Stress, health problems, or other troubles can lead to the fact that at a certain stage of breastfeeding the mother will run out of milk. We often encounter this situation. That is why you should prepare in advance to resolve the issue. In this case, it is necessary to consider in detail the situation of how to supplement the baby’s feeding if there is not enough milk for this. The question is quite relevant and interests many mothers who at some point were left without natural milk.

There are a number of moments when a nursing mother loses breast milk.

Among the main problems the following are identified:

• During the birth process, medications were used, which aggravated the production of milk in the woman’s glands.
• For certain reasons, early breastfeeding of the baby was not performed after childbirth.
• Psychological disorders and problems occurring in the female body after and during childbirth.

• The introduction of complementary foods for children is carried out at an early stage, before the due date.
• Feeding your baby on a schedule (if you do this more often, your milk supply will improve).
• The use of hormonal drugs by a woman, which provoke an abundant increase in hormones in the body.
• Lactation crises (when the mother’s body is temporarily unable to cope with the needs of a rapidly growing child).

These points are associated with a temporary or permanent decrease in the production of breast milk in a woman. If you encounter one of these situations, you need to look for an appropriate solution.

Only a specialist can accurately determine the cause of a decrease in milk production in a woman, for which an appropriate medical examination and consultation is carried out.

Signs of low milk production

A young mother has the opportunity to independently determine that she has a lack of milk fluid production. As a rule, the following common symptoms appear:

• the breasts of a nursing mother at the time of feeding are not heavy or full enough (physical manifestations are felt);
• The milk mixture leaks lightly, as evidenced by the behavior of the infant.

These are two main signs that allow you to determine the lack of formula for feeding, and also promptly contact a specialist to identify the reason why an insufficient amount of milk is produced.

In each individual case of lack of formula milk, other symptoms are also present that allow the specialist to determine the cause of the lack of milk production.

The breasts are not so heavy and dense at the time of feeding

Here, there is a lack of production of the substance by the mammary glands; it manifests itself as natural symptoms, when a woman can independently determine that her breasts have become lighter or do not have the necessary density. In addition to visual perception, this reason is felt naturally. The manifestation of these two symptoms is a reason to consult a specialist.

Milk does not flow intensively

Another bad symptom is slight leakage of milk fluid during feeding. This is usually accompanied by the whims of the child, who does not receive the required amount of natural food product. The mother can also feel this on her own, since the permeability of the mixture will be significantly reduced compared to the initial feedings.

How does lack of feeding affect a child?

A young mother can immediately identify when her baby is not receiving much needed nutrition, as the baby reacts vividly to it. If there is not enough power, the following occurs:

• the behavior of the newborn changes significantly due to a lack of the required amount of nutrients;
• the excretory function of the newborn baby’s body decreases (the baby goes to the toilet less often);
• If children eat little, they noticeably lose weight or do not gain it for a long time.

This symptomatology is typical, provided that the mother’s mammary glands cannot cope with secreting the required amount of milk fluid.

If there is a lack of milk, the child will be capricious and constantly demand the breast, which, naturally, his mother should notice.

The child is losing weight or not gaining weight

For an attentive mother, such a symptom will not go unnoticed. Lack of nutrients affects the child's body quickly. Within a week, the first signs of weight loss will be noticeable. In addition, the child’s behavior will change and he will sleep more often. The blush will disappear from the surface of the skin, and the skin will have a pale tint.

Decreased excretory function of the body

The mother will also notice this symptom immediately, since stool and urination will occur less frequently than usual. As a rule, such a manifestation does not take long to appear. The symptom is visible within one or two days after the reduction in the amount of formula for the child’s nutrition begins.

Is naughty and often demands the breast

The natural reaction of a child’s body to a lack of milk is frequent whims. If the baby cries more often than usual or does not want to leave the breast, this is a symptom of a lack of milk. In this case, the nursing mother should immediately visit a specialist to identify the cause of weak milk production, and also, if possible, determine what to use for subsequent feeding.

How and what to supplement your baby with if there is not enough breast milk

Modern mothers often have to deal with situations of insufficient milk formula in the glands. Here it becomes necessary to feed the child so that his growth and development do not slow down. Supplemental feeding of children can be done using the following:

• special milk formulas (selected based on the age of the baby who does not receive enough breast milk);
• baby food designed for the baby's gradual cessation of breastfeeding;
• products that are used in complementary feeding of children over six months (porridge, milk, vegetables, fruits, meat).

