Increasing Your Milk Supply, Tips from a Midwife
Hello Franjos community!
If you don’t follow along on social media you may not have seen but my name is Aliza, I am a midwife and perinatal mental health specialist and I have recently come on board with the amazing Franjos Kitchen team!
Being a midwife, I am so passionate about everything pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and motherhood and cannot wait to share some of my knowledge with you all in monthly blog posts!
I love to share tips and tricks on breastfeeding and wanted to share a wrap up of some of the best tips to support your milk supply. Let's be real, breastfeeding isn't easy. Its a learned skill from both mama and babe! It's also important to remember that a lot of mums feel their milk supply is low or dropping, when in fact it isn't. This is common around the fourth month, and if often just your body adjusting perfectly to the amount of milk your baby needs. Your breasts may feel softer, but this doesn't mean your milk supply has decreased.
Great indicators of adequate milk supply are:
- Baby's output (wet nappies) - after around day 5 baby should be having 5 heavily wet disposable, or 6-8 very wet cloth nappies, in 24 hours.
- Plenty of dirty nappies (soft poos)
- Urine should be pale in colour
- Bub should be gaining weight
- Looking at how baby is acting after a feed. Do they seem satisfied and content?
If you are unsure or need any advice, the best thing to do is contact a lactation consultant. They can go through your individual circumstances and create a tailored plan for you. You can read more here from the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
Here are some tips for supporting your supply:
Tip 1: Pumping/feeding more frequently. Our bodies work through supply and demand in relation to breastmilk production. The more we ‘extract’ the more our body makes. Demand feeding is best practice, however if bub is not demanding to be fed every 2-4 hours, offer them a feed. You can also think about pumping after a feed for 5-10 minutes to increase your supply. This milk can then be given to baby after their breastfed and will signal to your body to up the milk-making! It's also important to consult a lactation consultant if you have any concerns. They can also assess baby's latch, to ensure they are adequately removing milk.
Tip 2: Hydration- breastmilk is made of up of over 80% water, so it makes sense that in order to produce breastmilk, you yourself must be hydrated. Aim to drink 3 litres a day of water! Our Motherhood Hydration Powder is the perfect drink for breastfeeding mothers. Loaded with plant based goodness and electrolytes to nourish and hydrate you.
Tip 3: Resting - it truly is so critical for milk production, healing your body and ensuring your mental health is okay. It's so difficult in the first 6-12 months, we know. Even laying down during the day when bub is asleep can be so helpful.
Tip 4: Eating healthy nourishing foods for your body! Optimizing your bodies nutritional intake is critical at this time of your life. Your body is working overtime (how incredible are women's bodies just quietly) to not only create, and birth a human but also nourish this little baby of yours! So love it back, with nutrient-dense, whole foods. Remember, we need an additional 400-500 calories per day when breastfeeding!
Tip 5: Reducing worry and stress. This is probably the most tricky one as for various reasons new mamas can feel all kinds of stress and pressure. If you can take 15 minutes a day for yourself, do a quick meditation or breathing exercise to calm your body and mind.
Tip 6: Skin to Skin with your beautiful baby. This means, babies naked skin on your naked chest. Having your baby physically so close to you works some real magic! It helps your body to create all of those beautiful milk-making hormones as well as promoting bonding for you both!
Tip 7: For our last tip, to produce more milk we have… Franjos kitchen Tanker toppers- of course!! We know how effective our incredible cookies and muesli are for you beautiful mamas! Created by our beautiful naturopath to nourish you from the inside, optimizing your milk supply.
Let us know if you have any other amazing tips that worked well for you!
Image by beautiful mama @sarahs_day
Blog written by Aliza Carr, midwife from Bumpnbub.