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Low milk supply, when is it time to throw in the towel?
After having a difficult pregnancy, 38 hours of labor and a c-section I have experienced the added insult to injury of not having enough milk. The doctor says it may be because my body went through so much. My daughter is 2 1/2 months old and I am back at work pumping my sad little amounts (which I hide in the mommy fridge at work so the other Mommies can’t see it’s sad amount) and supplementing formula. I do all the things I have read about, take fenugreek until I reek of maple syrup and I still make only about 10-12 oz a day tops. I feel like a terrible mother thinking about giving it up but with supply so low it is discouraging. Any thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Bills on -
Everyone's support has been wonderful, THANK YOU! I had always heard endlessly about those women who produce enough for 4 babies (like my sister-in-law with my nephew who is 7 weeks older than my daughter), it is wonderful to hear from other people like me. There is a whole list of ideas from you all that I am definately going to try and at this point I have dug in for the long haul with my blended system. I am still waiting for the domperidone to come in the mail and I have an appointment with my doctor for blood tests to see if it is caused by a hormone imbalance. Everyone's encouragement has been wonderful, thank you all :)
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Permalink Reply by Amanda, Our365Host on -
I used domperidone for 6 months (after taking Reglan for 3 months after getting my cycle back at almost 3 months postpartum on the dot) with my youngest, and wish I had taken it when I had supply problems with my older son. It worked amazingly well for me. I hope you have similar results. Good luck with the blood work, and let us know what you find out. Hugs!
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Permalink Reply by Joanne Vogt on -
no joke, drink a beer. i forget which ingredient but there's something in beer that makes your milk come in and trust me it works.
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Permalink Reply by owen's mommy on -
I've used Mother's Milk Tea as well as some Chinese herbs that I got from my acupuncturist and I find that both help immensely. The tea is found at most grocery stores (at least here in Austin, TX), as well as Whole Foods and other health food stores. My baby is 5 months old and I've really been enjoying breastfeeding, so I don't want to have to stop just yet. I agree with the others in that any amount of breastmilk is better than none. Good luck :)
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Permalink Reply by April White-Gallego on
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Don't quit! I suffered from mastitis 3 times in 2 months, so my milk supply got really low, and I was desperate for a solution. I tried everything, too, but nothing worked until I tried Mother's Milk tea, by Traditional Medicinals. It's like chamomile tea, so it doesn't taste bad, and it doesn't have caffeine so the baby will be fine with it, too. They said to drink a few cups before you will notice a difference. But for me, it was literally less than an hour or two after the first cup that I felt really full, so I tried pumping, and I got about 8 ounces in less than half an hour. It was our miracle! You can find it in health food stores. Try it! Hope it works for you! Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by eliza rojas on -
you know when i told my aunt that i didnt have a lot of milk she gave me a beer but she boiled first and after i drink the beer she put a hot towell on my back... that night i started to have a lot of milk coming out of my breast it really work i think that you should try it ....but just one
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Permalink Reply by Ami on
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I have breastfeeding issues as well. I have breastfed my 4 month old since birth. We had to start supplementing him at 2 weeks because he wasn't gaining weight. So one or two feedings a day he got formula and I pumped. I don't get very much when I pump either. When I pump after 2 hours, I only get 1-2 ounces from each breast. Fenugreek did not work for me and I refuse to take reglan or domperidone as medications are labled as safe but DO pass through to baby in your breast milk...it wasn't worth the risks to me. I strictly nurse my son. I am a law student and do not have time to nurse him and then pump afterwards! I have many other things I have to do during the day and cannot devote an hour to feedings every 3 hours! I also work part time in the local emergency room. I work two twelve hour shifts...one day shift and one night shift. There are many times I am not able to pump the whole day at work because I am slammed with critical patients...we only have one doc, one rn and one tech! So I contribute that to part of the problem as well. However, he gets formula when I am away at work and I breastfeed him for all feedings when I am home. He sleeps through the night, so working the night shift I don't have to pump...yay! lol But working that day shift sure can be a killer if I can't pump. Engorgement is horrible!!!! Technically....my body produces enough for him...he just has to eat more often. So instead of eating 4 ounces every four hours...he may eat every 2 hours or 3 hours. I breastfeed on demand...so when he is hungry, I offer the breast first...then burp and offer the second breast...then burp and if he is still hungry offer the first breast again, if he unlatches right away then I know he is not getting anything and I offer the second breast. If he unlatches from that one right away too...then I make him a supplemental bottle.
No biggie. I'd much rather do it that way then take medication that's not FDA approved...especially bc it passes through the breastmilk. I don't even like taking a tylenol! LOL
Hang in there!!!! You'll do fine!!! Keep pumping and breastfeed your baby as much as possible! :)
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Permalink Reply by Mili Modi on
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I would suggest not to give up. I also had problem with low supply but I use to religiously pump and collect the milk until it was sufficient for one feeding and then feed the baby. Make sure you pump on regular intervals(Every 2 to 3 hours is ideal), take fenugreek and mother's milk tea, drink plenty of water and most importantly be relaxed when you pump. This should help. It helped me bring the supply up. My LC said that we can take up to four fenugreek capsules three times a day. There are also some prescribed medication for brining up the supply. You may want to ask your obgyn.
Keep up the good work.
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Permalink Reply by Jill on -
Hi Sarah, I know just how you feel. Whenever I pump, I am lucky to get two ounces...collectively. Pathetic is the word that came to my mind every time I tried. Thankfully, my baby took to the supplement and the bottle with ease and seemingly no issues. I considered stopping, so I talked to my doctor to get his take on it. These were his very words..."It is up to you. Do not put unnecessary pressure on yourself. While breastfeeding offers many benefits, it will not hurt the baby if you stop breastfeeding. If your child is going to go to Harvard, she will go whether you breastfeed her or not." He said this jokingly, but it helped put things in perspective for me. In my opinion, any breast milk is better than no breast milk, so I am continuing. I nurse her first at every feeding, then supplement her until she is full. While I know there are a lot of people out there who are judgmental when it comes to breastfeeding, every one's body is different. If you cannot nurse, you are no less of a mother than anyone else. All you can do is the best you can do and love your baby. Be proud of that!
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Permalink Reply by deb barnhart on -
I would encourage you not to give up. If mom's in 3rd world countries can do this we can too! My milk flow really started coming in after I started taking brewer's yeast (tablet form is easier to take). That being said you can find brewer's yeast in beer, mostly imports nowadays, it was suggested to me to try a beer. You don't want to get drunk of course, but a bit to get the milk flowing isn't going to hurt the baby.
Once my baby and I got breastfeeding down we were both very happy with our feeding time, it makes things easier and my diaper bag is a lot lighter. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Tasha Thorn on -
I had the same problen only you made more than I did in a day. I tried for nine months untill I ran out of things to try. I did get a prescrition from my doctor. It helped a bit but the side effects were to much for my body. I was taking 35 pills a day to increase my milk supply. Looking back I would not change a thing. If you want to breastfeed try everything just know if nothing changes there is a point you have to stop.
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