The main thing is that it is important for you to correctly assess whether you really have little milk. And if you are convinced of this, then you need to know what to do so that there is more milk. So, let's begin…

Step one. Find out if the baby is getting enough milk.

How to check?
• Weighing. Weight gain less than 500 g per month, less than 120 g per week is an indicator that you are actually low on milk
• Wet diaper test. The number of urinations less than 8 per day is critical. Only well-soaked diapers count.

Cases when a child is not enough breast milk, are not very common. Much more often, mothers think that they or someone (mother-in-law, doctor, neighbor on the street, etc.) told them that they did not have enough milk. Sometimes, women who could breastfeed without any problems lose milk simply because they do not have enough knowledge about

IF YOUR CHILD GAINED 500 OR MORE GRAM IN A MONTH AND THE NUMBER OF URINATION MORE THAN 8 TIMES A DAY, THEN IN YOUR CASE THERE IS NO SPEECH THAT THE MILK IS SMALL. HOWEVER, YOU CAN LEARN THE FOLLOWING STEPS AND CHANGE SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR CHILD.

Step two. Little milk

If you are convinced that the child does not have enough milk, in fact, before taking action, answer the following questions:
• Do you feed your baby on demand and how many times a day?
• Does the child eat at night? Where does he sleep?
• Do you use nipples and a bottle? Do you provide water?
• Maybe you have already started supplementing with formula? How much and how many times a day do you formula feed?
• Watch your condition while feeding your baby. It often happens that a woman during feeding is very tense because of an uncomfortable position or because of the fear that there is not enough milk in her breast again, and the child will not be satisfied again.
• Are you drinking enough fluids?
• Watch what time of day you have the minimum milk production.
• What is the emotional state of your family? Are you surrounded by people who do not support the idea of ​​breastfeeding.

Step three. Not enough milk, increase lactation.

Step four. Increasing lactation with lactogenic agents.

To increase lactation, use lactagon remedies: anise seeds, dill fennel, nettle, homeopathic remedy lactatosan, apilac.

Step five. Increase lactation with massage.

Regularly massage with a special oil “for breasts during lactation” or any vegetable oil with addition essential oil fennel or anise.

Also do a breast massage to restore lymph flow, shown in ours.

Step six. Little milk. Weighing

Stop weighing your baby frequently. Do this no more than once a week.

Step seven. Little milk. walks

Do not walk for several days, especially if it is cold outside. After all, going for a walk is often associated with stress. The baby is screaming, mom is in a hurry. And any stress for a breastfeeding mother is contraindicated, especially if she has little milk. You now need to direct all your efforts to increase lactation and solve the problem with breast milk.

IF YOU HAVE LITTLE MILK, I WISH YOU NOT TO LOSE HOPE. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO BREASTFEED!

Almost every mother who breastfeeds a baby for more than six months has to deal with a situation where it seems as if the milk is gone, or its amount has noticeably decreased.

Is there really less milk, or does it just seem?

After the successful establishment of lactation, it sometimes seems that nothing will interfere with breastfeeding. But in the process, most have a feeling that there is not enough breast milk. It does not stop being produced at all, but the thought arises that the child does not have enough food.

The feeling may be dictated simply by the increased anxiety of the mother and have no basis. The hot flashes have stopped, it’s not possible, as before, to easily express from the chest, it has stopped leaking - these and other signs do not at all mean that there is less milk. It's just that feeding has become on demand, there is no excess.

But sometimes the amount of milk really decreases. Signs of a lack of milk while breastfeeding:

• lagging behind the normal growth schedule. This case requires a visit to the pediatrician to identify other possible reasons and prescribe supplements.
• One breast is completely emptied by feeding, and a child who has recently gorged on it clearly requires supplementation. At the same time, he shows excitement, does not let go of the nipple, does not fall asleep on the chest.
• The baby seems to be full, but takes shorter breaks than before between feedings and requires the breast again.
• Wet diaper test: if the baby has become less likely to urinate, this is also a reason to think about whether he has enough food.

The main reasons for the extinction of lactation

There are many explanations why milk may become less, or it seems to the mother that it is running out. They are dictated both by the natural course of events and by the wrong tactics of caring for a baby.

lactation crisis

This is a concept that not all mothers understand the essence of. Some people think: a crisis means that some kind of failure has occurred in lactation.

“In fact, there are no lactation crises,” says Nina Zaichenko, a well-known video blogger, consultant on breastfeeding. - What is commonly called a lactation crisis (at 1.5, 3, 6 months of a child) is not related to your lactation. Such periods are marked by growth spurts in children. The child sharply gains in weight and height and begins to require more milk, more often applied. Mom thinks: “Probably, my milk supply is low.” In fact, the need for milk has increased. The body begins to “understand” that it needs to produce more. It doesn't happen instantly. Typically, production increases after about two days.

