How to increase lactation during breastfeeding

Every mother worries about her child - is the baby fed up, is there enough milk for him? This is especially true in the first six months of life, because the baby does not receive any other nutrition, moreover, he cannot talk about his discomfort and starvation. Breast milk is the best nutrition for a baby of the first year of life. Breastfeeding - these are antibodies that create the immunity of a child against a huge number of diseases. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of breast milk, which is why many women try by all means to feed a baby at least up to a year. But this is not always simple and one desire is not enough. Breastfeeding is a real science, having mastered that, you can increase the amount of food for the baby.

How to organize breastfeeding so that there is a lot of milk

Proper organization of breastfeeding is half the battle. After all, nature has provided for everything - if everything is done intuitively, with love and awe for the child, there will be a lot of milk. It is difficult to organize proper feeding on your own, especially if the baby is the first and the woman has never personally witnessed how the baby is fed. A pediatrician, a breastfeeding consultant, or just an experienced mother who has gone this difficult way can help in this matter. It is desirable that the woman had a baby, and she was able to show an example of the correct capture, etc. Here are a few rules for good lactation.

1. Feeding on demand. The hormone prolactin, which is produced only when the baby is sucking, is responsible for breast milk. That is, the more the baby sucks the breast, the more milk is produced. If the breast is sucked twice as much (in the case of twins), then the mother will certainly have enough milk for both children. Therefore, you need to give the child the opportunity to suck for as long and often as he wants it. Do not limit feeding hours or other frames. As soon as the baby is capricious or begins to search for the breast, give it to him. Especially this rule should be followed in the first couple of weeks after birth, when feeding is just getting better.
2. Calm Another hormone that is involved in milk production is oxytocin. He is not responsible for the development itself, but for the delivery of the product to the child. That is, when the baby begins to suckle, oxytocin helps him in this, moving the milk along the ducts. The production of this hormone is affected by the psychological state of the mother. Fright, stress, depression, nervous shocks, feelings - all this can significantly reduce the level of this hormone. As a result, the baby will suckle, but milk will not be delivered to it, since there is no oxytocin. People say that after such situations, "milk is gone." You need to carefully consider your feelings and not worry about nothing.
3. Morning feedings. Doctors have long proven that the bulk of prolactin is produced in the early morning hours. Therefore, it is very important to give the baby a breast at this time as often as possible. The concentration of prolactin production is observed from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. If you put the baby to the chest at this time, the amount of milk will increase. In order not to disturb the night's sleep, take the child to you. This is another important condition for good lactation. The child should be applied to the chest at night as many times as he wants. Mom, having learned to feed the baby while lying down, will not even really wake up - she will offer breasts at half-asleep, and rest herself. After all, mother’s sleep and good mood are also important.
4. The correct grip. Correct capture of a breast is an effective exhaustion of milk.And if a lot of milk is drained, then the tide will be plentiful. With improper grip, the child stimulates only the nipple, it is drained a little, the child is starving, prolactin is not produced. To fix this, track how the baby is applied to the chest. It is very important that the entire areola of the nipple is located in the baby's mouth. In this case, the nipple will be in the middle of the tongue, and all milk ducts will be stimulated. So sucking milk is easier.
5. Bodily contact. The amount of oxytocin increases with close bodily contact with the child. That is why, after childbirth, the baby is applied to the mother’s naked body. Skin-to-skin contact provides a powerful boost to milk production. Try to feed your baby in a T-shirt and shorts to get in touch with the baby's belly and bare hips.

These simple but natural rules will help you breastfeed and increase milk. But what can prevent good lactation? Let's try to figure it out.

Enemies of Good Lactation

Many mothers sometimes worry that milk becomes less and the child stops eating. This can be judged by a small increase in weight, insufficient urination. If a child writes less than 6 times a day, he has dehydration. In addition, normal urine should be light, almost colorless. If it is dark yellow, the baby is not enough milk.