The most common supplementary feeding option is formula feeding, which allows you to gradually wean your baby completely off the breast.

The composition of the formula used is determined depending on the age and tastes of the baby who is experiencing a lack of breast milk.

Types of mixtures

Depending on the age and health status of the baby, an option is selected regarding which formula will be used for supplementary feeding.

There are the following types of dairy products:

• adapted formulations;
• ordinary milk formulas for feeding;
• hypoallergenic consumer products;
• fermented milk mixtures for supplementary feeding;
• specialized food products for babies.

The exact option for supplementary feeding can be advised by a doctor who monitors the mother and child who need additional feeding due to a lack of breast milk.

Of no small importance when choosing the composition of the diet is the age and health of the child (if there is an allergy, it is necessary to select hypoallergenic compositions for the diet).

Adapted

Here the mixture is prepared in proportions so that the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates necessary for a growing organism is present. Such compositions must be selected depending on the age of the baby. Due to the complicated production technology, formulas are expensive, but at the same time they perfectly complement and, if necessary, replace mother’s breast milk.

Dairy

A regular mixture of dried or fresh milk of animal origin, which is not subject to special processing. The cost of such a composition is quite low, but not every growing organism easily accepts such compositions.

In addition, for children with allergic reactions, it is not recommended to supplement with pure milk formula, otherwise this can have a detrimental effect on their health.

Hypoallergenic

Specialized mixtures that are made from powdered or fresh milk that has undergone appropriate purification. At the processing stage, all components that can cause allergic reactions are removed from the composition. The cost of such products is quite high, which is why not every mother can afford to supplement with such food products.

Fermented milk

Here the product is made from powdered or liquid milk. Based on their composition, products are divided into adapted, partially adapted and non-adapted formulations. Prescribed to children who have already reached a certain age. Depending on the composition, the product undergoes processing. As for non-adapted products, they are similar to conventional fermented milk compositions (kefir or yogurt).

Specialized Blend

The compositions are used for certain categories of children (premature babies, those with certain diseases, underweight). Taking into account the deviation, the necessary components are added to the product to compensate for the missing substances. These products are selected depending on the deviation present in the child’s body. These compositions are developed according to a special program and are quite expensive.

If the mother does not produce enough milk, most often the baby begins to be supplemented with formula. Meanwhile, such a decision can be considered the only correct one only in isolated cases. In fact, most women can increase lactation and leave the baby completely for as long as the baby needs.

The very first rule for a normal milk flow is plenty of rest and food. That is, you need to eat well, drink enough water, and most importantly, do not focus on feeding alone. Doctors have long ago correctly noted that in poor, undeveloped countries there are significantly fewer problems with breastfeeding than in European women. This means that it’s not about the standard of living, but about the mood itself. Treat feeding your baby not as a difficult ordeal, but as something completely natural, effortless, and enjoyable for both mother and baby. If a mother constantly thinks about the amount of milk, the hormone oxytocin is simply suppressed by hormones. And oxytocin, as you know, is “responsible” for lactation.

It often turns out that milk production is poorly established only because the baby is not applied to the breast correctly, which is why the baby does not latch onto the nipple correctly. In this case, the baby can suckle for an hour, but this will not affect lactation in any way. When applied correctly, the baby takes the breast deeply and acts on the areola so that jaw movements automatically help milk production. That is why you should not be lazy and put off meeting with a lactation consultant. Even if it seems to you that there are no problems with attachment, it is better to be one hundred percent sure.

Be sure to feed your baby on demand. Today this is already an axiom, and hardly anyone continues to breastfeed hourly. But it happens that the mother thinks that the baby has been “hanging” on the breast for too long, and tries to change the breast or simply stop feeding. But the infant body has an amazing ability to regulate its needs. In other words, no one knows better than the child how long feeding should continue. And the longer it stays at the breast, the more milk you should produce for the next feeding.

And don't ignore night feedings! As a rule, during the first months of life, a child wakes up on his own two or three times a night to eat. And these feedings are the most beneficial for your lactation. At night, a large amount of the hormone prolactin is produced, which stimulates the flow of milk.