The composition of mother's milk is different age periods child. Since the baby grows very quickly, especially in the first year of life, the mother's body is not always able to quickly adapt to changes.

Sometimes it takes up to several days to adapt, and this short period is mistakenly perceived as the extinction of lactation. At this time, there may be a feeling that a nursing mother has little milk. In fact, the female body simply adjusts the quantitative and qualitative composition of the unique baby food.

Improper attachment

Errors in the process of mutual adaptation of mother and baby to breastfeeding can cause a decrease in the amount of milk. This is possible when the baby is regular. The mother's body in this case works strictly on demand: you ask for more - you get more. And vice versa.

An incorrect grip makes the feeding process unproductive, that is, at the same time, the baby sucks out less milk than he would have with the correct position. condition, requires an addition. It is important to guide the baby at the beginning of each feeding, to gently correct the mistakes of capture, teaching them to do it correctly.

Nipples and pacifiers

Every newborn has a sucking reflex, which was formed in the womb and fades closer to 3-4 years. The need for sucking must be satisfied in infancy. Otherwise, various neurotic manifestations are possible in the future: sucking fingers, hair, tissue, and much more. artificial feeding pacifiers are recommended.

Breastfeeding on demand should fully satisfy this need for early childhood. If parents decide to teach a breastfeeding baby to a nipple, sooner or later they may be faced with the fact that the mother's breast milk disappears. After all, the breast is not only food for the child, it is the removal nervous tension, means for falling asleep, communication with mom and even knowledge of the world. And if there is a pacifier, then he will ask for breasts less often. And the law of milk formation will work again: less demand - less production.

With mixed feeding, nipples on bottles are also fraught with danger due to the fact that the mechanism for extracting milk from the breast and the bottle is different. The artificial mixture is sucked, and the child expresses the mother's milk. It often happens that it is easier to get food from a bottle. Therefore, in order to save effort, he turns to the chest less often and more often to the mixture. As a result, milk, which is already not enough for full feeding, becomes even less.

Feeding by the hour

AT Soviet years When special literature for mothers was not widely available, women went to work early, and breastfeeding support specialists did not exist, no one was particularly worried that sooner or later milk from a nursing woman would disappear.

According to mothers and grandmothers, this was a common occurrence. And only years later, women learned that the strict application regimen, which many pediatricians insisted on from the hospital, harms the natural process of milk production. And the early exclusion of night feedings for the sake of restful sleep - even more so.

In fact, the main condition for preserving milk for a long time is feeding at the request of the child, including at night. It is the baby who determines how much food he needs. And nightly attachments regulate the proper production of hormones that stimulate the formation of milk in the glands of the mother.

Supplementation and supplementation

Many mothers have learned from experience that introducing complementary foods from 6 months (or older) reduces the amount of milk in the breast. In fact, this is reasonable: a baby who starts eating regular food no longer needs mother's natural nutrition in the same amount. There is a gradual replacement of one type of food with another.

A smooth transition will balance the work of the digestive organs, not deprive the child of psychological support and comfort, smooth out transition periods and support immunity during illness, teething.

But all this is true if complementary feeding with ordinary foods begins according to the recommendations of advanced pediatricians - not earlier than 6-8 months.

In the case of supplementary feeding with a formula for up to six months, the mother falls into a vicious circle: the lack of breast milk increases, it becomes less, and the proportion of supplementary feeding increases.

With drinking water the same story. It has been proven by experts that an on-demand baby does not need additional water even in the hottest days. Everything is in milk and for satiety, and to restore fluid balance. By offering your baby a bottle of water, you provoke a decrease in the amount of milk in the breast.

New pregnancy

It is believed that a nursing mother has little milk may be because she is pregnant again. In fact, if you follow the basic rules for maintaining lactation, there is less milk in this case, and it does not change the taste. It is believed that if there is no threat of miscarriage, you can feed up to 3-4 months, and then for the sake of the next child it is better to complete lactation.

However, some mothers, with the permission of the obstetrician-gynecologist, continue to feed until childbirth, and then feed two children at once in tandem.

Stress, fatigue and diet

After giving birth, young mothers want to quickly return to their old dresses, or even look even slimmer. But the passion for diets is fraught with the fact that milk may disappear. If you approach the lactation period wisely, then during this time you can significantly lose weight and regain your previous shape without starvation.

The production of milk itself requires serious energy costs the female body, in fact, this is “lazy fitness”: you do nothing, and calories (and a lot, from 500 kcal per day!) Are spent. It is only important to carefully consider the diet of a nursing mother, removing empty calories (refined flour products, confectionery sweets), adding foods rich in vitamins and minerals.

It is also important to remember that the nervous situation in the environment of the nursing, accumulating fatigue can also reduce the amount of milk.

