What should I do if my milk suddenly runs out after four months of breastfeeding?

After giving birth, the breasts of pregnant women will naturally secrete milk to provide nutrients for the baby, and breastfeeding is very important for the baby. At this time, the mother's diet is very important. If the diet is nutritionally insufficient, it will easily lead to a decrease in milk. It is also a common situation that the milk supply suddenly decreases after four months of breastfeeding. This may be caused by insufficient nutrition from the breasts. You can eat more protein foods or drink more soup.

What should I do if my milk supply suddenly decreases after four months of breastfeeding?

First of all, during the breastfeeding period, mothers should first pay attention to eating a complete variety of foods. 4-5 meals a day is appropriate. For example, the staple food cannot be only refined white rice and noodles. It should be a combination of coarse and fine grains. Eat a certain amount of coarse grains every day, and appropriately mix some whole grains, oats, millet, red beans, mung beans, etc., 300-500 grams per day.

Secondly, eat more foods rich in calcium and iron. Everyone knows that milk has the highest calcium content and is easily absorbed and utilized. At least 250 grams should be consumed daily. In addition, small fish and shrimp are rich in calcium and can be eaten with the bones and shells. Dark green vegetables and beans can also provide a certain amount of calcium.

Again, the mother should strengthen nutrition, avoid fatigue, and stabilize her emotions. During breastfeeding, if the mother's energy intake is less than 5000 kilojoules per day, milk secretion will be greatly reduced. Supplementing breast milk with nutrients can change the composition of milk, improve its quality and increase its quantity.

Finally, eat enough fresh vegetables, fruits, and seafood. For animal foods, such as poultry, meat is best cooked by boiling or stewing. When cooking vegetables, be careful to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C. At the same time, breastfeeding mothers need to do more outdoor activities to improve their vitamin D nutritional status and promote the absorption of dietary calcium to maintain a constant calcium level in breast milk.

Three ways to ensure adequate breast milk

1. Start breastfeeding as early as possible. In recent years, many baby-friendly hospitals have been established in our country, whose fundamental purpose is to increase the breastfeeding rate. It is also common in hospitals to room mothers and babies in the same room to facilitate early breastfeeding and frequent sucking. Research data shows that the earlier the baby's sucking stimulation, the more it can promote milk secretion. Even if breast milk has not yet been secreted, milk can be secreted after a few feedings and repeated stimulation. Generally, the first feeding is required to start within half an hour after delivery.

2. Breastfeed on demand. The production of milk needs to be stimulated by frequent sucking. At the beginning, the milk is not rich, and breast milk is easy to digest, so the baby will be hungry soon. The baby will need to be breastfed approximately every 2 to 3 hours and will need to be breastfed 8 to 10 times or more in 24 hours. As milk production gradually increases, the interval may become 3 to 4 hours. Although it is troublesome, you should gradually adjust the regular time according to the baby's needs.

3. Don’t lose confidence. If the milk secretion is low in the first few days after delivery, do not stop letting the baby suck, and do not use rubber nipples or bottles for the baby, because rubber nipples can make the baby have a nipple illusion and be unwilling to suck hard for breast milk, resulting in less and less breast milk. The most important thing is that mothers should not lose confidence. As long as they insist on letting the baby suck, the secretion of milk will increase. The key is persistence.