The primary question that arises in any woman who has given birth to a baby is how to provide the baby with enough breast milk? But what if it is very small? My answer: every woman who was able to conceive a baby, endure the due date and give birth, can also feed him. There are very rare cases when there is a need to really switch to artificial nutrition, in most cases a young mother is able to fully feed her baby with breast milk.
In the first day after childbirth, there may not be much milk at once, its volume increases during the first days. And to begin with, the baby needs enough colostrum that appears immediately after birth. In order not to panic and not begin to supplement the breastfeeding with mixtures that has not yet begun, it must be remembered that most doubts are groundless.
My advice to young mothers
- Tip 1. Is there enough milk in my breast?
To check if your milk is fat enough, it should be decanted into a transparent container and allowed to stand. You can appreciate the fat content by seeing with your own eyes. There is a more radical option - to give milk for a laboratory test, where they will determine exactly whether the baby has enough of the amount of nutrients that it contains.
- Tip 2. Suddenly there is no milk at all?
The feeling of fullness and bursting does not always accompany the appearance of milk. In order for milk to remain, it is necessary to apply its crumbs to the breast on demand, and after feeding, the residues can be decanted. The principle of supply and demand works here.. While milk is needed, it appears. As soon as there is no need for it, it rapidly disappears. Medicine knows cases where women who have long finished feeding their baby begin to put someone else’s baby on the chest and milk appears again. Therefore, everything that your child cannot drink should be expressed by a breast pump. If you still have doubts that the baby is full, offer him obi breasts in turn in one feeding.
- Tip 3. What to drink or eat to get more milk?
You need to eat healthy food, eat fractionally, eat what is healthy. Nuts and dairy products are especially useful for the formation of milk. If you drink tea brewed in milk thirty minutes before feeding, then milk will be immediately added.
We also read: how to increase lactation
- Tip 4. What can I do wrong, why milk does not arrive?
Do not try to accustom your baby to the regime at such a tender age. Do not feed him hourly, this leads to a decrease in lactation. In the first days of the baby’s life, feed him at least once every two hours. At night, a gap of 4 hours is allowed during sleep. In addition, do not limit the baby's time for food. Let him stay at your breast as much as he wants. Otherwise, he may not have time to suck out the portion of milk he needs. Important: for feeding, take a comfortable pose, make sure that the baby correctly grip the nipple with his mouth.
Watch out for diaper filling! To understand that the baby eats enough milk, pay attention to the weight of the diaper. If you do not finish the baby with water, while the diaper is full, that is, the baby often pisses, so he does not go hungry. I also advise you to turn to “natural medicines” with lactogenic properties: nuts, feta cheese, bee pollen, royal jelly, nettle infusion and ginger, as well as fennel seed teas, dill, coriander. It is important to remember: no means will help if you break the basic rules that are described above.
We also read: 8 milk shortage myths: typical worries of young mothers
Not enough milk or 13 ways to enhance lactation:
If mom constantly thinks about the amount of milk, the hormone oxytocin is simply suppressed by stress hormones.