What to do if milk runs out

You have analyzed the situation, found factors that allow you to conclude: there is not enough milk. What should I do? This thought can be frightening. Suddenly, it’s too early for the introduction of complementary foods, the child is not accustomed to eating from a bottle or even refused to do so!? After fulfilling a number of conditions, you can return your milk.

nesting method

An old way to improve lactation is known - to spend days and nights with your child: joint sleep, constant communication strengthen the bond between mother and child, contribute to the establishment of lactation. Wise nature judged that a happy and well-fed child can only be near his mother.

Feeding on demand

If milk from a nursing mother disappears, the child himself will cope with the problem, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. He must have constant access to the breast. The mother's brain, by regular stimulation of the nipples by the baby, quickly understands that more milk is needed and creates all the necessary conditions for this.

Night feedings

Responsible for the amount of breast milk female body hormone prolactin. It is produced mainly at night, from 3 to 8 in the morning. Therefore, it is night feedings that set the tone for lactation. A child who sleeps peacefully through the night does not stimulate the mother's body to produce food for him. Under such conditions, lactation gradually disappears.

Remove mamo substitutes

If a nursing mother has little milk, it is important to create conditions under which the baby will need the mother:

• and bottles.
• Do not use rocking cradles for a while.
• All sorts of cozy pillows, heating pads that imitate hugs and mother's warmth will also harm lactation more.

It is important during this difficult period to cultivate the joint stay of the mother with the baby, without replacing yourself with anything.

Lactic teas and dietary supplements

Support breast-feeding capable of lactogenic teas and biological additives, which are sold in many pharmacies. As a rule, dietary supplements and water infusions to stimulate the mammary glands include the following plants: fennel, fenugreek, goat's rue, dill, cumin, anise, sweet clover, hawthorn and others.

“The baby can’t stand the previous breaks between feedings”, “The baby is worried at the breast”, “I don’t feel any more rushes of milk during feedings” - usually these are the arguments given by mothers, explaining their concern about the decrease in the volume of milk produced. Is not it we are talking about a decrease in lactation or the listed problems can be associated with other reasons?

Is the baby getting enough milk? Reliable Criteria

To answer the question of whether the baby has enough milk, you need to know two reliable criteria for lactation sufficiency. If baby puts on weight for each month of the first half of the year (when mother's milk is the only type of food) not less than 500 g, and frequency of his urination is more than 6 times a day, we can safely say that the child has enough milk and he does not have any nutritional deficiency.

Of course, any mother would like more weight gain, but the indicated figure is an acceptable minimum. It is likely that this figure will increase over the next month. But it is important to understand that such an increase should convince parents to abandon their intention to supplement the crumbs with formula milk.

The frequency of urination indicated above (6 times a day or more) indicates that the child is provided with the minimum fluid that the body needs to maintain all metabolic processes. A smaller intake of water (in this case with milk) leads to a decrease in the volume of excreted fluid - not only the amount of urine excreted will decrease, but also sweat, saliva, etc. A decrease in diuresis (the so-called urine output), as a rule, is accompanied by a change in its concentration - it becomes more saturated yellow color acquiring a pungent odour.

Or maybe not enough milk? Likely signs

In addition to reliable criteria, there are so-called probable signs that the child does not have enough breast milk. The following signs should alert a nursing mother:

• frequent crying and anxiety of the child at the breast;
• the baby does not withstand the previous breaks between feedings;
• refusal of the crumbs from the breast;
• dense dry or rare stools in a child;
• lack of satisfaction of the baby after feeding;
• mother does not feel the rush of milk;
• inability to express milk after feeding.

Without a doubt, the conclusion about the shortage of milk cannot be made hastily, since the consequences - transferring the child to mixed, and later, which is quite likely, to artificial feeding - are not harmless for the crumbs. After all, breast milk is beyond competition in its nutritional, protective and many other properties.

Control weighing - the right guideline?

Pediatricians still quite often use such a not entirely successful method of assessing the sufficiency of milk received by a baby as control weighing. The essence of the method is to determine the difference in the weight of the child before and after feeding. But the control weighing has one significant drawback. The fact is that it is carried out in unusual conditions for the crumbs. So, if the baby sucked some milk, and, accordingly, the difference in its mass before and after feeding turned out to be insignificant, it is difficult to determine whether the reason for this is really reduced lactation in the mother, or the child, reacting to the unusual environment of the office, is simply less active than usual. sucking breast.

Moreover, with a free feeding regimen, it is generally difficult to objectively judge lactation by a single control weighing. After all, the baby can suck out the volume twice as much next time! Feeding on demand is just based on the choice of the baby - he decides how much milk he needs at the moment.

Support and increase lactation

In any case, it is extremely important positive attitude breastfeeding mother. To maintain milk production and increase the volume of lactation, two conditions are indispensable - frequent feedings of the baby and nightly attachment of crumbs to the chest. There is a physiological rationale for these two recommendations.

