Q&A with Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC 11-20-13

QUESTION 1: My milk supply for my 4-mo-old is decreasing despite taking fenugreek and pumping. Any advice? I’m not ready to give up!

NANCY MOHRBACHER, IBCLC: I’m glad you reached out. You’ll be happy to know that milk production is a hardy process. Even mothers who have never been pregnant have brought in milk for adopted babies! You just need to know how it works. First, despite popular belief, drinking water and improving your diet does not affect milk production. Your body knows how much milk to make by the number of milk removals (breastfeeds plus pumps) each day and how fully the milk is removed. (Drained breasts make milk faster and full breasts make milk slower.) If you breastfeed your baby on cue, your baby will do this for you automatically without you even having to think about it. For most women, 7 or 8 milk removals per 24 hours are enough to keep supply steady. Fewer removals usually mean decreasing milk supply. More than 8 or 9 usually stimulate a gradual milk increase. Taking fenugreek or other herbs will not help if you’re not removing the milk often or well enough. For more on how individual differences among mothers affect this and how to use this info to keep up milk production after you’re back at work, see my posts on the Magic Number concept. [Read more…]