What could be the enemy of good lactation? First of all, it's a dummy. The dummy has a different shape than the physiological nipple. Constantly holding a dummy in his mouth, the baby learns how to grab the chest properly. That is, after a dummy it is more and more difficult for him to suck the right amount of milk each time. In addition, satisfying the need for sucking, the baby holds a nipple in his mouth, not stimulating the breast and not producing prolactin. The body thinks that the need for milk has subsided and reduces its quantity.

It is very important not to give your child extra water. If the baby drank 50 ml of water, then he didn’t receive 50 ml of milk. Not only does the baby lose in nutrition, so the next time the breast will develop 50 ml less milk (figuratively speaking). Adding baby to water, you reduce its sucking activity. It is only necessary to finish up the baby in extreme cases - in case of poisoning, for washing out toxic substances from the body, and during dehydration.

Another enemy of good lactation is supplementation. Many mothers, believing that their baby is starving, rush to the store for the mixture. This is fundamentally wrong. If you begin to give the baby supplementary nutrition, this is fraught with a complete rejection of the breast. That is, the baby understands that a bottle with a large opening is much easier to suck than my mother’s breast. The next time he simply turns away from the chest, sucking her a little, and begins to demand a bottle of crying. If you are still hoping to bring back breastfeeding, this can well be done.

Nesting method

If you notice that there is little milk, the baby stopped eating, often cries and pisses a little, do not rush to switch to artificial feeding. You can try the nesting method. In this case, it is necessary to increase milk production by continuously staying near the child. It is necessary to give him breasts as often as possible, to establish bodily contact, to feed a lot and often, especially in the morning hours. Do not worry that the chest will become soft and loose - this is normal. The method is called nesting, because all the time you have to be near the child. For this period, you will need an assistant for household chores. This method will help you restore breastfeeding, as well as overcome the lactation crisis. It happens when the baby has a sharp jump in growth, the child needs more milk, and the amount of prolactin does not keep up with the increased needs.

How to increase the amount of milk

In addition to this basic knowledge, it is very important to fulfill some more conditions that are necessary for good lactation.

1. Good food. Mom should not eat for two, according to grandmothers. Otherwise, she will later complain of a bad figure and small things in the wardrobe. The amount of food does not affect the amount of milk, but the quality of this food is really very important. That is, no matter how much you eat, it matters what you eat. Food should be varied - cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, fish. It is very important that the food has a high nutritional value - with a lot of vitamins and minerals. Eat nuts and honey, apples and bananas, boiled meat and natural oils so that the milk is hearty and rich in vitamins. However, remember, a new product should be eaten a little bit to make sure that the child does not have an allergic reaction and colic.
2. Adequate drink. Where does milk come from if a woman does not consume enough fluid? But usually this happens involuntarily - the mother herself feels thirst and drinks a lot. At least two liters of water should be drunk per day. And not just water, but also liquid soups, tea, compote. The liquid must be warm - it causes hot flashes of milk.
3. "Artificial" increase in the amount of breast milk. This includes a variety of teas to increase lactation. They contain decoctions of herbs such as caraway seeds, lemon balm, chamomile, dandelion, verbena, fenugreek, clover. You can prepare decoctions yourself or buy ready-made fees at the pharmacy. However, many doctors agree that these teas are useless. A placebo is triggered here, that is, the woman is satisfied that she solved the problem by buying tea. She calms down, her mood improves, which means the hormone oxytocin returns to normal and there is more milk. This is due to the "effect" of such drinks. Drink any herbs fees carefully, they can affect the body - both maternal and child.

This basic knowledge will help you survive this difficult period and increase the amount of milk in a natural way.

“Do I have enough milk?” - This question is asked by almost every woman at least once during the entire breastfeeding period. Doctors say that only 3% of these women cannot feed their baby for objective reasons. In other cases, the establishment of breastfeeding is quite capable of solving the problem.

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