It's all about hormones

Milk production depends on many factors, but the main ones are certain levels of hormones - prolactin and oxytocin. Frequent feedings ensure their release in sufficient quantities, in this case the main principle of milk production begins to work - "how much milk is released, so much is produced." From this we conclude - if it is necessary to increase lactation, you should feed the baby at least every 3 hours, if we are talking about a baby in the first months of life. Then we can hope that the natural mechanisms for enhancing milk secretion, based on the action of hormones, will work. In the event that the baby is already applied to the breast every 3 hours, but there is not enough milk for him, you can reduce the intervals between feedings, for example, to 2.5 hours. In addition, in this case, it will be correct to satisfy any desire of the baby to be at the breast.

Night feedings - the best stimulation of lactation

Night feedings stimulate the production of prolactin, which in turn creates an increase in lactation. It has long been noted that this hormone is produced most actively at night. Hence the recommendation - to introduce additional night feeding (or start them if, for some reason, the mother did not feed the baby at night). Since the lactation crisis usually does not last long, then, most likely, such a measure will be temporary, and after an increase in the volume of milk secreted, it will be possible to return to the previous feeding regimen.

Away fatigue

Breastfeeding women are encouraged to get plenty of rest. Fatigue and associated irritability can negatively affect milk flow due to inhibition of oxytocin production. As a result, a tired mother may complain about the lack of a feeling of filling the glands at the time of feeding. It is desirable that the total duration of sleep is at least 8 hours a day. Therefore, in order to compensate for being awake during night feedings, you should try to sleep during the daytime while the baby is also resting.

Good mom food = good for baby

In addition, it is necessary during breastfeeding to carefully monitor your diet and the amount of fluid you drink. Often, due to lack of time, young mothers eat dry food or "snack on the run", which does not contribute to good lactation at all. Therefore, it is very important that the woman's menu is complete and balanced. The drinking regimen is also important - if you drink less than 1.5–2 liters per day, then a fluid deficiency can negatively affect the amount of secreted milk.

If the mother has little milk...

Despite the fact that a nursing woman knows her baby like no one else, it is still better to decide on the sufficiency of lactation together with a specialist (pediatrician or breastfeeding consultant).

lactation crises
It is appropriate to mention lactation crises, during which the amount of secreted milk decreases, the woman does not feel its rush at the time of feeding the crumbs, the impression of “empty” glands is created. Lactation crises can develop at different periods, but often the most noticeable is the decrease in lactation approximately 3 months after birth. Fortunately, for most nursing mothers, such conditions are short-lived and do not cause much concern. But there are cases of protracted (2-3 weeks each) crisis periods, when you have to temporarily resort to supplementing the child with an adapted mixture.

What to do if it is determined that the baby really receives little milk, less than he needs? Of course, the baby should not be left hungry and you need to supplement it with an adapted milk formula. If we are talking about short-term supplementary feeding of a healthy child, you can choose a breast milk substitute yourself, focusing on the age of the baby.

If a child has any diseases (for example, allergies, constipation, etc.), you should definitely contact a pediatrician who knows well the peculiarities of his health. The doctor will help you choose the milk formula for temporary supplementary feeding.

Note that the mixture cannot be considered physiological nutrition for a child, and therefore various kinds of reactions can develop in the crumbs on its introduction. This diet should, if possible, be a temporary solution to the problem of reduced lactation. The introduction of the mixture as a supplement requires careful attention to the health of the baby. You should consult a pediatrician if the baby began to spit up, he developed constipation or, conversely, more frequent stools, rashes or redness of the skin.

It is important that supplementation is only supplementary nutrition, which is always offered after breastfeeding. The best option- to supplement the baby with a spoon or from a cup, so as not to interrupt his innate reflex of breast sucking by feeding from a bottle. The sucking mechanisms in these two cases are completely different. In the first case, the child works with his tongue, squeezing milk from the areola of his mother's breast into his mouth. This process is quite difficult, which is why it is not uncommon for babies to take “breaks” during feeding to rest. When sucking on a pacifier or pacifier, the child's mimic muscles are involved (the muscles of the cheeks and lips work). This method is much easier, and there is always a risk that the baby will get used to it and will not want to “work” at the breast later.

How can a mother decide on the volume and frequency of supplementary feeding?

It depends on many factors, and primarily on the behavior of the crumbs. Perhaps a very restless and obviously hungry baby who constantly requires a breast should be offered additional food often, at least 8 times a day, i.e. after each breastfeed. The volume of milk formula can be determined empirically, focusing on the intervals between feedings. If after feeding the child is calm for the next 2.5-3 hours, and the frequency of urination exceeds 6 times a day, you should stop at the selected amount. If you have a scale at home and you can carry out control weighing, then, given the amount of sucked breast milk, you can determine the required amount of milk formula. The following formula is used for the calculation: the volume of daily feeding for a full-term healthy child aged 2 weeks to 2 months is equal to 1/5 of his body weight; at the age of 2 to 4 months - 1/6; from 4 to 6 months - 1/7 of body weight. Knowing the frequency of breastfeeding per day, you can calculate the approximate proper volume of one feeding and navigate the amount of artificial mixture needed as a supplement. For example, a baby at 7 weeks weighs 5 kg. He needs 1 liter of milk per day (since 1/5 of his body weight is 1 kg). With an 8-time feeding schedule for 1 time, he should receive 1000 ml / 8 = 125 ml. There is also general rule for children under 1 year old: during the day, the amount of their food should not exceed 1 liter.

