Low Milk Supply! Busting Myths with Eye-opening Facts.

There are a lot of things that can interfere with your let-down and can lead to low breast milk supply, a few of which are listed below:

Emotional factors

Anxiety, stress, and even embarrassment are just a few formidable reasons that can affect your let-down adversely causing low breast milk supply.

Make some personal space for yourself. Do things that you like and help you feel relaxed; in short, just enjoy yourself. Listening to music, reading a book, jogging, swimming, visiting a spa… the list is endless. Just reserve some space and time for yourself. You may need to take some help from other caregivers. It will definitely help in increasing breast milk supply.

Medical conditions

Certain medical conditions can interfere with breast milk production. Some of them can be:

• Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

Medications

Certain medications that contain pseudoephedrine, generally present in sinus and allergy medications, and a few types of hormonal birth control medications can lower breast milk production.

Smoking and alcohol

Smoking and consuming alcohol from moderate to heavy amounts can lower your milk production.

Previous breast surgery

Any procedure done such as cyst removal, breast reduction, mastectomy, or even not having enough glandular tissue because of breast surgery, can interfere with lactation. Nipple piercing and other breast surgeries can harm the nerves that are connected to breast milk production.

Few other medical reasons

Some of the following medical reasons have also been observed to cause reduction in breast milk supply in some mothers:

• Blood loss of more than 500 ml (17.6 fl oz) during childbirth or any retention of placental fragments in the mothers body, can delay breast milk production in the mother.
• History of PCOS, diabetes, thyroid, or any other hormonal imbalances can lead to low milk production in the mother.
• Mammary hypoplasia is a condition in which the breasts do not have enough glandular tissue that produce milk.
• Breast surgeries or any breast trauma can also lead to a lower milk supply. Although many mothers who have undergone breast surgeries have been able to successfully breastfeed their little ones.

Then there are some other things that can lead to reduction in breast milk supply:

Nursing is a process of supply and demand. Milk you produce is proportionate to how much you feed your child. Your body automatically comes to know how much it needs to produce based on your child’s feeding patterns. For more on let-down reflex you can refer to our article—‘Your Absolute Guide to Simplify Let-Down Reflex (Milk Ejection Reflex) with 12 Tips.’

However, if you have started bottle feeding, formula, or fresh juice/water and your baby does not breastfeed as much, then as a result, your body automatically comes to know it need not produce more. This can result in an overall dip in breast milk production.

• Bottle preference. Remember there is a different sucking action used for bottles as compared to breasts. It is easier for your baby to suck from a bottle. As a result, giving a bottle regularly can cause your baby to have problems sucking on the breast properly or it may even lead to your baby preferring the constant fast and easy flow from the bottle.
• Pacifiers. Pacifiers can affect a baby’s ability to latch. You may have never thought about this side effect of giving a pacifier. They can reduce the amount of time your baby will spend on your breast. And this can lead to reduction in breast milk supply.
• Nipple shields can be an extremely useful tool in certain cases, but they can also result in reduction in nipple stimulation and also milk transfer, eventually leading to reduction in milk supply.
• Scheduled feedings may interfere with the natural supply and demand that is induced by your baby. Scheduling may not result in reduction in breast milk supply immediately, but over a period, feeding them at regular intervals can result in force feeding even when your child may not be hungry, resulting in the baby not drinking enough or not even latch properly.
• Sleepy baby. Try and keep your baby awake while feeding. During the initial days, some babies are complete sleepy heads and may feed infrequently and to for short periods. They may even get tired by just sucking on your breasts for a long time. This may continue till your baby starts proper movements like rolling over, walking, etc. You can expect infrequent and fluctuations in breastfeeding. The more they get active, the more they will feel hungry, feed well, and sleep well. However, till such time, try and feed your baby every 2 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night. However, don’t force yourself on your child. In case your child wants to feed at erratic times, then feed them the way they are comfortable with.
• It is advisable not to cut the length of nursing, as it can affect your let-down reflex along with your baby’s health. If your baby wants to keep feeding, make sure you don’t restrict it by cutting feeds short. It will eventually affect milk production.
• Not feeding from both breasts. Offer both breasts while feeding to establish a healthy let-down. If you offer only one breast, then over a period it may cause a reduction in breast milk supply into the other breast. To ensure a balanced and healthy supply, we recommend feeding from both breasts rather than just one.
• Health problems or anatomical problems with the baby like jaundice, tongue-tie, etc. can prevent your baby from sucking milk adequately from your breasts, thus decreasing milk supply.
• Mother’s health. In case you are suffering with extreme anemia, hypothyroidism, retained placenta, postpartum hemorrhage, previous breast surgery or injury, hormonal problems (e.g. PCOS), medications like hormonal birth control or Sudafed, or smoking, then this may also have the potential to affect milk supply.

If any of these conditions applies to you, visit a lactation consultant or breastfeeding specialist.