Learn some helpful tips and products you can try to increase your breast milk supply.
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Got Milk?
If you’re struggling with your milk supply like I was then you’ve come to the right place! I was always so jealous of all the moms out there who seemed to be milk making machines with milk literally streaming from their breasts. These were the moms that could easily create a huge freezer stash of breast milk to feed their baby for a whole year if they wanted to! They just made it look too easy!
But it wasn’t so easy for me. My milk took a little while to come in and when it did, it wasn’t very much. I had issues with breastfeeding and since my baby girl was so small, we had to supplement with formula. I decided to start pumping but started a bit late and I wasn’t consistent enough so my supply was very low. Sound familiar?
Increasing My Supply
I really wanted to give my daughter breast milk so I set out on a mission to become one of those milk-making machine moms that I was so jealous of. I started looking researching online all sorts of solutions to increase my supply – some worked and some didn’t. I think every mom’s body reacts differently to different things so just because something may not have worked for me, that doesn’t mean it won’t work for you!
So, did I accomplish my mission? Well I was never able to increase my supply to the point where I could create a huge stash of breast milk. But I was able to triple my supply to where I could keep my daughter fed well throughout the day AND even start a small freezer stash. That was good enough for me!
I’ve compiled a list for you of different products that you can try to increase your milk supply as well as some helpful tips and pumping strategies. I’ve outlined which ones I’ve tried and which products really worked for me in hopes that it will help other moms as well.
Why Am I Not Producing Enough Milk for My Baby?
Low milk supply can happen for a number of reasons:
- Waiting too long to start breastfeeding or pumping
- Not breastfeeding often enough
- Supplementing with formula
- Certain medications
- Baby is born premature
- Preeclampsia or high blood pressure during pregnancy
- Insulin dependent gestational diabetes
- Advanced maternal age
- Use of alcohol and cigarettes
How Do I Increase My Milk Supply?
Feed Your Baby on Demand
- Feed your baby as often as they want to be fed. This will send signals to your body to produce more milk.
- Make sure to not skip any breastfeeding sessions. If you’re supplementing with formula or giving a bottle of breastmilk, be sure to pump right after your baby is done eating. If you start skipping feeding/pumping sessions, you’re sending signals to your body that you don’t need any more milk.
Breastfeed as Soon as Possible
- Even if your milk hasn’t come in yet, your body is still producing colostrum which is sufficient to feed baby in the first couple days after birth.
- Start breastfeeding or pumping as soon as you’re able to at the hospital. Baby should feed almost immediately.
- If baby isn’t latching, you can hand express some colostrum to feed to baby with a syringe.
Pump Often
- If you’re exclusively pumping, you need to pump as soon as possible at the hospital. The hospital has breast pumps that you can use.
- Pump often and don’t skip any pumping sessions. You should be pumping every 2-3 hrs for 10-15 minutes every time.
- If you’re breastfeeding as well as pumping, you can pump after baby feeds. If you choose to give baby a bottle instead of breastfeeding, you need to pump afterwards. This tells your body that you still need to keep producing milk every 2-3 hours.
Eat a Healthy, Well-Balanced Diet
One of the most important things you could do while breastfeeding or pumping is to eat a full well-balanced healthy diet full of healthy fats, carbs and lots of protein and veggies. This is NOT the time to be dieting!! In fact, breastfeeding moms actually need about 500 calories more than moms who aren’t breastfeeding at all. Think about it, your body is producing food for your baby, which means that its taking nutrients away from you! You need to ensure that you are providing your body and your baby with as many nutrients as possible! Which means whole foods and as little sugar and processed food as possible.
Stay Hydrated
This is probably the MOST important thing you can do while breastfeeding! You NEED to stay hydrated! Your body is producing liquid food for your baby – which means that it needs water. You should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water each day. One thing you can do is before breastfeeding or pumping, drink a whole glass of water. Also be sure to keep a water bottle handy while breastfeeding because you will definitely get thirsty!
Power Pumping
Power pumping is a technique for moms that exclusively pump to help simulate a baby cluster feeding. Basically, you’re tricking your body into producing more milk, especially in the evening. You will definitely need to set aside an hour each day to do this.
