How do I increase my milk supply?
What can you do to increase breast milk supply? I’m Dr. Wagner, I’m a pediatrician, and this is one of the most common questions I get from breastfeeding moms. If you are worried about this, you are not alone – more than 76% of breastfeeding moms share your concern, and this fear is the number one reason that moms worldwide stop breastfeeding earlier than they had hoped. *Before getting into the studies, a few things: - 1. your very first stop should be your pediatrician and/or lactation consultant because very often you are actually making the perfect amount,
- 2. breast fed babies tend to gain a lot of weight very quickly in the first three months and then level off, this is part of their normal growth.
3. if you are facing low supply, please don’t blame yourself that you weren’t eating right/drinking right/managing your stress/pumping right, this isn’t your fault – the world we live in doesn’t allow us to be with our babies all the time around the clock feeding on demand for the entire duration of breastfeeding, and how our society supports moms and babies plays a huge role in breastfeeding challenges.*
Now for the studies - here’s the best I could find across a range of studies (none very large or well powered) If you are looking for effective ways to increase your milk supply:
More frequency is better than longer duration – moms who pumped 7 times a day instead of 4 times per day made on average twice as much milk
Direct breastfeed when you can – this is likely more effective at increasing milk production than pumping (this 2005 study was comparing 200 term and preterm infants, so is not a perfect comparison)
The earlier you can increase your milk supply the better (good milk supply at the end of the first week predicts good milk supply 6 weeks later)
Try to fully empty the breast - an emptier breast synthesizes milk faster - (study of 7 moms continually observed through computerized breast imaging in 1993)
there is no reliable evidence (from a huge review in 2020 of a total of 3005 breastfeeding moms) that any herbal supplements actually work to increase milk supply
Drinking a lot of extra fluids doesn’t seem to change milk production (from a 2014 review of 210 breastfeeding moms)
One of the most studied pharmacologic agents (domperidone) that has been shown to very minimally increase milk supply is not approved in the US due to concern for cardiac arrhythmia in moms who use it, so that is not an option
If you are worried about your milk supply while breastfeeding, again, my very best advice is to work with a lactation consultant and pediatrician closely anywhere along your breastfeeding journey when you have concerns. Thanks for watching!
