You have come to the right place if you are having breastfeeding problems. Every lactation consultant in town knew me when I gave birth to my children, because I experienced many different types of problems over the course of nursing my children. Read more »
If you have not already read a previous post on recognizing the signs and symptoms of mastitis, you may want to do so first, and then return here.
It is very rare that a woman cannot nurse her child due due to a low milk supply. However, there are times when your milk supply does indeed need to be increased, and there are ways to increase breast milk supply. However, the intent of this post is not on how to increase your supply, but on first understanding what does cause a low supply of breast milk. For ways on increasing your milk supply, please see the next post.
If you are looking for a way to increase your milk supply, you have no doubt come across the term, “fenugreek breastfeeding.” So what exactly is this? Fenugreek is an herb that is used in maple flavorings, but it can also be used to increase milk supply. It has been known to increase breast milk supply within about two days, and sometimes in as few as twenty-four hours! It can be consumed in capsule form or as tea. It is stronger and acts more quickly when used in the capsule form. You’ll find it growing in places like France, Argentina, and the Mediterranean, to name a few. No one knows exactly how it works, but it has a long history of aiding breastfeeding mothers who need to increase their milk supply. Because of this, it is known as a “galactogogue,” a substance that is used to increase milk supply in moms.
In other posts, I have discussed mastitis, what it is, recognizing the signs and symptoms, and what you can do for mastitis.
If you have not yet read Breastfeeding Engorgement – Part 1, you may want to do that first. Last time, I gave some information on what engorgement is and gave you a few ideas on how you can deal with this uncomfortable feeling of fullness in your breasts. Today, I want to give you a few more ideas on how you can deal with engorgement. Read more »
Today, I’m going to be discussing one way to increase breast milk supply. It is called the Supplemental Nursing System, or SNS, for short. I have personal experience with using this. When my baby was four months old, he became uncharacteristically fussy at the breast for early evening feedings. Looking back, I’m quite sure that it was caused by a supply and demand issue, whereby the early evening feedings had become shorter or less frequent, and so my milk supply went down during that specific time of the day. My lactation consultant suggested that I use the SNS.
When you hear the work mastitis, it likely conjures up terrible things in your mind. Although it is not comfortable, it does not mean that you will have to quit nursing your baby. Quite the contrary! However, it is important for you to understand what it is, and how to recognize the signs and symptoms so that you can get better.
Breastfeeding engorgement is something that most nursing mothers will experience. You’ll notice that as the colostrum changes to mature breastmilk, that your breasts will feel warmer, fuller, and firmer. Some of this full feeling is due to increased lymph and blood flow, but some of it is also the increased milk flow. You may recognize it by taut, hard breasts. It is important to deal with the engorgement to prevent it from causing plugged ducts and a possible breast infection (mastitis). As well, when you are engorged, it will be harder to latch your baby onto the breast. The following will give you some ideas on how to deal with the breastfeeding engorgement that you are experiencing. Read more »
In another post on this blog, I discussed some of the various causes of low breast milk supply. You may want to read that post first, and then return here. What is interesting is that low supply can happen early on or even several months after you seem to have everything established. Just remember that this is something that takes a bit of patience, but with consistent effort, you should be able to increase your milk supply.
