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Do I have enough Milk? (1) |
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| QUESTION: | | My baby is 1 week old. I'm breastfeeding, but I don't think I have enough milk, so I give him some formula after each feed. I'm returning to work after 2 months, but I would like to continue breastfeeding after that, if I can. How can I increase my milk? |
| | ANSWER: | | It is good that you are thinking ahead, and planning to give your baby breastmilk even after you return to work. If you are planning to maintain a good supply after 2 months, it is important to build up a strong supply now. At 1 week, many mothers won't find a very steady supply yet. Most of us start off rather low, but as long as you allow the baby to suckle whenever he wants to feed, he will stimulate your breasts to produce according to his needs. It takes about 6-8 weeks for your supply to match you baby's needs, if you allow him to suckle whenever he asks. It will be best not to top him up with formula after each breastfeed. By doing so, formula will make up a substantial portion of his food, making it very difficult for your supply to increase, as demand is curtailed. Your breasts simply won't receive enough stimulation. The other problem is that he may come to prefer the bottle and fight the breast, as milk flows so much more easily from a bottle teat. This will make your breastfeeding more difficult. As you plan to return to work after 2 months, you can introduce the bottle in the 4th week, if he has settled down nicely to breastfeeding. He can be given one feed by bottle a day, and this can be of expressed breastmilk (ebm), so that your supply will not be affected. Just remember that it takes about 2 days to step up or step down your supply. So even with increased stimulation, it will take 2 to 3 days before you see a noticeable increase. |
| | Please note that this information is for personal use only and is provided based on the limited information from your email. It is private and confidential and is provided by volunteer counsellors, who are not medical professionals but have breastfed their children. Please do not distribute or disseminate to third parties or alter the information. It is the property of the Breastfeeding Mothers' Support Group (Singapore). If you are in doubt or have any difficulty, please consult a lactation consultant or a health professional with an interest in breastfeeding. |
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