It turns out that the most important thing for successful breastfeeding is the mother’s rest, the baby’s correct latch on to the breast, including at night. That is, the more often the baby is applied to the breast, the better. If this happens rarely or your baby sucks sluggishly, use a breast pump. After each feeding, express the remaining milk to them. It may not be released at all, but this way you will still stimulate a greater flow of milk for the next feeding.

When choosing a breast pump for this purpose, pay attention to its ability to express gently and without pain. Philips AVENT electric breast pumps provide such comfort. Their silicone nozzle fits tightly and softly to the breast, affecting only the nipple area and without injuring the nipple. In this case, the degree of vacuum of the breast pump is identical to the pressure created by the child during the sucking process. Thanks to this, pumping is as close as possible to natural feeding. Philips AVENT breast pumps make expressing convenient, as you can control its rhythm by pressing the handle. And electronic memory can save and reproduce the rhythm you set, and you no longer have to monitor the process. Its pumping speed is much higher than that of a manual breast pump. And pumping is more effective than pumping in a hospital. This was proven in clinical trials that compared the amount of milk obtained when using a Philips AVENT breast pump and an electric breast pump used in maternity hospitals.

So, you can completely control lactation and increase the amount. To do this, you just need to let go of your worries and put your baby to your breast more often, day and night, and also stimulate lactation after feeding.

More information about the product and child care can be found on the website www.philips.ru/AVENT

Discussion

I’m the only one interested in HOW to implement both tips
1. do not limit the child’s access - apply it more often, do not remove the breast even if you fall asleep with it.
2. rest, get enough sleep, go for a walk
HOW???
the child asks to suck every hour and a half for 30-40 minutes, sleeps with her for another 15-20, and so on in a circle
When should I get enough sleep? already like a zombie. and DREAM to switch to mixture

02/17/2018 23:24:20, Lana/Zlata

We also almost switched to mixtures. The doctor consulted me on time. She said that there is no need to be nervous, it is advisable to get enough sleep, eat well, naturally exclude many foods so that the child’s tummy does not hurt, drink plenty of fluids, but not just water, but tea, milk, compotes and Apilak she prescribed. I tried to follow all the advice and began to feed her more often at night and took my daughter to bed with me. That’s how everything worked out, I fed her until she was 1.5 years old.

A breast pump alone will not solve the problem. And he pumps not as effectively as a baby during feeding. To increase the amount of milk, my doctor advised me to put my son to the breast more often, follow a diet and sleep schedule, and take Apilak to naturally stimulate lactation. This comprehensive approach gave results within a couple of days.

03/30/2014 21:37:58, Elina1

Comment on the article "Not enough milk: how to continue breastfeeding?"

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Does the baby have enough colostrum or breast milk? Perhaps he needs to be supplemented with formula? These questions concern mothers, starting from the maternity hospital. Many children are restless from birth. They may have a stomach ache. But usually everything is attributed to a lack of mother's milk. When should you be concerned?

Signs of lack of breast milk and measures to restore lactation

We immediately note that certain features of the child’s behavior are not a reason to immediately introduce supplemental feeding with formula, just pay more attention to breastfeeding, perhaps reconsider the baby’s attachment to the breast, remove the feeding schedule, if one exists, feed at night, etc.

1. When a nursing mother has little milk, the baby often sucks at the breast for a long time. This feature is especially often observed in children in the first three months of life. Older children usually suck more actively and get satiated faster, and besides sucking at the breast, other interests appear.
Solution: leave everything as it is, let the baby suckle as much as he wants. If you see that the baby has dozed off while sucking, but he was not actively sucking before and did not swallow enough (that is, did not suck enough milk) - do not rush to put him in the crib. If the baby has a rapid phase of sleep, and it is characterized by rapid movement of the eyes under the eyelids, trembling, awakening due to the slightest rustle, you can try to lightly pat him on the cheek, or move the nipple along the lips, he will wake up and start sucking the breast again. By the way, this technique is especially effective for use at night, when the baby sucks little by little, but very often. It’s better to suckle 1-2 times a night, even for 40 minutes and a little more than waking up every hour.

