Programming Your Milk Supply
Introduction
The production of breastmilk is a process that is both resilient and delicate. The majority of mothers have a sophisticated process already underway within their breasts at the time they give birth. When the placenta detaches from the uterus, the body understands that the baby will no longer be fed by the umbilical cord. It’s at that moment that milk supply programming begins.
The stage of milk supply programming lasts approximately 40 days. Mothers who offer the breast frequently in the first month and a half create lasting breastfeeding habits. Your grandma was right about ¡los dichosos cuarenta días! ;-)
"Offer and Demand"
Milk production is based on the demand placed on the breasts and on how frequently you allow your baby to empty them. If the breast isn’t offered frequently (at least 8-12 times per 24 hrs, with no longer than one 4 hour stretch overnight), it’s possible that your breasts could learn to produce only small amounts of milk. Although many women’s breasts swell and fill with mature milk approximately 3-5 days after the birth, what dictates their long-term potential for production is the level of stimulation during the first days. It’s not so much that milk supply is based on “supply and demand.” Really, it’s based on “offer and demand.” If there’s no initial demand, your breasts could reduce what they produce over the long term.
The Importance of Early Stimulation
The mother’s hormonal system is alert and ready to begin making milk as soon as the placenta separates from the uterus. Since the mother’s body understand that it’s going to feed the baby outside the body, it’s necessary to begin stimulating the breasts. Breast programming depends on how frequently you breastfeed and on how much time your baby spends at the breast the first few days.
It’s preferable that the baby be offered the breast during the first hour of life. They have their own survival reflexes that help them to latch on by themselves, although since we have so many birth interventions these days, it’s possible that the baby may take more time to latch on. Even though it’s natural for babies to begin stimulating the breast during the first hours of life, if your baby isn’t ready to latch on, you can express your colostrum yourself and let her taste it you’re your finger or using a small cup or oral syringe. Being supplemented with your colostrum in this way may be the little push she needs.
It’s recommended that all babies be placed skin-to-skin on their moms’ chest when they are born (without clothing, heart-to-heart, with a blanket over both of them) as much as possible, since skin-to-skin care has been proven to hormonal levels in the mother and stimulate the feeding reflex in the baby. If your baby doesn’t latch on to the breast (whether it’s because he’s still tired from the birth or because there was a mother-baby separation) during the first 6 hours after being born, if you’re at a hospital, ask to use a pump to ensure that your hormonal levels remain high. All the colostrum you get should be given to your baby to begin creating the necessary demand. If your baby is separated from you for medical reasons, the hospital nurses or the lactation consultant will guide you in expressing and storing your colostrum.
Managing Future Supply
Remember that your breasts will produce only what is asked of them. Even though the amount of production for each feeding changes as your baby grows, the mechanism for production is still based on “offer and demand.”
Supplementation with formula or milk expressed previously during growth spurts
Your baby will go through a growth spurt at around 3 weeks and again at around 6 weeks (and at 3 months and 6 months) It’s very common for the baby to ask to be fed more frequently at these times than at others. Because your baby will eat more during these stages and your breasts won’t have time to fill as much as during other weeks, many moms think that their milk production is going down and see it as an opportunity to supplement with formula. The problem with supplementation during a growth spurt is that it takes away the demand on your breasts to produce, which can cause a true reduction in you supply. It’s important to understand that what your baby is really doing by feeding frequently during a growth spurt is to stimulate your breasts to produce the milk necessary for a baby who, at the end of the growth spurt, is going to be bigger and require more nutrition. When that process of programming the breasts is interrupted by supplementing formula or previously expressed milk, it can cause milk production problems in the future.
If you don’t supplement your baby during what appears to be a growth spurt and you are still noticing that your baby is not increasing in weight or that your production hasn’t increased after five days or so, consult a lactation consultant (IBCLC) and your baby’s pediatrician.
Homework:
The production of breastmilk is a process that is both resilient and delicate. The majority of mothers have a sophisticated process already underway within their breasts at the time they give birth. When the placenta detaches from the uterus, the body understands that the baby will no longer be fed by the umbilical cord. It’s at that moment that milk supply programming begins.
