Any doctor will say that for a child, natural feeding is much more beneficial than artificial. Therefore, many mothers are interested in how to increase breast milk. Some of them, worrying that their baby does not eat up and may remain hungry, practice feeding with a bottle mixture. But in fact, all of this can be avoided: it is enough to do a control weighing to find out if the child is gaining weight according to his age. If everything is normal, then there can be no question of any starvation, otherwise it is necessary to really think about how to increase breast milk.
Ways to increase lactation
- It is necessary to increase the number of feedings. So the production of breast milk increases.
- You need to feed with both breasts for one feeding. First, give one, and when the baby releases her, switch to the second. Continue until milk is left. This will prevent stagnation and avoid mastitis.
- After the next feeding, you need to make sure that the child drank everything “to the last drop”. If this is not the case, then you need to express the remaining milk into a bottle. If you can’t do it yourself after feeding, it is better to perform incomplete pumping before it. So the baby will be more effective at sucking, although almost empty.
- Offer the child to "eat" at his request, there can be no talk about any diet. Nowadays, almost everyone decided to use the feeding technique at the request of the baby.
- It is recommended to perform self-massage of the breast during feeding, which also allows you to increase breast milk.
- It is very important at night not to miss a meal. If the child does not require this, you still need to express the milk manually.
- Observe the calorie content of the food you eat. Especially if there are problems with the weight gain of the child. To do this, it is better to contact a feeding specialist. The use of protein foods is recommended. About any diets out of the question.
- Practice proper breastfeeding. Very often, due to the incorrect position of the baby’s head in relation to the mother’s body, milk does not arrive in the required quantity.
- Comfort during feeding is important for both you and the baby, and, of course, skin-to-skin contact. It is also much more convenient and enjoyable. It is best to feed in bed, this will allow the spine to relax, and the baby will enjoy breastfeeding longer.
- It is not recommended to sleep on your stomach. It is believed that in this way the chest is compressed and this interferes with the normal production of milk.
- You do not need to accustom your baby to a dummy, as breast milk cannot be increased if the baby is passively kneading his chest.
- Increase fluid intake, especially before feeding.
- Avoid birth control pills during lactation.
- Eliminate bad habits.
- Do not allow the breast to become very full of milk.
In addition, in our time there is a large variety of nutritional supplements, herbs and other drugs that will help solve the issue of how to increase breast milk. But before using them, it is better to consult a doctor.
The success of breastfeeding is entirely up to you and your baby. The main thing is the desire to raise a healthy baby.