What are the arguments most often given by the mother to explain that the baby does not have enough milk:

Mom stops feeling the rush of milk. Milk flushes (rapid and strong breast filling with milk) are observed in lactating women in the first weeks after childbirth when lactation is established. After the third week of lactation, the woman's body and milk production adapts to the needs of the child, and milk begins to arrive little by little, but constantly. Therefore, a nursing woman stops feeling hot flashes. Thus, it is important to understand that the absence of hot flashes is a normal physiological process, and not an indicator of insufficient milk production.

The baby is restless during feeding and cries. This situation often arises not because the mother has little milk, but because the baby does not eat up because it is difficult for him to get it. This is often associated with improper attachment of the baby to the breast, an uncomfortable position when feeding, an irregular shape of the mother's nipple, etc. In addition, the baby may be restless during feeding, because he is teething or tummy ache (intestinal colic).

The baby often asks for a breast and sucks for a long time. Prolonged breastfeeding cannot be attributed to indicators of milk insufficiency. Mom's breast is not only a source of nutrition for the crumbs, but also a means of comfort, emotional and psychological comfort. Therefore, once the child can be applied to the breast to eat, and the other two times - to calm down and communicate with mom.

Therefore, such subjective signs as restless sleep, restlessness or crying during wakefulness or feeding, greedy and long sucking, lack of milk when expressing the breast, lack of feeling of breast fullness, rare dense stools in the baby, are not reliable indicators of milk deficiency.

How to reliably determine that the child has enough breast milk? This can be done in two ways:

• evaluate the child's weight gain;
• evaluate the amount of urine excreted (wet diaper test).

Control weighing of the child

The method of control weighing the child before and after feeding, which was often offered to nursing mothers in the children's clinic in the past, does not give any idea about the amount of milk a mother has. The fact is that if the mother feeds the baby on demand, then the amount of sucked milk in different feedings can vary greatly.

A mother can conduct a feeding test on her own at home, but for this she needs to acquire special children's electronic scales. Next, you need to weigh the baby before and after feeding several times (at least five) a day. You need to weigh the baby without clothes (or in the same clothes) and in a freshly worn dry diaper.

In order not to get confused with the numbers, it is convenient to make a table with columns: feeding time, weight before feeding, weight after feeding, amount of sucked milk. After filling in the table, it remains to calculate the average volume of sucked milk. First you need to add up the amount of milk sucked for all feedings and divide by the number of feedings. So we find out the average amount of sucked milk per feeding. Then the average must be multiplied by the number of attachments of the baby to the chest per day.

For example, for 5 feedings, the baby sucked 40, 50, 40, 30, 60 g. When adding these indicators, we get 220 g and divide by 5. The average figure for one feeding is 44 g. If the child is applied 10 times a day, then he sucks about 440 g of milk.

Now it remains to find out if this amount of breast milk is enough for the baby?

For an approximate calculation of the daily volume of food for a child older than 10 days of life, a volumetric method is used. This method takes into account actual weight child's body. Thus, the daily amount of food for a child from 10 days - 2 months should be 1/5 of body weight; from 2–4 months - 1/6 of body weight; from 4-6 months - 1/7 of body weight (but not more than 1 liter) and from 6-12 months - 1/8-1/9 of body weight.

For example, a child is 3 months old and weighs 5 kg 200 g. To determine how much milk he should receive per day, you need 5,200: 6 = 866 (1/6 of body weight). That is, this child should suck out approximately 865 g of milk per day.

In addition, you can evaluate the weight gain per week. To do this, you need to weigh the child, and then repeat the weighing after 7 days. According to the standards of the World Health Organization, babies in the first six months should normally gain from 125 to 500 g per week, that is, from 500 g to 2 kg per month.

Wet diaper test

In order to conduct this test, the mother will have to give up for one day. disposable diapers and count the number of urinations of the baby per day.

To evaluate the results, the table will help:

From day 14, the result is assessed as follows: if there are 12 or more wet diapers - there is enough milk, 8-10 wet diapers - lactation is reduced, 6 or less - the child does not have enough milk and urgent action needs to be taken.

