Losing Weight Causing Reduction in Breast Milk Production- HELP!

Try to lay off the diet for a bit. It could be that the sudden decrease in your caloric intake is shocking your body. Try to remember breastfeeding is only for a short time and you should enjoy every minute of it. For an increase in your supply try some Breastea. You have to order it online but I tel you I have tried lots of things out there and this is the best!!! Here's where you get it and good luck and congratulations on breastfeeding your baby you're a GREAT mom!!!
Blessings,
A.

www.breastea.com

1 mom found this helpful

In addition to drinking Mothers Milk tea you could also try a supplement called More Milk Plus. I have found it at Whole Foods and Central Market. It may help. Their website is www.motherlove.com

You actually need more calories for breastfeeding than pregnancy--if you cut out the calories, the body cuts out 'extra' like breast milk. I know you want to lose that weight but your best bet is bring back some calories and s-l-o-w-l-y drop the weight.

You may need to take in a few more calories in order to sustain your milk production. However, I always had more trouble producing enough while pumping even though I had plenty while actually nursing. I think it is partly your body's response to your baby versus a machine. Some people say it helps to have a picture of the baby, something that smells like them, or the sound of them crying to help. You may try pumping more frequently if possible. The hardest part for me was the time between about 31/2 months and when my kids started on cereal (for mine about 4 1/2 months). BTW---I lost a lot of weight after I had my son, but not after I had my daughter, and I had the same problem with both.

18ozs! wow... i only pump like 2 oz each time... like 2oz in 20 minutes.. 1 oz per boob.

If you want to continue breast feeding, you need to let the diet thing go for now. Also, that is too much water unless you are running a marathon. It is old thinking that had doctors pushing so much water. It will dilute your nutrients for yourself and your baby. More recent studies are suggesting 3 or 4 glasses a day. It might be good to drink a couple of glasses of milk to up the calories a bit and give you more fluid without watering down your nutrients. Also watch your stress level. Consult a doctor if the production decreases more for some advice on how to get it back up again. Good luck. I hope all goes well.

Found this on breastfeeding.org:

What diet should I follow while breastfeeding?

"There are no "rules" to follow about your diet. A healthy, well-balanced diet, high in protein and complex carbohydrates, similar to the one you consumed during pregnancy, is all that is necessary. Because a lactating woman is extremely energy efficient, there is no need for extra calories. Drink water or other beverages when you are thirsty; eat when you are hungry. Lose weight by avoiding high calorie/low-nutrition snacks. Control your weight through regular exercise rather than crash diets, which can present health risks to both you and your nursing baby. If you must diet while breastfeeding, contact your lactation consultant, physician, a registered dietician, your La Lache League leader, or the Nursing Mothers' Council for specifics. "

When I went back to work and pumped my milk supply gradually decreased. The pumps are great but not the same as a baby draining the breast or stimulating the production of more milk. My advice is to eat more healthy calories like salads and veggies with healthy fats, continue to drink a ton of water and fluids, and to pump more often or get the baby to nurse like crazy when you get home. If she will drain the breasts they will sense that they need to make more. I also used to let the baby nurse from one side while I also pumped the other side, that way he drained the breast alot at one time. Then the next nursing time I would swap breasts, every other feeding instead of say 15 minutes each side during one feeding.
Good luck,
L.

Hello G.,

try star anise tea. you can buy it bulk at sprouts/whole foods and boil it for a few minutes. add some sugar if you like. it has a nice licorish type flavor. they also sell 'mother's tea... you can look for that. the anise star will help you within a few hours =) good luck! ~C.~

I don't know about the weight loss, but drinking "Mother's Milk" tea by Traditional Medicinals helped me recover my milk supply after I almost went dry during and overseas trip. It can be found at gourmet/healthy grocery stores or nutrition stores.

I know that when I started back to work my supply decreased...it was mainly because of stress of going back to work and not resting as much.

I was pumping every 3 hours at work and it just seemed to be getting less and less until I was just BF'ing him when I was home (nights and mornings).

It is definitely due to your reduced consumption of calories. I understand the feeling of wanting to get back in shape but just try to keep in mind that your baby is only little a very short time and it is so important for her to get those nutrients! I have found that with all three of my babies, I slowly lost weight and usually by the time the baby is about 9 or 10 months old I am within 5 pounds of my normal weight. I would suggest putting off the diet until you are finished breastfeeding.

I have lost alot of weight by breastfeeding.

Hi G..

I've been where you are. I went back to work 5 months after giving birth, and finished nursing my daughter at 13 months. If you continue to breast feed you will naturally lose the weight. You can get lactating stimulants at Whole Foods, I used Mother's Milk, which was a licorice flavored drop, I would put into tea.

Eating healthy is always best but some advice my grandmother gave me was ultimately your milk will have the consistency of the foods you digest. If you're not producing the same quality and you'll know when your baby starts to turn away, or isn't getting full. Lots of protein, grains, fruits and vegetables should get you back on the right track. Eat right, Drink lots of water and try a little yoga. I was back in my regular clothing 2 weeks after giving birth.

