Low Milk Production

Hi,
Your milk can take awhile to come in..especially in that situation. Remember that newborns don't need a lot of milk. Also, pumping is not going to be as efficient as your LO nursing. Just keep pumping every 3ish hours and I bet as soon as you are able to put him to breast it'll work itself out.

I've never been in your exact situation, but I've had low supply issues with both of my kids. Fenugreek works for me. 3 pills 3x a day. It can be taken for a long period of time. I've been taking it for 7 months and if I run out and miss a day my supply suffers.
Congratulations. You are doing a great job.
Please find and call your local Le Leche League and seek support from them. I have great concern over a lactation consultant that would tell you "those teas don't work". They don't work for everyone, but others swear by it. Also, she should have been able to tell you about Fenugreek and Blessed thistle. LLL will support you and inform you with anything you need in regards to breastfeeding.
I also recommend avoiding the prescription lactation boosters. These work by blocking dopamine in your system, which is your "feel-good" hormone(or neuro transmitter, or something 8) Anyway, it often causes post-partum depression. Not something you need to add to your life!

Good luck and congratulations again. You're awesome!

Congrats on the new baby!

As for pumping, hang in there and keep doing what you are doing! You are doing everything right and your milk will get going soon. I promise! I was in the same situation with my son (now 8 months old) and am so glad that I stuck it out. It is so frustrating to keep pumping and only get so little. I remember even set my alarm clock for every two hours through the night so I could get up and pump! Crazy in hindsight but I really wanted to make breastfeeding work and I'm so glad I did.

Don't worry about not getting much right now. Babies tummies are tiny so they only need a teeny amount to keep them going. The more you nurse and pump, the more milk your body will make.

I did drink the mothers milk tea and take fenugreek capsules (bought at GNC store) because the visiting nurse said that anecdotal (not research) evidence said it might help. Not sure if it did or not, but mentally it made me feel like I was doing something to help.

You are doing a great job!!!! Hang in there. You will be shocked at how much milk you will be pumping soon enough.

First, congratulations on a healthy baby. 2nd, don't sweat it too much if you can't breast feed. Of course it is the best thing for your son but he will be fine on bottled formula if you have to go that way. 3rd, this sounds like a "duh moment" but be sure to drink enough water yourself. If you are dehydrated, you won't produce milk.
All the best and God bless you,
Sandi

I think the teas and fenugreek and blessed thistle tablets work differently for different people. I've also had different experiences with different brands of Fenugreek. The stuff I have now does nothing (while a different, more expensive brand I had before worked), and the tea is working. So try a few teas and maybe two brands of fenugreek tablets, if your doc allows. good luck. I'm sure that when your baby is allowed to nurse, this will stimulate your production and things will take off.

I agree that you should wait a bit to let your body adjust. If you find that if after a little while your milk is still low and you have to supplement with formula please find a bottle that simulates a flow similar to the breast. They are available and worth getting. When my supply was low we just used a regular bottle to supplement and then my son preferred the bottle over breast because the bottle was so much easier for him to suck on to get food. We switched bottles and he was frustrated for a bit but took to the breast much easier. If you still want info on things to increase milk flow, here's my responce to a previous post about the same thing....... "First of all, STRESS can definitely, absolutely effect your supply. Try to put that in check and you'll feel and do better. Also, you are going to get tons of responses about natural things you can take to increase your milk supply and I tried all of it, the tea, pure fenugreek, the pumping, the suckle-till-your-nipples-want-to-fall-off approach, water, stress, sleep.... you name it, I tried it. I was also told about a anti-nausea drug you can take which has a side-effect of increased breast milk, called Reglan. Personally, I was uncomfortable with the Reglan because I read too much internet and saw some other scary side effects because Reglan crosses the blood/brain barrier. I agree it is safe for the baby, but I wasn't interested in even the slightest chance of a neurological side effect for me. That's when my lactation consultant recommended Domperidone (or Motillium for generic) which is the same type of medication as Reglan but doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier and is safer for mom. I order it online from a Foreign Pharmacy and it comes from the Johnson & Johnson foreign manufacturer, Janssen-Cilag. I order it from this website: http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/general/motilium.html which I got from this website where I learned all about studies and risk and the like: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/domperidone.shtml .