If, using the above methods, the mother has calculated that the baby really does not have enough breast milk, in no case should you rush and, without consulting a pediatrician, begin to supplement the baby with milk formulas. The baby will gorge on formula, less likely to ask for a breast, and this, in turn, will lead to an even greater decrease in milk production.

Why is there not enough milk?

The causes of insufficient milk production are most often associated with errors in the organization of breastfeeding:

• insufficiently frequent attachment to the chest;
• improper capture of the breast by the child;
• supplementation or bottle feeding;
• constant sucking on a pacifier between feedings.

Not enough milk: we take action

With a decrease in milk, the attitude and readiness of the mother to do everything in her power to maintain and normalize the lactation process is very important. The following tips can help her with this:

Correctly apply the baby to the chest.

For good lactation and effective sucking of the baby, it is important to properly attach the baby to the breast. If the baby suckles incorrectly, he cannot suck out enough milk, the breast is poorly emptied and the amount of milk is reduced.

For the attachment to be correct, the baby's mouth should be wide open, and his chin should touch the mother's chest. With the right grip, the baby's lower and upper lips should be turned inside out (and not pressed inward), the baby should capture not only the nipple, but also the areola - the dark area around the nipple. When sucking, the baby's cheeks inflate, not retract.

Feed on demand.

For good lactation, you need to often apply the baby to the breast. This is so-called on-demand feeding, in which the breast is offered to the baby at the first sign of his anxiety and as often as he wants. The interval between feedings should be no more than 1.5–2 hours. To maintain full lactation at first, 10-12 applications per day are needed. The more milk the baby sucks, the more it will be produced in the following days.

Care must be taken to ensure that both breasts are offered the same number of times. If you feed less from one breast than from another, then less milk will be produced in it.

The duration of feeding should be set by the child himself, that is, for each baby it will be individual, but on average at least 15-20 minutes. You should not take the breast from the baby before he releases it himself, otherwise he will not receive very valuable hind milk, rich in healthy fats and nutrients, and the breast will not receive a “request” for the production of a new portion of milk.

Be sure to feed your baby at night.

Night feedings excellent remedy to maintain lactation, since at night the production of the hormone prolactin, which stimulates lactation, is much more active than during the day. At night, it is recommended to put the baby to the breast 3-4 times, and two feedings should fall between 3 and 7 o'clock in the morning.

Establish a daily routine and rest.

An important role in the production of milk is played by the psychological factor. Accumulated fatigue, physical fatigue, stress - all this can lead to a decrease in the amount of milk, as the production of the hormone oxytocin decreases. Therefore, in order to establish lactation, a nursing mother must first of all pay attention to her regimen. It is important to organize your day in such a way that you have time for proper sleep and rest. Sleep should be at least 8-10 hours. If the baby often wakes up and asks for breasts at night, you can organize a joint dream with him. At the same time, the mother will have the opportunity to sleep more and relax, since she does not need to rise to the child. When sleeping together, another mechanism for launching milk is triggered, namely, bodily contact between mother and baby. Tactile skin-to-skin contact promotes the production of hormones needed to increase lactation. That is why, with a decrease in milk, it is recommended for a mother to carry the baby in her arms or in a sling more often, to press him to her skin.

Walking on fresh air necessary not only for the baby, but also for the mother. The lack of oxygen also has a negative effect on milk production, so it is recommended that a nursing mother spend 1.5–2 hours a day in the fresh air. Experts have proven that the mood of the mother also affects the production of breast milk. You should not constantly think about the lack of milk and worry about feeding. Anxiety and inner stiffness hold back his exit. We must try to eliminate stressful situations and remain calm. You can ask for help and support from relatives and husband who will help in caring for the baby or take on some of the household chores.

Observe the drinking regime.

For sufficient milk production, a nursing mother must comply with the drinking regimen. You need to drink enough to not feel thirsty. In this case, the amount of fluid entering the body should be at least 2–2.5 l / day. For good lactation, it is recommended to drink warm drinks 30 minutes before feeding.

Do not use a pacifier.

A pacifier is different in shape from a breast nipple, and sucking on a nipple uses different muscles than sucking on a breast. Getting used to the nipple, the baby may begin to get confused and take the mother's breast incorrectly.

Do not supplement or supplement your child.

Supplementing the baby with water creates a false feeling of fullness in the baby and reduces the need to suckle the breast. Therefore, without prior consultation with a pediatrician, this should not be done, because breast milk for a child is both drink and food.

Often, a decrease in milk can occur without any external cause. These conditions are called lactation crises and are due to the peculiarities of hormonal regulation. Most often, such crises appear on the 3rd, 7th, 12th weeks of a child's life. During these periods, the mother experiences a temporary change in the hormonal background (a decrease in the production of the hormone prolactin), which affects the production of milk. The body of a nursing woman adapts to the new needs for milk of a growing baby. Lactation crises are a temporary phenomenon, and they usually last no more than 2–3, rarely 5 days. They are easy to deal with by putting the baby to the breast more often.