Please note that your baby may ask for the breast more often during teething. During these difficult days for parents and the baby, he eats complementary foods less often, replacing them with breasts. Breastfed babies will have enough milk even after the introduction of complementary foods, so you don’t have to worry about how to increase lactation.

2. Insufficient weight gain. There is a certain framework within which a child must fit. Thus, the minimum monthly weight gain ranges from 500-600 grams in the first months of the baby’s life. If he gained less than 500 grams, this is a reason to take a closer look at the next point.

3. Restless behavior of the child, poor sleep, frequent need for the breast. This is how an infant behaves if he does not have enough mother's milk. However, this behavior may be due to other reasons. For example, teething, illness, overwork, disruption of the daily routine.

3. A small number of urinations and their pungent odor, rare stools. A unique study involves counting wet diapers. For one day, parents refuse to use disposable diapers, use reusable gauze diapers, and count the number of wet ones. Normally, an infant urinates 10 times a day. But this is the case if he eats only mother’s milk, does not receive supplementary food and does not drink water.
If there are 8 or fewer wet diapers, you need to decide something about nutrition. The pungent odor of urine is a sign of the presence of acetone in it. And it appears when the body is dehydrated. If a mother has been trying to increase the amount of breast milk for more than one day, but there is still no result, it may make sense to introduce supplementary feeding. But it should be given only after breastfeeding. It’s better to purchase or make your own supplementary feeding system, using which the baby will suckle at the breast at the same time as receiving the formula. You can find diagrams and photos of these simple devices on the Internet. If you decide to buy, it is produced by Medela. Long-term bottle feeding will sooner or later lead to a complete transition to artificial feeding.

It is impossible to say for sure whether a baby is getting enough breast milk based on the frequency of stool. But sometimes, if the baby is underfed, stool becomes rarer. This sign does not make sense to take into account when the child feeds only on mother’s milk, since the absence of stool may be a manifestation of the body’s complete absorption of nutrition.

Important! It is impossible to find out whether there is enough or not enough milk during breastfeeding by the type of mammary glands, their size, consistency, and sensations during feeding. With established lactation, and this happens already a few weeks after birth, a woman’s mammary glands are soft and painless outside of feeding, some even think they are empty. But that's not true. Milk is stored outside of feeding in special bags - alveoli. When the nipples are stimulated, the hormone oxytocin begins to be released, and milk from the sacs enters the mammary glands. This is called milk let-down. Only these “tides” may become less noticeable over time. But this is not the best way to understand whether children have enough breast milk. Many long-term (more than 2 years) women report that they have not felt hot flashes at all for many months, yet they continue to feed their children, and quite often.

Also, incorrect data is given by a test for determining the amount of milk by expressing it and analyzing the amount. As we already wrote above, milk is released directly during the baby’s sucking, stimulation of the nipple, but pumping causes pain in most women. Thus, the pleasure hormone oxytocin is not released, and milk from the alveoli does not enter the glands. They remain "empty".

Another similar test used by pediatricians is called control feeding. Before feeding, mother and baby come to the clinic and the baby is weighed. Next, the mother feeds the baby, after which he is weighed again. Look at the difference. This difference is the amount of milk that the baby sucked. This test is often not informative, since when feeding on demand, children can suck out different amounts of milk. It seems that the baby hangs on the chest for 40 minutes, but he practically does not suck on it. Dozing.

When a baby may not have enough breast milk

1. If a woman does not feed her baby at night. During night feedings, the hormone prolactin is released, which makes it possible to produce breast milk. If your child wakes up at least once at night, do not give him a pacifier or pump him up to calm him down; it is better to breastfeed him.

2. With long intervals between feedings. If they last more than 2 hours in the first months of a child’s life, milk will begin to decrease over time.

3. With abundantly introduced complementary foods. If the baby begins to eat about 800-1 kg of complementary foods per day, which is essentially 4-5 full feedings of a 9-12 month old child, then he no longer needs milk as nutrition. At least he doesn't feel hungry. However, WHO says that every child should receive breast milk or formula until at least 1 year of age. If you don’t want to lose milk, feed your baby at night, early in the morning, try to supplement your baby’s breastfeeding after feedings, especially if the baby ate a little less than usual.