I was so worried that I waited to start using it until around 6 months, I wish I had started sooner. When my son was almost 11 months he started to eat finger food but I could still nurse him 3-4 times a day and would even leak when I go 3 or 4 hours between nursing. IT was GREAT!!!! He was so much more satisfied with the nursing and I had less "wear and tear" on my poor nipples, which were suckled out, let me tell you! Please read into it as a safe and effective solution. Good luck. Remember, any amount of breastmilk is better than no breastmilk. You'll do fine. There are alot of us out there just like you......... Oh, if you decide to try it, it took me ~2.5 weeks for it to really come in. 3 pills 3 times a day."

wow, good for you for sticking with breastfeeding, this is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. First I would contact your local Le Leche League Leader, she will be able to offer critical advice and support. Le Leche League is an amazing resource, especially in situations like these. Are you able to actually nurse your baby in the ICU? this would be the best option, not only for your milk production but for his development as well. Pumping is not as efficient as nursing for your milk supply. The herbs for lactating DO work, I found the capsules or tincture of More Milk Plus work the best. Also you can do some research on askdrsears.com and Mothering Magazine. Your best bet is to speak with Le Leche League and nurse the baby as much as you can. Good luck, I know this must be a difficult time, keep at it and be with your baby as much as you can.

Try Fenugreek. It's an herbal supplement that I found in the local health food store that my nutritionist recommended. It worked wonders and both my boys reaped the benefits! :)

I understand that you are discouraged.
Keep pumping and your milk will come in droves eventually.
Drink the tea, docs do not know everything !!!
Tincture of time and this, too, shall pass.
Stay in there dear...
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell

D.,

Congrats on your new baby. Did the lactation consultant check the size of the flange to your breast? I have a friend who told me that different size flanges yielded her different amounts of milk. Her son never took to breastfeeding and she pumps for 5 months for him exclusively.
You can also contact La Leche League in your area. www.llli.org I have always found the ladies to be extremely helpful and they know what they are talking about.

Good luck,
L. M

Congrads on the little man. I had a low milk count at first. MY Dr had me see a lacation cncultint and she gave me a nose spray (I now it sounds funny) but it worked. Every time i was going to nurse my daughter i had to spray it in each nose. I would do that then get her change her then nurse her. After a few weeks i was a milk machine as the Dr. called me. We then nursed till she was 15 months old. Good luck hope this help. I will try to look up the name for you if i can remember it. Good luck dont give up it will work.

Hi D.,
Congratulations on your beautiful baby! And good for you for continuing to try to pump. I know excatly how frustrating that can be! I run a Maternal Wellness Center in Bedford, NH-NiNi Bambini. We deal with helping Mommies and babies all day long....for starters, anything that "might" work, could help. I have had great success with my mommies and Mother's Milk tea, I also suggest a herbal supplement, from a company called Motherlove Herbal. This combination of herbal supplements, has helped adoptive mothers' lactate and provide breast milk for ADOPTIVE babies...women who were not Lactating mothers at ALL! I suggest you check out there website, www.motherloveherbal.com They can help, even what seems like the most desperate of situations. One of the other old standby in helping increase supply is English oatmeal, stay away from PEPPERMINT, and SAGE! Milk killers! Keep your water consumption high and your caloric intake should be where it was when you were pregnant! Good luck, and if you need support or any more advice.www.NiNiBambini.com Good Luck! Save the Ta-Tas! xoxo

have you tried fenugreek? that works well, according to clinical trials, and i've had some luck with it. also i find taking extra calcium and iron (not at the same time of day) helps me. some grains are supposed to help such as oats (esp steel cut), barley, grape nuts... i eat oatmeal every morning and it seems to help a little. the thing is, too, no pump is going to imitate a baby sucking nearly as well as just having a baby suck. is it a good pump, i assume? some of them are nowhere near as strong as others. there are also things to put on that stimulate your nipple more than the regular cone. i find hot compresses help just before nursing, and watching a video of the baby while nursing helps, or looking at a slideshow of pictures. that's all more for letdown i guess, but it might help you. do you know anyone who would let you nurse their newborn sometimes? i think that would help the most - just to nurse a baby more often. is your son able to nurse yet? that would be the best thing - to hold and nurse him as constantly as possible...
i really hope it works out for you!!!
sincerely,
T.

