What can I do to increase my breast milk supply other than pumping?

Potential causes of low milk supply

These things can cause or contribute to a low milk supply:

* Supplementing. Nursing is a supply & demand process. Milk is produced as your baby nurses, and the amount that she nurses lets your body know how much milk is required. Every bottle (of formula, juice or water) that your baby gets means that your body gets the signal to produce that much less milk.

* Nipple confusion. A bottle requires a different type of sucking than nursing, and it is easier for your baby to extract milk from a bottle. As a result, giving a bottle can either cause your baby to have problems sucking properly at the breast, or can result in baby preferring the constant faster flow of the bottle.

* Pacifiers. Pacifiers can cause nipple confusion. They can also significantly reduce the amount of time your baby spends at the breast, which may cause your milk supply to drop.

* Nipple shields can lead to nipple confusion. They can also reduce the stimulation to your nipple or interfere with milk transfer, which can interfere with the supply-demand cycle.

* Scheduled feedings interfere with the supply & demand cycle of milk production and can lead to a reduced supply, sometimes several months later rather than immediately. Nurse your baby whenever she is hungry.

* Sleepy baby. For the first few weeks, some babies are very sleepy and only demand to nurse infrequently and for short periods. Until baby wakes up and begins to demand regular nursing, nurse baby at least every two hours during the day and at least every 4 hours at night to establish your milk supply.

* Cutting short the length of nursings. Stopping a feeding before your baby ends the feeding herself can interfere with the supply-demand cycle. Also, your milk increases in fat content later into a feeding, which helps baby gain weight and last longer between feedings.

* Offering only one breast per feeding. This is fine if your milk supply is well-established and your baby is gaining weight well. If you're trying to increase your milk supply, let baby finish the first side, then offer the second side.

* Health or anatomical problems with baby can prevent baby from removing milk adequately from the breast, thus decreasing milk supply.

See Reasons for Low Milk Supply and Hidden Hindrances to a Healthy Milk Supply from more information on things that can decrease milk supply.

Increasing your milk supply

Milk production is a demand & supply process. If you need to increase milk supply, it's important to understand how milk is made - understanding this will help you to do the right things to increase production.

To speed milk production and increase overall milk supply, the key is to remove more milk from the breast and to do this frequently, so that less milk accumulates in the breast between feedings.

OK, now on to things that can help increase your milk supply:

* Make sure that baby is nursing efficiently. This is the "remove more milk" part of increasing milk production. If milk is not effectively removed from the breast, then mom's milk supply decreases. If positioning and latch are "off" then baby is probably not transferring milk efficiently. A sleepy baby, use of nipple shields or various health or anatomical problems in baby can also interfere with baby's ability to transfer milk. For a baby who is not nursing efficiently, trying to adequately empty milk from the breast is like trying to empty a swimming pool through a drinking straw - it can take forever. Inefficient milk transfer can lead to baby not getting enough milk or needing to nurse almost constantly to get enough milk. If baby is not transferring milk well, then it is important for mom to express milk after and/or between nursings to maintain milk supply while the breastfeeding problems are being addressed.

* Nurse frequently, and for as long as your baby is actively nursing. Remember - you want to remove more milk from the breasts and do this frequently. If baby is having weight gain problems, aim to nurse at least every 1.5-2 hours during the day and at least every 3 hours at night.

* Take a nursing vacation. Take baby to bed with you for 2-3 days, and do nothing but nurse (frequently!) and rest (well, you can eat too!).

* Offer both sides at each feeding. Let baby finish the first side, then offer the second side.

* Switch nurse. Switch sides 3 or more times during each feeding, every time that baby falls asleep, switches to "comfort" sucking, or loses interest. Use each side at least twice per feeding. Use breast compression to keep baby feeding longer. For good instructions on how to do this, see Dr. Jack Newman's Protocol to increase intake of breastmilk by the baby. This can be particularly helpful for sleepy or distractible babies.

* Avoid pacifiers and bottles. All of baby's sucking needs should be met at the breast (see above). If a temporary supplement is medically requir

I had a milk production problem with my first son. I had to meet with the lactation consultant at my hospital (which might be a great resource for you too!). she told me that a baby's mouth is much more efficient at getting milk out of the breast than a pump. The breast has to be drained before it supplies the brain with the signal to make more milk next time! She said if you are pumping more than feeding, your milk supply will go down. Just put the baby on (or in your case both babies) and just let them feed for as long as they want. I would sometimes feed my son for more than an hour (switching every 10-20 minutes). Eventually I started producing a lot more milk. Also, make sure you are drinking enough fluids (you are probably not if you are trying to take care of twins and yourself!) and getting enough rest- stress can reduce breast milk production. Good luck!

breastmilk can mantain their milk just fine considering it has more calories and fat per ounce than formula. do your babies latch on to the breast or are you just pumping.

the best way to produce more milk is less formula and more nursing. nurse nurse nurse for a few days as much as you can. pumping says nothing about how much milk you are making is you're nursing directly. a baby can take out far more milk than a pump can. BTW next times you need breastfeeding advise, get it from a lactation consultant and not a doctor. supplementing jsut makes your supply go down

Well, first thing... not tryin to make you feel/look bad, but supplementing is actually detrimental to breastfeeding because when you supplement with formula, it's telling your body not to make as much milk.

Right now your little guys should be hitting the 3 week growth spurt, so when they want to nurse constantly, possibly cluster feeds, let them have as much breast time as they want. Even if they sit there and comfort suck, LET THEM. They're telling your breasts that "hey mom, we're growing and we need MORE MILK!" So your body will respond to that, producing more milk.

You can try fenugreek, eat tons of oatmeal, drink a lot of water and keep a well balanced diet.

Just remember: More boob time = more milk production. Less boob time = less milk production. It's all about supply and demand.

Start taking out one formula feed at a time and replace it with breast time. Let them nurse as long as they want, and your milk supply will increase to their needs.

Drink Mother's Milk Tea. It has Fenugreek & Blessed Thistle in it, it has really boosted my supply. Also make sure you're drinking plenty of water & nurse nurse nurse. Hope that helps.

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Take Fenugreek. It is an herbal supplement that is safe for almost everyone (aside from some medical conditions). And it makes you smell like maple syrup...yay...

eat more so u will have more milk for yr children and dont forget to pump like every 2-3hr too.. gl