The stage of milk supply programming lasts approximately 40 days. Mothers who offer the breast frequently in the first month and a half create lasting breastfeeding habits. Your grandma was right about ¡los dichosos cuarenta días! ;-)
"Offer and Demand"
Milk production is based on the demand placed on the breasts and on how frequently you allow your baby to empty them. If the breast isn’t offered frequently (at least 8-12 times per 24 hrs, with no longer than one 4 hour stretch overnight), it’s possible that your breasts could learn to produce only small amounts of milk. Although many women’s breasts swell and fill with mature milk approximately 3-5 days after the birth, what dictates their long-term potential for production is the level of stimulation during the first days. It’s not so much that milk supply is based on “supply and demand.” Really, it’s based on “offer and demand.” If there’s no initial demand, your breasts could reduce what they produce over the long term.
The Importance of Early Stimulation
The mother’s hormonal system is alert and ready to begin making milk as soon as the placenta separates from the uterus. Since the mother’s body understand that it’s going to feed the baby outside the body, it’s necessary to begin stimulating the breasts. Breast programming depends on how frequently you breastfeed and on how much time your baby spends at the breast the first few days.
It’s preferable that the baby be offered the breast during the first hour of life. They have their own survival reflexes that help them to latch on by themselves, although since we have so many birth interventions these days, it’s possible that the baby may take more time to latch on. Even though it’s natural for babies to begin stimulating the breast during the first hours of life, if your baby isn’t ready to latch on, you can express your colostrum yourself and let her taste it you’re your finger or using a small cup or oral syringe. Being supplemented with your colostrum in this way may be the little push she needs.
It’s recommended that all babies be placed skin-to-skin on their moms’ chest when they are born (without clothing, heart-to-heart, with a blanket over both of them) as much as possible, since skin-to-skin care has been proven to hormonal levels in the mother and stimulate the feeding reflex in the baby. If your baby doesn’t latch on to the breast (whether it’s because he’s still tired from the birth or because there was a mother-baby separation) during the first 6 hours after being born, if you’re at a hospital, ask to use a pump to ensure that your hormonal levels remain high. All the colostrum you get should be given to your baby to begin creating the necessary demand. If your baby is separated from you for medical reasons, the hospital nurses or the lactation consultant will guide you in expressing and storing your colostrum.
Managing Future Supply
Remember that your breasts will produce only what is asked of them. Even though the amount of production for each feeding changes as your baby grows, the mechanism for production is still based on “offer and demand.”
Supplementation with formula or milk expressed previously during growth spurts
Your baby will go through a growth spurt at around 3 weeks and again at around 6 weeks (and at 3 months and 6 months) It’s very common for the baby to ask to be fed more frequently at these times than at others. Because your baby will eat more during these stages and your breasts won’t have time to fill as much as during other weeks, many moms think that their milk production is going down and see it as an opportunity to supplement with formula. The problem with supplementation during a growth spurt is that it takes away the demand on your breasts to produce, which can cause a true reduction in you supply. It’s important to understand that what your baby is really doing by feeding frequently during a growth spurt is to stimulate your breasts to produce the milk necessary for a baby who, at the end of the growth spurt, is going to be bigger and require more nutrition. When that process of programming the breasts is interrupted by supplementing formula or previously expressed milk, it can cause milk production problems in the future.
If you don’t supplement your baby during what appears to be a growth spurt and you are still noticing that your baby is not increasing in weight or that your production hasn’t increased after five days or so, consult a lactation consultant (IBCLC) and your baby’s pediatrician.
Homework:
- Give your grandma credit for insisting that you take it easy the first 40 days! You milk supply will depend on it.
- Find out about methods of expressing colostrum. Youtube.com has good videos. You can search for them using the phrase "breastfeeding hand expression.”
- Read more about “supply and demand,” the principle milk production is based on.
- Share this link with the people who are supporting you during early lactation.
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