I also had a preemie via c-section (mine came 8 weeks early) and I experienced the same thing: very low production at first, and yes, it's all very common. My MD explained to me that the gestation time and labor process both help prepare your body, and you didn't have those, so it's going to take a while to get going. I concur that the best way to get your milk in is to pump, with a hospital-grade pump, 15-20 minutes every couple of hours - basically, as often and as long as a full-term newborn would be feeding. It's true that if your baby could actually nurse, that would help, but if your baby needs extra calories like mine did, that might not be an option for you. I think your openness to formula is terrific. It keeps the pressure off of you to produce, while still keeping your options open. Make sure the NICU nurses know that you are OK with them supplementing your supply with formula until your own supply is up. They will still support you in pumping and of course give your baby your milk, once it comes in. In the meantime, just as the other moms have said, just make sure you pump often and for 15-20 minutes; eat enough and definitely drink enough water. Good luck!

I don't have specific advice but wanted to suggest you check out http://www.pumpingmoms.org/ - there are some good suggestions there and there is also and AWESOME yahoo list with many experienced and knowledgable moms with a variety of pumping experiences. It's a great resource both for technical questions and for general support to know you are not the only one facing these issues. Good luck!

it's not uncommon especially when pumping and stressed. Make sure you are drinking enough water. i think the tea helped me. I also have read that eating oatmeal daily helps too and have a friend who swears by it (and she is a milk making machine). Keep it going and even if your production is low you can use an sns supplementer when the baby gets home to get your production up. there are many other benefits of nursing beyond the milk itself (ask any adoptive nursing mom). Get an sns from the Lactation specialist and get her to teach you how to use it. You will notice that your milk production will go up very quickly and you won't need the supplementer anymore. Keep up the pumping, it's also a way to stay connected to your baby when he/she is in the nicu. Sometimes it takes a while, but keep up the good work momma!!!

I have twins who were 6 weeks premature and had a problem with latching on, so I pumped and did so until we switched to formula at around 5 months. In order to bring up my milk supply I had to pump every 2-3 hours for 15-20 min at a time, round the clock. Basically, every time my twins ate I pumped and than some, even in the middle of the night(until they started to sleep through the night). It wasn't easy, but it worked and within the first month I had started freezing it because I was producing so much. Other than that I just made sure I was eating enough and drinking plenty of water (I had a bottle of water with me wherever I went). On a side note, I had poor milk production with my first as well. Hope this was helpful. Good luck.

This is perfectly normal, especially since you haven't been able to breastfeed yet. Milk doesn't come in anyway until about 4 to 5 days after you give birth. The first few times of pumping is really just the nutrients and immune building fluids. For the life of me, I can't remember what it is called. I hope you saved it, if not, don't worry about it. Have you felt your boobs fill up with milk yet? I put ice packs on mine on a Tuesday night (had baby on Friday morning) and that night my milk came in. Babies don't drink that much to start with, so you are okay. Just keep doing what you are doing and when you bring baby home, your baby will help your milk come in even more. Good luck and congratulations.

What a wonderful mama! You know how important that breastmilk is. Please check out www.kellymom.com - the best breastfeeding site out there with lots of info. on increasing supply. The tea DOES work for some people, myself included, so it's worth a try! So is eating oatmeal and taking fenugreek. There are even meds like reglan and domperidone. Don't give up on it!

Hi D.,

You are doing everything right! I, too, had low production post-csection & tried natural products (oatmeal, fenugeek, etc.) with little effect so I ended up going for a prescription of Donperidome. Its a drug that speeds digestion so the byproduct in lactacting women is that it increases supply of milk. You can start with a low dose (30 mg per day) and increase only if the low dose has little effect (I was taking 60 mg a day) but the dosage can go as high as 120 mg/day. It definitely works VERY well, though watch your sweets intake, as its easy to gain weight with this medication. Try to eat very healthy & you should be fine. I also continued to pump and had TONS of milk for my son, I was even able to freeze some.

D.,

I took fenugreek. It is an herb that is supposed to stimulate production. I had a similar problem but the little one was home. Anyway, the fenugreek worked within hours and very very well. I was a milky mess :) You can get it at GNC. Don't worry it works out. I was freaking out, but trust me. It gets better.

W.