook so you can rest together with the baby. Get smart, let yourself be pampered!
• Surround yourself with people who support you in your choices and encourage you. Differing opinions, judgments, unsolicited advice will only make you feel discouraged and make you think that you are not capable. Instead, always have faith in the innate skills that you have as a mother!
• Any additions of milk can be given with alternative methods to the bottle (Soft-Cup, cup, syringe on the finger, DAS.) Do not give in to the ease of the bottle. The last two help you because they make the child fall in love with skin-to-skin contact with you more and more.

The most important thing of all is, before starting your re-feeding , consult a midwife who is competent in breastfeeding and who evaluates the position and attachment of your baby to the breast . Too many times I see inadequate attacks that were judged ‘good’ because they were observed hastily and only in the first few days in the hospital.

The timing of the milk production, which finally arrives to satisfy your baby, varies from case to case, it depends a lot on the mother’s tenacity, on the availability of time, on how long the baby has stopped sucking at the breast, and on the family support. In addition to the many advice and indications given in this article, you can use natural products that support the production of milk.
Effective, is the Mother Tincture of Verbena. You can take 30 drops in a little water, twice a day. Verbena helps the production of prolactin in the first 10 days. After these first two weeks you can replace the Verbena with the Mother Tincture of Galega. Always take 30 drops twice a day. And then there’s the classic Fennel infusion. Take Fennel seeds from the herbalist’s shop, put 15 g of it for a liter of water, pour boiling water over the seeds and leave to rest for fifteen minutes, then filter, sweeten with honey and drink 3/4 cups a day.

The fennel infusion, the grandmothers tell us, passes into the milk and avoids the gaseous colic of the infant, in short, an invaluable aid.