My milk supply is not increasing, is it because I don't have enough milk?

Breast milk is the best food for newborns and provides the best nutrition. For many breastfeeding mothers, breastfeeding is a very novel experience, and many mothers have this experience. Many women find that their milk supply is not increased much after giving birth, and they become very worried about insufficient milk and that their babies are not getting enough nutrition. But does the lack of milk production mean that there is insufficient milk supply? Regarding this issue, let’s take a closer look at it.

Breast engorgement is a common problem for mothers after childbirth. However, whether the engorgement can be relieved in time has nothing to do with the size of the breasts. It depends on how actively the mother breastfeeds and whether the mammary ducts are unobstructed. Mothers with unobstructed mammary ducts can secrete milk easily, and the breasts will automatically fill with milk after breastfeeding. However, if the milk cannot be discharged and accumulates in the breasts, milk engorgement will occur, and even mammary ducts may be blocked, resulting in mastitis. The entire breast felt like a hard lump and was very painful, and there was even fever and ulceration. At this point the only way to stop the milk production was to take medicine.

Many mothers worry that the lack of milk production means they are not supplying enough milk. Actually, not necessarily.

For new mothers, their bodies and babies lack the ability to adapt to each other, so they often have milk bursts even when the baby is not eating. Especially when the baby is crying, new mothers often feel a tingling sensation in their breasts, which is the milk burst. However, when a newborn baby is eating, there is often no milk in the breasts, which is also due to lack of adjustment. Moreover, newborns have little strength and often cannot stimulate milk letdown. But I personally feel that when the baby is young, there are fewer large milk discharges, but the breasts always produce milk drop by drop. Plus, the swallowing ability of newborn babies is poor, so it is okay for them to eat slowly, drop by drop. When a milk burst comes when the baby is not eating, the milk produced will remain in the mammary ducts if it is not eaten. The function of mammary ducts is to conduct milk, not to store milk. When the milk ducts are filled with milk, the mother will feel the milk swell. When the baby grows up, the so-called supply and demand is balanced, that is, the milk comes only when the baby eats, and not when he does not eat. In this way, the mammary ducts will not be filled with excess milk, and naturally you will not feel the milk engorgement. When the baby grows up, it will usually only secrete milk without eating, causing milk swelling, if the baby should be fed but has not been fed for a long time. The brain will think that it is time to produce milk according to the daily rules. If you breastfeed normally on demand, there will be no milk engorgement.

What to do if you don't have enough milk

1. Strengthen the baby's sucking. Experiments have shown that after the baby feeds, the prolactin in the mother's blood will increase exponentially. This is because when the baby sucks the nipple, it stimulates the mother's pituitary gland to secrete prolactin, thereby increasing milk secretion.

2. Avoid taking medicine. During the breastfeeding period, you must remind your wife not to take any medicine randomly. Some medicines and foods can affect the secretion of breast milk, such as antithyroid drugs, hawthorn, etc. If your wife is sick, it is best to take medicine under the doctor's orders.

3. Supplement nutrition. All the nutrients in breast milk come from the mother's body. If the mother is in a state of malnutrition for a long time, it will naturally affect the normal milk secretion. You must fulfill your role as chef well and choose foods with high nutritional value for your wife, such as milk, eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc. At the same time, prepare more soup, which can catalyze the secretion of your wife's milk.

4. Keep the nurse in a good mood. After giving birth, mothers will experience greater mood swings due to physiological and environmental factors, and often become depressed, which will restrict the secretion of breast milk. Medical experiments have shown that when a mother is depressed, her milk secretion will decrease sharply. Therefore, you have an obligation to create a good living environment for your wife and pay attention to her mental health at all times.

5. Diet therapy. On the basis of taking the above measures, combining them with lactation-promoting foods, the effect will be more obvious. Foods such as pig's trotters and peanuts can promote the secretion of milk.