How to Power Pump:
- Pump for 20 minutes
- Rest for 10 minutes
- Pump for another 10 minutes
- Rest for another 10 minutes
- Pump one last time for 10 minutes
After the power pumping session you can wait another 2 hours before pumping again. I found that this technique REALLY helped me increase my supply after my supply had gone down. It is very time consuming but it’s the most effective technique to force your body to produce more milk
Reduce Stress
Stress has been shown to dramatically decrease breast milk supply. Although it’s easier said than done, try your best to relax while pumping or breastfeeding. If you’re pumping, try not to focus on the amount of milk your pumping (don’t even look at it) and just distract yourself by reading a good book, binging on some netflix or scrolling on your phone. If you focus too much on how much (or how little) milk you’re pumping, you will likely see a dip in how much milk you’re able to get. I definitely have noticed that when I was stressed out or focused too much on my milk supply, I actually pumped less milk than when I distracted myself on my phone. If you’re stressed out by something in your life, try taking a walk or do some breathing exercises before trying to pump.
Best Products to Increase Your Milk Supply
Fenugreek
If you were to try any one supplement to increase your milk supply, I would recommend trying Fenugreek capsules. They are very effective for many women and are easy to take. All you basically do is take 2 capsules in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 at night.
As an amazing potential side effect, fenugreek has also been known to help control blood sugar levels. If you suffered with gestational diabetes during pregnancy like I did, you know that the risks for developing type 2 increase for you after pregnancy are much higher. Though there haven’t been too many studies done on the use of fenugreek for diabetes, it definitely doesn’t hurt to give it a try – especially since there aren’t really many negative side effects. Some women do experience some gassiness and sometimes baby can be gassy too so if you do experience this or notice that your baby gets gassy it may be best to discontinue use. Other potential benefits are that it can help with pain during menstruation and it can also help support good liver health.
Fenugreek is one of the supplements that I swear by as it helped me almost double my milk output (as long as I pumped every 2 hours). However, every woman is different so results may vary. Give it a try and if it doesn’t increase your milk supply after a few days, you can discontinue use.
Mother’s Milk Tea
Mother’s Milk Tea is an easy-to-find organic caffeine-free lactation tea. It’s a special blend of herbs used as a galactagogue to help promote lactation in breastfeeding women. You should drink about 3-5 cups a day for maximum effectiveness. I actually like the taste of this tea, it has a bit of a licorice taste to it that I find tastes pretty good on its own but if you don’t find it sweet enough you can sweeten it with honey or sugar.
Each tea bag contains:
- organic bitter fennel fruit (560mg)
- organic anise fruit (350mg)
- fenugreek seed (35mg)
- organic blessed thistle herb (35mg)
Blessed Thistle (Milk Thistle)
Blessed Thistle is another herbal supplement that may help increase milk supply. Though there haven’t really been any studies to show the effectiveness of blessed thistle, it has been shown to increase the milk production of dairy cows and has been used by breastfeeding women in India and Europe for hundreds of years. It’s actually very similar to fenugreek in that it is a galactogogue that also helps lower your blood sugar and may help with liver issues. You should take 2-3 capsules 3 times a day for maximum effectiveness. Many women take this supplement along with Fenugreek and report very good results with it. Definitely worth a try!
Other health benefits of blessed thistle:
- It can help the body repair liver cells and to detoxify the liver
- It may help prevent liver damage caused by certain poisons
- It can help people that have jaundice or hepatitis
- It may help lower blood sugar levels for people with Type 2 Diabetes
- It can lower high cholesterol levels
- It may help reduce the risk of certain types of cancers due to its antioxidant and anticancer properties
Motherlove More Milk Two
Motherlove More Milk Two is an herbal supplement that does NOT contain fenugreek so it might be a good choice for women that don’t respond to fenugreek or have gassiness issues when taking it. It is safe to use during pregnancy as well as afterwards. It’s a special blend of raspberry leaf, nettle herb and alfalfa herb. A lot of women report amazing results with this. It’s one that I haven’t tried but if you have an intolerance to fenugreek, it might work well for you.
