How to increase lactation during breastfeeding

Every mother worries about her child - is the baby fed, is there enough milk for him? This is especially true in the first six months of life, because the crumb does not receive any other food, besides, he cannot tell about his discomfort and fasting. Breast milk is the best food for a child of the first year of life. Breastfeeding is antibodies that create a baby’s immunity against a huge number of diseases. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of breast milk, which is why many women are trying in every way to feed the baby for at least one year. But it is not always easy and desire alone is not enough. Breastfeeding is a real science, having mastered that, you can increase the amount of food for the crumbs.

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

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

1. Feeding on demand. The hormone prolactin, which is produced only when the baby sucks the breast, is responsible for breast milk. That is, the more the baby sucks the breast, the more milk is produced. If the breast sucks twice as much (in the case of twins), then the mother will certainly have enough milk for both children. Therefore, it is necessary to give the child the opportunity to suck for as long and often as he himself wants it. Do not limit feeding to clocks or other frames. As soon as the baby started to freak out or started looking for a breast, give it to him.Especially this rule should be followed in the first couple of weeks after birth, when feeding is getting better.
2. Calm Another hormone that is involved in milk production is oxytocin. He is responsible not for the production itself, but for the delivery of the product to the child. That is, when the baby begins to suck on the breast, oxytocin helps him in this by pushing the milk through the ducts. The psychological state of the mother influences the production of this hormone. Fright, stress, depression, nervous shocks, feelings - all this can significantly reduce the level of this hormone. As a result, the baby will suck the breast, but milk will not be delivered to it, since oxytocin is not. People say that after such situations "milk is gone." You need to carefully treat your feelings and not worry about trifles.
3. Morning Feeding. Doctors have long proved 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 am to 8 am. If you apply the baby to the breast at this particular time, the amount of milk will increase.In order not to disturb the night's sleep, take the child to yourself. This is another important condition for good lactation. The child should be applied at night to the chest as many times as he wants. Mom, having learned to feed the baby lying down, will not even really wake up - it will offer breasts in a half-nap, and she herself will have a rest. After all, mother's dream and good mood is also important.
4. The right grip. Proper breast grabbing is an effective suction of milk. And if milk is sucked a lot, then the tide will be abundant. If the child is seized improperly, only the nipple is stimulated, little is sucked, the child is starving, prolactin is not produced. To fix this, watch how the baby is attached to the breast. It is very important that the entire nipple areola 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 suck the milk easier.
5. Body contact. The amount of oxytocin increases with close physical contact with the child. That is why after childbirth the baby is applied to the naked body of the mother. Skin-to-skin contact gives a powerful impetus to milk production.Try to feed the child in a T-shirt and shorts to touch the tiny belly and bare hips.

These simple, but such natural rules will help you to establish breastfeeding and increase the amount of milk. But what can prevent good lactation? Let's try to figure it out.

Enemies of good lactation

Many mothers sometimes worry that there is less milk and the baby stops feeding. This can be judged by a small weight gain, not frequent urination. If a child pees 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 does not have enough milk.

What could be the enemy of good lactation? First, it is a dummy. The pacifier has a different shape than the physiological nipple. Constantly holding a pacifier in the mouth, the baby learns how to properly capture the breast. That is, after the pacifier, each time it is harder for him to suck the right amount of milk. In addition, satisfying the need for sucking, the baby holds the nipple in the mouth, without stimulating the breast and not producing prolactin.The body thinks that the need for the need for milk has subsided and reduces its quantity.

It is very important not to give the child extra water. If the baby drank 50 ml of water, it means he did not receive 50 ml of milk. Not only does the baby lose its nutrition, the next time the breast will produce 50 ml less milk (figuratively speaking). Drank the baby with water, you reduce his sucking activity. It is necessary to supplement the baby only in extreme cases - in case of poisoning, to flush out toxic substances from the body, and in case of dehydration.

Another enemy of good lactation is supplementation. Many mothers, believing that their baby is starving, rush to the store for a mixture. This is fundamentally wrong. If you start to give the baby more nutrition, it is fraught with complete failure from the breast. That is, the baby understands that it is much easier to suck a bottle with a large hole than mother's breast. The next time he just turns away from his chest, sucking her a little, and will begin to demand a bottle of weeping. If you still hope to regain breastfeeding, this can be done.

Nesting method

If you notice that there is not enough milk, the baby has stopped eating, often crying and pissing a little, do not rush to switch to artificial feeding. You can try the nesting method.In this case, you need to increase the production of milk by continuously staying near the child. It is necessary to give him his chest as often as possible, to establish physical contact, to feed him a lot and often, especially in the morning hours. Do not worry that the breasts 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 to overcome lactation crisis. It happens when a baby has a sharp jump in growth, the baby needs more milk, and the amount of prolactin does not keep pace with the increased needs.

How to increase the amount of milk

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

1. Good food. Mom should not eat for two, according to grandmothers. Otherwise, she will then complain about a bad figure and small things in the wardrobe. The amount of nutrition does not affect the amount of milk, but the quality of this diet is really very important. That is, no matter how much you eat, it is important that you eat.Food should be varied - cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, fish. It is very important that the food be of high nutritional value - with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Eat nuts and honey, apples and bananas, boiled meats and natural oils, so that the milk is rich and rich in vitamins. However, remember that you should start eating a little new product to make sure that your child does not have an allergic reaction or colic.
2. Drink enough. Where does milk come from if a woman does not consume enough liquid? But usually it happens involuntarily - the mother herself feels thirsty and drinks a lot. On the day you need to drink at least two liters of water. And not just water, but also liquid soups, tea, compote. The liquid must be warm - it causes hot flashes.
3. "Artificial" increase in the amount of breast milk. This includes various teas to increase lactation. In their composition decoctions of herbs such as cumin, lemon balm, chamomile, dandelion, verbena, fenugreek, sweet clover. You can cook the broths yourself or buy ready-made fees at the pharmacy. However, many doctors agree that these teas are useless.Here a placebo is triggered, that is, a woman is satisfied that she solved the problem by buying tea. She calms down, her mood improves, and therefore the hormone oxytocin returns to normal and milk becomes more. This is due to the "effect" of these drinks. Drink fees of herbs need to be careful, they can affect the body's work - both maternal and childish.

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 almost every woman asks herself at least once throughout breastfeeding. Doctors say that only 3% of these women cannot feed their child for objective reasons. In other cases, the establishment of breastfeeding is quite capable of solving the problem.

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