4. During lactation crises. What to do if a baby does not have enough milk at 1, 3, 6, 9 months? Just breastfeed more, do not give pacifiers or formula. The amount of milk produced directly depends on the stimulation of the nipples, the number and frequency of feedings. Breastfed babies will have enough milk until they reach one year of age. This is very convenient, but requires some effort and correct actions from the mother during critical periods.

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- Please tell me what needs to be done to increase the amount of milk?

This is the question most often asked by mothers over the phone to lactation consultants. We asked Maria Borisovna Mayorskaya, an experienced breastfeeding consultant, to answer typical questions from mothers regarding a pressing problem - lack of milk.

- I want to breastfeed, but, looking at the experience of my friends, I begin to doubt that there might not be enough milk. Maybe there are some special exercises or diet that you need to follow during pregnancy so that you have a lot of milk later?

None special actions during pregnancy to prevent milk deficiency Not needed. True inability to breastfeed is extremely rare. With good psychological support and following a number of simple rules, 97% of women are able to breastfeed. My only advice is to stock up on reliable, positive information about breastfeeding and don’t set yourself up for failure! But it’s better to give the bottles and mixtures to someone else for now.

The presence of pacifiers, bottles, bottle holders, food warmers, and formula milk in the house is an assumption of the idea that breastfeeding may not work. Even if the baby has to be supplemented, when breastfeeding is established, he is supplemented with expressed milk from a spoon and no special accessories are needed for this. If you need to use formula milk, the shelves of our stores are simply bursting with the corresponding products - you can buy everything you need in 1 day.

You can get competent information, meet breastfeeding mothers, and get support for the future at childbirth preparation courses or from lactation consultants.

- My baby is already 3 days old, but the milk has not come yet. Will it come, and will it be enough for the child?

If you apply it to your breast, it will definitely come! There is no need to despair.

Firstly, your baby may not need a large amount of nutrition yet. A few drops of colostrum are enough for him, the main thing is that he receives them upon request. Perhaps his gastrointestinal tract is not yet ready to accept milk at all, and colostrum is the only thing he needs now. When a premature baby is born, in particular, the baby continues to need colostrum for 2 weeks.

Secondly, each woman’s milk composition changes according to her own individual schedule. The timing varies greatly among different women. On the third day, some women still have only thick colostrum in their breasts and it will be replaced by transitional milk only by day 5-6. This is a variant of the physiological norm, the child is designed for this.

- After the cesarean section, the milk came very late, only on the 10th day. The baby is now constantly at the breast, but I am always afraid that he will not have enough milk. What should I do to prevent my milk from leaking?

The answer is simple - he needs to be breastfed. Only by breastfeeding, without supplementary feeding, and the milk will never “go anywhere”. Forget about what happened in the beginning, now the main thing is to establish a normal supply-demand system. And it improves only through unlimited breastfeeding. Feed your baby day and night, as much as he needs. Don't be afraid to overfeed. It is impossible to overfeed with breast milk. The child is initially calculated that at the initial stage of establishing lactation he will suck much more than he can absorb. Prolonged breastfeeding will stimulate the production of milk and there will definitely be enough of it.

- Now the baby has enough milk, but they say that in the future he will eat more. I tried to pump but it didn't work, does this mean I don't have enough milk?

Of course not. Women's breasts are not designed to produce extra milk.. Therefore, it does not need to be “milked” and expressed. On the contrary, milk should be produced exactly as much as the baby needs. And for this, the breast must “understand” how much he needs. This is assessed by our hormonal system by the number of times the baby attaches to the breast and the volume of milk sucked out per day. If the mother additionally expresses milk, the information entering her hormonal system will be erroneous.

Hormonal adjustment, the adaptation of the mother’s body to feeding this particular child with approximately the same appetite, occurs during the first 3 months of feeding. For some women, this process goes faster, but not less than 3 weeks. After which milk should be produced exactly as much as needed and no more. Therefore, there will simply be nothing to express.

- I give the baby two breasts at one feeding, but even after that he doesn’t always fall asleep, gets nervous, and has to be supplemented with formula. How to increase your milk supply?

First of all, remember that a well-fed child does not always fall asleep, and a hungry child does not necessarily worry and cry. A small child has thousands of reasons to worry, and hunger is not the main one of them. Judging whether a child is full or not only by his behavior is fundamentally wrong! If the baby is older than one month, he may not want to sleep at all and protest that he is not understood!