If, despite the best efforts on the part of the mother, the baby is not full and is not gaining weight well, you should seek the advice of a pediatrician or breastfeeding consultant.

AT modern society there was an "ideal picture" of a nursing mother. The main attribute in it is a tight, milk-filled breast, from which at any time of the day you can express the required amount of nutrient fluid. At the same time, the child, full and contented, snores in his crib and wakes up only occasionally, only to eat milk and fall asleep again.

It is precisely because of such false stereotypes that a young mother begins to doubt whether she is capable of breastfeeding if her breasts are not particularly poured, and the baby still continues to be naughty after applying. In this article, we will dispel all myths and tell you how to understand that a child does not have enough milk and what to do about it. Helpful Hints breastfeeding specialists will help prevent the erroneous transition to artificial mixtures and preserve what is given to mom by nature.

How many times a day does a baby eat?

With the advent of the baby into the world, every mother, without exception, begins to wonder how often the child needs to be fed so that he fully develops and grows up healthy. To begin with, it should be noted that the first day after birth, the baby needs very little food to get enough. At this time, the mother produces colostrum. It is not much, but at the same time it is much more satisfying than mature milk. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to supplement your baby with formula at this time.

Approximately on the third day, milk begins to arrive and its amount increases every day. The baby begins to eat more and more often. This is where most mothers begin to think about how to understand whether the baby has enough breast milk. Pediatricians advise applying a newborn baby every 2-3 hours. Thus, he can eat up to 12 times a day. The duration of one feeding is 15-40 minutes. But all these frameworks are conditional, since each child is an individual with his own character and needs.

How to establish a baby feeding system?

The beliefs of our mothers and grandmothers that a baby should be breastfed every 3 hours and not a minute earlier are outdated. Today, lactation consultants and modern pediatricians recommend adhering to on-demand feeding. Its essence lies in the fact that any mother is able to provide her child with milk. And this does not depend on the size of the breast or the age of the woman.

The volume of milk produced by the mammary glands depends on two main factors:

1. application frequency. According to lactation consultants, the amount of milk required for feedings is determined at the stage of lactation. And the child claims it directly. The more often the baby will be applied to the breast, the more milk will arrive at the next feeding. If you stick to the regimen and offer the baby a breast only every 3 hours, then initially there will be less milk than the baby needs. With this mode, lactation usually ends after 2-4 months.
2. duration of feeding. At first glance, it may seem that the baby is just sleeping and using the breast as a pacifier. In fact, prolonged sucking stimulates lactation. Therefore, applying both 50 minutes and 2 hours are the norm for breastfeeding.

Moms who adhere to the “on demand” methodology do not suffer from how to understand whether the baby is getting enough milk. It will always be present in the chest in the volume that is necessary for him and which he approved on his own.

How do you know if your baby is getting enough breast milk?

Breastfeeding consultants advise mothers not to try to determine the amount of nutrient fluid they have in their breasts, but to monitor the condition and development of their baby. And you can understand whether a newborn baby has enough milk by the following signs:

• application frequency;
• duration of feeding;
• normal weight gain;
• healthy appearance and sleep;
• swallowing reflex.

A newborn baby can ask to breast up to 25 times a day. This regimen can last up to three months of age. But the baby should not just lie at the breast and suck it, but take sips. At the beginning of feeding, they will be more frequent, since the first milk is received by the baby. Then the throats become less frequent, but the baby begins to suck with diligence, as it produces thicker and more nutritious back milk.

Not every mother has a scale on hand to determine how much weight a baby is gaining while breastfeeding. Of course, this can be done in a children's clinic, but once again there is no need to visit the hospital with a newborn baby in your arms. To understand that the baby does not have enough milk, both in the first days of his life, and in 1 month, the wet diaper test will help. What is it?

The essence of the test is that for 24 hours, the mother needs to completely abandon disposable diapers, and use only ordinary cotton diapers. At the end of the day, you need to count how many times the child peed. He must do this at least 12 times within 24 hours. This result indicates that the baby has enough mother's milk.

If the number of wet diapers is less than 10, a woman is advised to contact consultants who will help increase the volume. necessary for the child breast milk.

Counting the number of soiled diapers

The following method will make it possible to understand that the child does not have enough milk at 1 month. As a method for determining sufficient nutrition at an older age, it is not suitable.

The method is based on the fact that a breastfed newborn should defecate at least 2-3 times a day. At 5-6 weeks of a child's life, his stool becomes less frequent. At this time, the baby can defecate both 1 time per day and 1 time in 5 days, which is the norm for breastfeeding.