Pink Stork True Milk: Lactation and Breastfeeding Support
Pink Stork True Milk is a 100% organic herbal blend of Fenugreek, Anise, Blessed Thistle, Fennel and Goat’s Rue (all herbs known to increase milk supply). It comes in a capsule form that you take twice daily. It claims to not only increase your milk supply but also enrich the milk that you are feeding your baby. It also claims to help reduce baby’s gassiness so if you are having issues with your baby having gas while using Fenugreek on it’s on, these Pink Stork capsules may work well for you. You should see results within a few days.
Majka Lactation Booster Powder
Majka Lactation Booster Powder is perfect if you love having smoothies as it can easily be added into any beverage similarly to a protein powder. The supplement is a blend of turmeric, shatavari, caraway, MCT oil, flax seed, and milk thistle, which are all known to be safe and to help increase milk supply. Some women really love the taste of this powder so it may be one to try!
Ultima Electrolyte Powder
I’ve heard of many women recommend drinking gatorade to help increase milk supply as it increases your body’s electrolytes, which is important since you get dehydrated when breastfeeding. However, the issue with gatorade is that it’s LOADED with sugar!! A better alternative is to add a sugar-free electrolyte powder to some of your water to help replenish those electrolytes. The one that I recommend and use is the Ultima Replenisher. It contains 0g of sugar but still has a pleasant grape taste (which is awesome if you don’t normally like the taste of water). It’s also carb free, gluten free and calorie free so it helps with post-pregnancy weight loss too! I like to take this just before pumping or breastfeeding. It seems to have really helped my supply and I don’t feel thirsty or parched while pumping.
Oatmeal
Many moms SWEAR by eating oatmeal to increase their supply! Oatmeal is very high in iron. Low iron has been shown to decrease milk supply. Many women suffer from low iron levels so if you tend to have lower than normal iron levels, oatmeal might be all you need to increase your supply! Oatmeal is also a comfort food for many women and being relaxed can really help boost your supply. It’s suggested to eat 1 bowl of oatmeal every day. I Anything with oats will actually work and since I am not a fan of oatmeal at all, I opt for either buying or making delicious oat-based lactation cookies instead! So delicious!
Milkmakers Lactation Cookie Bites
Milkmakers Lactation Cookie Bites are a delicious way to increase your supply! These contain oats, brewer’s yeast and flaxseed which are high in iron and have been shown to help increase milk production in some women (particularly women with low iron levels). Being a big chocolate lover, I LOVED these and they come in handy little bags that you can just throw into your purse and eat on the go! For a cheaper alternative, you can make your own cookies. You can get a FREE printable recipe below!
Common Questions/FAQs About How to Increase Breast Milk Supply
- How do I know if I’m producing enough milk?
- Your baby appears settled and content in between feeds
- Your breasts feel softer and less full after feeds
- Your baby is alert when awake and wakes regularly to feed.
- Your baby produces at least 5-6 wet diapers every day (after 5 days old)
- After day 5, your baby’s poos are a mustard yellow color and baby poops 1-2 times every 24 hours
- Baby’s skin ir a normal, healthy color
- Baby is gaining weight at a normal pace (if baby loses more than 10% of its birth weight, see your doctor immediately)
- How much breast milk should I be producing?
- On average, a mother that is exclusively breastfeeding should be able to pump about half a feed (1.5 – 2 oz) in between feedings.
- What foods help increase milk supply?
- Oatmeal, rolled oats, spinach, flax seed, brewer’s yeast, garlic, apricots, fenugreek, healthy lean protein and healthy fats (nuts)
- How long does it take to increase milk supply?
- In most cases, it takes a few days to a few weeks to notice the improvement in your supply after implementing a new food or supplement
The Last Thing You Need to Know to Increase Breast Milk Supply
- The key thing to remember is: to tell your body to keep producing milk, you need to empty your breasts fully and frequently. This means breastfeeding and/or pumping every two hours (even throughout the night). If you start skipping pumping sessions throughout the night, you are basically telling your body that it shouldn’t produce more milk and you will likely notice a drop in your supply.
- Also keep in mind that a healthy diet and hydration is probably the most important thing for your supply and for the quality of milk that you are producing for your baby. Your milk should be full of nutrients and healthy fats in order to provide maximum benefits to your baby. Try to avoid drinking too much caffeine and avoid alcohol as much as possible while breastfeeding.
What did YOU do to increase your milk supply? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below to help other mommas out!