Then you should stop moving the baby from one breast to the other during the same feeding. Vice versa, You need to feed from the same breast for at least 2 hours, no matter how many times the child asks for it. Richer in fat, the back part of the milk never flows from the breast in a stream, it must be milked drop by drop, therefore, normally, the baby periodically sucks the breast slowly, drop by drop. It is biologically designed for normal lactation and for different sucking rhythms depending on the composition of the milk and the intensity of the flow. These skills are formed by prolonged sucking of the same breast. When a mother moves her baby from one breast to the other, she interferes with the development of this skill. The baby gets used to sucking the breast only when there is flow from it and throwing it away as soon as the flow weakens. Thus, he really does not receive enough milk, but not at all because his mother does not have enough of it. He just doesn't know how to suck properly. If the mother insists on her own way and stops transferring the baby to the other breast, the baby will adjust in 3-4 days. As a rule, after such a restructuring it turns out that the milk that the mother produces is quite enough for the child.

- My child is exclusively breastfed. He is already big and has developed his own rhythm of latching - once every 3 hours. He hardly wakes up at night and is easily calmed down by a pacifier. Everything would be fine, but we have very little weight gain. Is it possible that my baby doesn’t have enough milk because he’s so calm?

Of course he may not have enough! Despite the fact that the child receives nothing but milk, all the rules for organizing breastfeeding are grossly violated. The physiology of lactation is subject to certain laws, and failure to comply with these laws will certainly affect milk production. No one is surprised that for the normal operation of a car, it is periodically necessary to fill it with gasoline and oil. If you don't do this, the car will stop. It's the same with women's breasts. In order for her to produce enough milk, three main conditions must be met: sufficient frequency of breastfeeding, good breast emptying and night feedings. These conditions directly follow from the physiology of lactation. All rules for successful breastfeeding essentially ensure that these three conditions are met.

Sufficient application frequency provided when feeding at the request of the child. Moreover, the chest is designed for physiological norm of requirements, which is never less than 12 times a day. With a reduction in the number of attachments, the amount of milk produced gradually decreases and disappears. Therefore, a healthy breastfed baby, regardless of age, is put to the breast about once an hour while awake and once every 2-3 hours while sleeping. The average number of attachments at any age ranges from 12 to 20 and is approximately 15.

Sufficient emptying breast occurs when physiological rhythm of breast alternation and availability correct application. As already shown in the previous question, for more complete emptying it is necessary to put the baby on the same breast for at least two hours. However, this will not help if the child does not know how to latch onto the breast correctly. If a child, in addition to his mother’s breast, periodically receives a bottle or sucks a pacifier, then his attachment to the breast “spoils.” If a baby is not latched to the breast correctly, the maxillofacial apparatus works completely differently. The child does not “squeeze the breast with his gums, but tries to pull as an adult does when sucking through a straw. At the same time, the volume of milk that reaches the baby is significantly reduced. In addition, the baby practically does not receive the fatty part of the milk, which is located in distant portions. It turns out that no matter how long a child suckles at the breast, he will always receive depleted milk. Such a disproportion cannot go unnoticed. Most often it affects the baby’s weight and well-being.

Night feedings are necessary to ensure that the mother’s body maintains a sufficient level of prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production. Prolactin is a “night” hormone; its production at night is several times greater than during the day. If the baby often nurses at night, then enough prolactin is produced to maintain lactation. That is why a mother can breastfeed not only a newborn, with whom she does not part, but also a fairly large child, from whom she leaves for the whole day and feeds him only at night. This system has been fine-tuned over millions of years of evolution. Long night feeding is a very convenient and reasonable biological mechanism that makes caring for a growing child easier and allows the mother to successfully fulfill all her many responsibilities.

Now let's summarize. The baby is not attached to the breast often enough. Sucking on a pacifier, therefore, has an incorrect attachment to the breast. It is applied to a new breast each time, instead of sucking on the same one for a long time. And he doesn’t suck at night either! Sooner or later, such feeding should have affected the quality of the milk, which is what happened. The baby began to gain weight poorly.

