How often and for how long should I pump to increase my milk production?
Sometimes there may not be enough milk for your baby. You can pump to increase your milk supply. How often and for how long depends on how much you are already breastfeeding. A good latch is effective for draining the breast. This benefits the milk supply too. To increase your milk supply you can pump between breastfeeding sessions 2-3 times per day. This increases the number of times each breast is stimulated. If you are pumping exclusively, you may need to pump 8-12 times a day. The main thing is to increase the number of daily sessions. How long you need to pump at each pumping session may vary. Most mothers need about 10 minutes for each breast. After increasing the stimulation of your breast for 1-2 days, you should notice the effect on your milk supply.
How do I increase milk production by power pumping?
Sometimes there may not be enough milk for your baby. To increase your milk supply, you need to breastfeed or pump more frequently than usual. You can try power pumping: intensive pumping 1-2 times a day. Power pumping mimic cluster feeding (frequent feeding). This stimulates your milk production. Power pumping should be done in addition to breastfeeding/pumping. Use a single or double pump. A double pump is the most efficient. Power pumping takes one hour in total. Double pump: pump 20 minutes, rest 10 minutes, pump 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes, pump 10 minutes. Single pump: pump each breast for 10 minutes, then 5 minutes. Breaks are not necessary. One breast rests while the other is pumped. Try power pumping for 2-4 days and you should notice a significant increase in your milk supply.
How do I know if I’m producing enough milk?
The most important sign you are producing enough milk is that your baby is gaining weight and following his weight curve. The child health clinic can help you with this. If you exclusively breastfeed, you can be confident that your baby is getting enough to eat if he has a wet nappy at least 5-6 times a day and a dirty nappy at least twice a day. This applies from day 4-5 through to the end of baby’s first month. Some babies may have a dirty nappy less often even though they are feeding well. While you are breastfeeding, you may notice that your baby is actually feeding, as you can both see and hear baby swallowing.
More milk – using an at-breast supplementer
To help increase the milk volume available to baby, you can use an at-breast supplementer. Your baby will then feed at your breast while also getting milk from the at-breast supplementer. When baby feeds, your breasts will produce more milk. You should also breastfeed often enough and empty each breast completely. An at-breast supplementer consists of a thin tube connected to a bottle or container of milk. The milk can be breast milk or infant formula. Until you start producing more milk, your baby will receive the extra milk she needs from the at-breast supplementer. If you are unable to increase your milk production to meet your baby's needs, mixed feeding (also called combination feeding) is also a good alternative. Ask at your child health clinic if you need help.
More milk – is there anything I should be eating or drinking?
What you eat or drink has little effect on the amount of milk you produce. When breastfeeding, you should make sure you have a healthy and varied diet. Drink when you are thirsty, preferably water. Some mothers find it convenient to drink a little while they are breastfeeding. Fennel tea, often sold as ‘nursing mother’s tea’, is not recommended because fennel contains substances that could harm your baby. To increase the volume of milk, it is important to breastfeed both frequently and for long enough, and to make sure you are using the right technique.
More milk – correct breastfeeding technique
When your baby feeds using a good technique, your breast will be emptied fully. This will stimulate your breasts to produce more milk to meet your baby’s needs. To increase the volume of milk, you will need to breastfeed more often and empty your breasts completely. To stimulate your breasts and empty them fully, your baby must suckle using a good technique. Poor latching can lead to poor stimulation and breast-emptying. This can result in low milk production. If that happens, breastfeeding more frequently will not help. Too little milk can cause your baby to not put on enough weight. Ask for help to assess your breastfeeding technique and your baby's latching at your child health clinic.
More milk – breastfeed more often
To stimulate your breasts to produce more milk, they must be emptied more often. You should breastfeed frequently and allow your baby to feed for long enough. Offer baby both breasts at each feed. Make sure baby latches on correctly. Unless your baby gets a good latch, breastfeeding more often will not help. Your breasts will produce most of their milk in the first one or two hours after a feed. Try to breastfeed at two-hourly intervals during the day and a couple of times a night. It may take 1-3 days from when you start breastfeeding more often until you notice you are producing more milk. You can pump or manually express your breast milk in addition to, or instead of, breastfeeding.