When breastfeeding you still need 300-500 extra calories a day to help your body produce milk, just like you needed 300-500 extra calories a day while pregnant.
Several things can affect milk production besides decreased calories. Are you drinking enough?
Stress can reduce milk production, do you have added stress now that you have returned to work?
Oatmeal is known to help a woman produce milk, try eating oatmeal for breakfast. have a snack and a 16 oz glass of something to drink each time you nurse/pump. Snacks don't have to be diet busters, try whole fresh fruit and tea of water.
Also, pumping can reduce the amount of milk you are producing. Try pumping for longer by 5-10 minutes. Even if you aren't' getting anything, the stimulation will tell your body that the baby needs more milk.
If none of these things help, contact a lactation consultant or someone from the La Leche League.

I, too, joined WW when my daughter was 2 months old. I've been exclusively breastfeeding her since she was born. I haven't noticed any supply changes at all since I've been on the WW plan. I think your issue is most likely due to the pumping and separation from your daughter. WW allows you plenty of calories to keep up your supply, so as long as you're eating all your points and not cutting out nutrients, that shouldn't be the problem. 7 lbs. in one week is a lot, so it may just be the shock from that. Remember, when it comes to milk supply, it's all about how frequently you're draining your breasts.

pumping in combo with losing weight doesnt help. i would make sure you are drinking plenty of water, i know that made a huge difference in how much i could pump, drink a glass when you get out of bed & when you go to bed, a glass every time you pump & a glass in between every pumping.

the water helped me when my production was low just due to pumping but when i started losing weight my production still went way down & then i couldnt get it back up.

G. I know that you are anxious to drop your pregnancy weight as many of us can TOTALLY relate. However, I think you are better served to hold off on dieting. I would certainly make a concerted effort to eat a well balanced diet, but no Weight Watchers. You have forever to lose that weight. Remember that breastfeeding alone burns about 500 calories per day. Your milk supply can be altered with BOTH food and fluid intake. Also consider that you are burning up extra calories chasing your 3 1/2 y.o. around too.

The same thing happened to me. Just a bit later. I joined a gym when my son was about 6 mos old and by the time he was 8 mos, I had gone down 5% in body weight but I was all dried up... I don't know what to tell you, except to talk to your doctor or an lactating consultant (which your doc would probably refer you to anyway)

How often are you pumping during the day? That really has a lot to do with it. I have learned through two children that you need to really pump 3-5x per day to ensure you have adaquate milk production. Also, you may want to consult a lactation consultant. My friend had food poisoning and noticed a reduction in her milk. She got in touch with a lactation consultant and she was able to increase her supply through her advice.

dont diet while breastfeeding. You can also take a suppliment to increase milk prod.
Check whole foods. Your baby is more important than a few extra pounds. You will have the rest of your life to diet. Enjoy this (in a healthy way) while you can.

Well this is going to happen because the best pump is your child. If you do have to return to work make sure you have a good hospital quality breast pump. I love medela Pump In Styles. You need to make sure you are pumping at the very least every 3 hours to get your supply back up. You will also soon notice that your supply will decrease toward the end of the week and will increase at the beginning. Good luck and dont give up. Harris Methodist Downtown has a great Breastfeeding center, call and just chat with them, they offer great advice over the phone.

You're probably not getting enough calories in you to provide the amount of milk that you need/want. In order to loose weight and keep up with the weight loss you may need to up your calorie count. I don't know how much you weigh or how much you want to loose, but I gained 50lbs from pregnancy I lost the whole 50lbs by breastfeeding and eating 1800 calories per day and my milk was still coming in just fine. i also drank 1 beer once a week. I don't know why I didn't question it, I was told that the yeast in the beer helps your milk come in.I was full constantly! I don't know if it was because of the diet or the beer but my son got plenty to drink! Good luck!

Way to go! You should be really proud that you are bf while working. I've done it and it is HARD!! But I think the rewards are SO worth it. I agree with the other posters as far as adding a few calories back in. You might check out babyfit dot com to get some healthy ideas of what to eat and how much. Slow and steady is what my dr told me (I gained 60 - yikes!). I believe it was something like you shouldn't lose more than 1 1/2 pounds per week while breastfeeding. Honestly, I'll bet the less you stress over it the more easily the weight will come off. Good luck!

You are getting great advice. I know breastfeeding help me lose weight after I had my children. I have a two year old I'm still nursing when he wants it. I work full time, so it's usually at night and on the weekends. I stop pumping when he turned a year and thought I would be done nursing completely then, but we can't seem to stop but that's a different story. I notice that some days where better than others when I pumped. Towards the end of my pumping (9+ month old) I could hardly get anything, however, I know he was feeding fine off me, he wasn't hungry. I think your body knows if your child is eating off you or it's the pump. I just pumped as much as possible, one thing that I found to be beneficial was when I got home and he wanted to eat I would pump one breast as he ate off the other, my milk flow would come very great when I did this.
Hang in there, there may be days you want to quit, try hard not too, you are doing a great service to your little girl!
God Bless!