As a rule, in such a situation, it is enough to correct errors in the organization of feeding, and the composition of the milk will return to normal. The child begins to gain weight normally 1-2 weeks after the errors are completely corrected.

- When I weigh the child, it turns out that he sucked from 20 to 50 g. Sometimes the scale needle does not move at all, but the child suckled for an hour! I am feeding more and the milk is becoming less and less. What to do?

The fact is that the amount of milk “poured” into the child, no matter whether he sucked it himself or it was poured into him in another way, does not in any way reflect the amount that he actually absorbed and does not say anything about the composition of the milk that he received. The composition of mother's milk changes throughout the day, changes from feeding to feeding, even changes during one feeding! A child can receive 100 g of milk and absorb 10 of them, and at another time suck out only 20 g and absorb all 20. Moreover, information about how much the child sucked at one time is in no way related to how much he will suck in an hour or in the evening . Sucking needs change throughout the day, and, as a rule, a child older than a month already sucks differently in those moments when he wants to eat and in those moments when he just wants to communicate. Therefore, quite a long time ago, the whole world abandoned the so-called “control feeding”, when the child is weighed before and after feeding, since it is not informative and does not provide any information about the child’s needs or the amount of milk in the mother!

More informative would be an assessment of the amount of milk that the child actually absorbed, that is, an assessment of the daily volume of urine. The volume of the bladder is certainly individual and depends on the size of the child, that is, it is directly related to his height, weight and age. A small child cannot, like an adult, go to the toilet in a small way, whenever he wants. He only does this when his bladder is full! Therefore, there is no need to measure the exact volume of urine produced by the child; it is enough to count how many times he does it. Normally, a breastfed baby does this from 10-14 days of life 10-12 times a day, boys more often than girls. Counting the number of urinations per day will give really reliable information about whether the baby has enough milk if the baby is exclusively breastfed, which should last for at least 6 months.

If the baby's urination is within the normal range, the mother should calm down and continue feeding. She has enough milk!

If the number of urinations does not fit into the norm, then, of course, you need to contact a specialist. Prescribing supplemental feeding on your own without a specialist assessing the number of urinations is categorically unacceptable and is a grave mistake in organizing breastfeeding. The frequency of supplementary feeding and the volume of supplementary feeding should be determined individually, simultaneously with the organization of measures to increase lactation.

- What measures can you take to increase lactation on your own, without a consultant?

Any measures can be applied independently if you know how to do it correctly.

The main measures are to correct errors in feeding management. Throw away the pacifier, stop giving your baby water, stop feeding your baby from a bottle, And any mother can give supplementary feeding only with a spoon. If there is someone to check correct application baby to the breast, this should be addressed immediately. However, without correcting breastfeeding, you should not try increase the frequency of applications. If the baby is attached to the breast correctly, you can start putting the baby to the breast more often, offering the breast literally for every squeak or searching movement. If a mother can comfortably feed while lying down, she should pay attention to frequency of night feedings. If she doesn’t know how, then she will first have to learn to feed comfortably while lying down during the day, only then will she be able to do it calmly at night.

- Do special teas or recipes “for milk” help increase lactation?

They help, but very little. They will not help at all if the mother continues to make mistakes in organizing feedings. But most of them can cause excess milk if the mother already has a well-established lactation, and she decides to take them. And this is not such a harmless thing.

We, consultants, are often offended because we do not give any prescriptions for lactogenic preparations over the phone. But these recipes are not a secret, and they can be found in popular literature; if you want, I will give here the three most popular ones. However, before using any of them, the mother must be absolutely sure that she really has a lack of milk.

Any lactation consultant knows that in the vast majority of cases, the mother incorrectly assesses the state of her lactation. According to statistics, in 42% of cases of telephone calls, a detailed survey reveals that there is no shortage of milk. The mother has stable lactation; milk is produced exactly as much as the baby needs. If more milk begins to be produced, it will stagnate. At the same time, it is the fatty part of the milk that will remain, which threatens the mother with stagnation and lactostasis, and the child with a change in the composition of the milk he receives! Indeed, the total volume of milk that the baby sucks will remain unchanged, he has absolutely no need to suck out more, but the volume of milk has changed. Since the baby first sucks the so-called foremilk, and only then the hind milk, he will receive a much larger portion of watery foremilk. In turn, he will not receive enough hindmilk, rich in fats and enzymes, because he has already been pumped with water! So, wanting to produce more milk, the mother creates only new problems for herself and the child.