False signs of insufficient lactation

When breastfeeding, there are situations when a young nursing mother begins to think that the baby does not have enough milk. How to understand whether lactation is really insufficient, she still does not know. In addition, the following false signs can set a woman on:

1. No feeling of fullness in the chest. By about the 6th week of a baby's life, the mother stops feeling hot flashes. She may feel like her chest is empty. In fact, by this time, breastfeeding “on demand” is just being established, when milk arrives exactly as much as the child needs to eat.
2. Reducing the number of soiled diapers. If a newborn baby defecates up to 6 times a day, then as they grow older, the number of bowel movements decreases. This is due to the physiological processes in the body and if the child feels normal, there should be no cause for concern.
3. Increasing the baby's appetite. Suddenly, the baby begins to demand the breast more often and does not let go for longer. This behavior is explained by growth spurts. If the principles of the “on demand” feeding methodology are followed, the volume of milk produced will increase within a few days and cover the needs of a growing body.

Control weighing

Many mothers are wondering how to tell if a baby is not getting enough milk at 5 months when wet diaper tests and soiled diaper counts are no longer informative. At this age, the pediatrician may recommend control weighing. It is carried out, as a rule, in a children's clinic, but if desired, it can be done at home.

The essence of the method is that the baby is weighed before feeding and immediately after it to determine the amount of milk eaten. If, for some reason, the child eats less than it should be, then the pediatrician will definitely make a disappointing conclusion and recommend feeding the baby with a mixture.

In fact, control weighing during breastfeeding is useless. With each application, the baby can suck out a different amount of milk, but in the end, in a day it turns out that he ate more than it should be according to the norms.

Modern norms of weight gain

It is not currently an objective way to determine that a child does not have enough milk while breastfeeding. To understand how to feed the baby further, the norms of weight gain and growth will help.

According to the World Health Organization, a breastfed baby can gain 125-500 g per week or 0.5-2 kg per month. However, it is not recommended to weigh it more often than once every 7 days. Weight gain in young children occurs in jumps. Today, the baby may not gain anything, and tomorrow he will recover by a third of the established norm. It is recommended to weigh the child at the same time, for example, in the morning, and preferably in approximately the same clothes.

Is it possible to count the amount of milk in the breast?

Almost every mother is discharged from the hospital home with tight breasts. During this period, lactation is so strong that she does not even have to think about whether the baby has enough breast milk. How to understand how much nutrient fluid arrives before each feeding?

The older generation of women in the family may be advised to express milk into a bottle in order to calculate its volume and check with the norms, which, by the way, are developed for artificially fed children. In fact, there is absolutely no need to do this. Breastfed milk is produced according to the needs of the baby. Its volume at different hours of the day may be different. The main thing is not the amount of nutrition produced by the mammary gland, but its quality and good weight gain.

How to understand that the child does not have enough breast milk?

The first thing that should worry a mother if she suspects insufficient lactation is the baby's anxiety and weak weight gain. But there are other clear signs of how to understand that the baby does not have enough milk at 3 months, as well as earlier and late age. They are as follows:

• severe underweight - less than 500 g per month for newborns and 300 g for three-month-old babies and older;
• nervousness of the child after breastfeeding - the baby does not have enough milk and he starts to cry;
• wet diaper test - informative only in relation to children who are not yet 5 weeks old;
• deterioration in the baby's well-being, lethargy, pale skin color - indicate dehydration.

If one of the above symptoms is detected, the mother should immediately contact a lactation consultant and try to increase lactation. It is worth warning that the last sign is especially dangerous, as it may indicate more serious health problems for the crumbs.

Actions for low lactation in a woman

If a mother finds that her baby is not getting enough breast milk (how to understand that this is really the case, it was described above), lactation consultants may recommend the following to her:

• feed more often - reduce the intervals between feedings to a minimum so that the baby is almost constantly at the breast;
• offer both breasts at one feeding;
• do not stop feeding until the baby stops sucking;
• make sure that the attachments to the chest are correct - the child should wrap his lips around the areola, and not just the nipple;
• full rest in every free minute;
• balanced and high-calorie diet rich in protein;
• sufficient fluid intake;
• a complete rejection of pacifiers and bottles - they are contraindicated in children with insufficient weight gain.

What is useful for a nursing mother to know?

Even adhering to the “on demand” feeding methodology, a woman may face a lack of milk. With breastfeeding, such periods do occur systematically. These are lactation crises. They arise as a result of sharp jumps in the growth of the baby. In a lactation crisis, it is possible to understand that the child does not have enough milk, as in the cases described above, by the restless behavior of the crumbs and insufficient weight gain. Their duration is approximately one week. During this time, mother's breasts have time to rebuild and all signs of a crisis disappear.

How to keep breastfeeding?

The main obstacle to normal lactation is constant fears and doubts expectant mother about the quantity and quality of breast milk. You should not offer the crumbs a bottle of formula every time he is naughty after feeding, if he is gaining weight normally. You need to understand when there is a real problem and how to deal with the situation in time.

And finally, it should be recalled that no artificial mixture will be more nutritious and valuable for the baby than breast milk.