Recipes for lactation:

Nut milk. To prepare nut milk, you need to take 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts, pour it into a thermos and pour 1 glass of hot milk brought to a boil. Let it brew for 3 hours and drink it warm in small sips throughout the day.

Grated carrots with milk. Place 3-4 tablespoons of grated carrots in a glass, add milk (or cream) and drink 1 glass 2-3 times a day.

Infusion of dill seeds . One tablespoon of dill seeds is poured with hot water (1 glass) and left for 2 hours. Drink half a glass per dose twice a day.

I advise mothers to use such preparations in a state of uncertainty, as maintenance therapy for 1-2 weeks, after which either lactation is already established, or there is a need to use special measures.

Special measures include an individual child's latching schedule, an individual supplementary feeding schedule, teaching the mother some care techniques, etc.

- And if time is lost, the milk is gone, is it really impossible to fix anything?

It is possible if you contact specialists. If the child is under 8 months, milk can always be returned, especially if it never went missing. Often the mother considers herself unable to feed normally, supplements the child’s feeding and at the same time suffers from constant lumps. She could easily feed the baby only with her own milk, but she doesn’t even know about it! Only 3% of women are incapable of full lactation! Errors in the organization of feeding can lead to a temporary lack of milk; if you begin to correct them, you can always restore the previous volume.

If the lack of milk is associated with some functional reasons, then you can always organize mixed feeding, and the amount of supplementary feeding is often much less than what the mother gave the child on her own initiative. In this case, the baby receives a fairly large volume of breast milk. After the child is 6 months old, supplementary feeding is gradually replaced by complementary feeding, but the volume of complementary feeding for such a child is larger. When comparing two one-year-old babies who are already eating practically from the common table and continue to receive mother’s milk, it can be difficult to understand which of them ate only their mother until 6 months and which received supplementary feeding. Breastfeeding can continue without problems for at least 2-3 years. Therefore, lactation consultants now say this: only 3% of women are unable to exclusively breastfeed a child until he is 6 months old, but Anyone who still has at least one breast can breastfeed a child up to 2-3 years of age!

Magazine "Lisa My Child", No. 4, 2003

Every woman wants only the best for her child. What could be better for a baby than breast milk? Nothing! Young mothers are afraid that their baby does not have enough milk, that it is not so fatty. But if a woman conceived a child, carried him to term and gave birth, then she will be able to breastfeed him.

What problems can arise when feeding?

First of all, you need to learn how to put your baby to the breast correctly, then it will be comfortable for him to suck and he will eat as much as he needs. Apply your baby not by the hour, but on demand, when the baby asks. If you think that milk is not enough, do not worry, it comes when the baby suckles. A woman’s body is designed in such a way that milk is produced as much as the baby needs. Try to relax when you feed your baby and not get nervous, then milk will be produced well and the baby will eat calmly.

What should you pay attention to in order to understand whether you have enough milk or not?

If your baby is eating but not gaining weight well, it means you really don't have enough milk. Your pediatrician says your baby has...
Also pay attention to your child's urination. If your baby urinates less than six times a day, this may also be due to malnutrition. With normal nutrition, the child should urinate at least 6 times a day, the urine should be clear and almost odorless. And if you see that after feeding the baby is worried, it means he hasn’t finished eating.

What to do if there is not enough milk

If the baby really doesn’t have enough milk, then you need to switch to mixed feeding, that is, give breastfeeding as well. First, give the baby the breast (both breasts), and then supplement with formula. Wait three hours between formula feedings, and if the baby asks to eat at this time, then give him the breast. Remember that there is more milk in the morning than in the evening. It is imperative to breastfeed at night.

How much mixture do you need?

How can you understand how much the child has not eaten and how much formula is needed? First, you will need to weigh your baby for a couple of days before and after feeding to understand how much milk he eats. Your pediatrician should calculate the norm and help with the choice of formula, and after that, gradually, you can introduce artificial milk, starting with 10 ml and reaching the daily norm.

The main thing is not to give up, fight, increase lactation. After all, no formula can replace mother’s breast milk.