When you become a mother, you find yourself immediately hardwired to worry about your child. One of the first worries you may experience as a new mom includes, “Is my milk supply enough for this baby?”
Breastmilk supply is demand-driven, meaning, the more breastmilk you remove from your breasts, the more breastmilk your body will make. Demand the breastmilk, receive the breastmilk. It’s a relatively simple concept in most cases.
Commonly, mamas mistake typical and healthy newborn behavior as “low-supply.”
Behavior that May Have You Fooled
Here are several behaviors that you may think are signs of low milk supply, but aren’t:
- Baby behaving fussy or whiny
- Baby acting hungry more often (this is how your baby helps your body create more milk as they grow)
- Baby waking more frequently at night
While unpleasant, these behaviors are not indicators of low breastmilk supply.
Signs of a Low Milk Supply
Now, there are times that a mama’s milk supply may indeed be low; this is when assistance is needed. Some signs of a low milk supply include:
- Poor weight gain
- A decrease in wet and poopy diapers
- Dehydration in baby
These are all issues to be taken seriously. I recommend a consultation with an IBCLC (like myself) in cases such as these.
What Causes Low Supply
There is no shame in the low supply game. Many factors can cause a low breastmilk supply. These include:
- Supplementing with formula or donated breastmilk and not pumping to replace that feeding—this lowers the demand, hence the lower supply
- Bottle preference—a baby preferring a bottle for shape or ease
- Pacifier overuse—these can also affect latch
- Nipple shields—these can be a lifesaver but can affect nipple stimulation or milk flow
- Scheduled feedings—feed your baby whenever they are hungry
- Sleepy baby—in the beginning, your baby may just be too tired to start the letdown
- Stopping a feeding, rather than letting baby finish naturally
- Offering one breast per feeding before establishing your supply
- Mom’s health – see the list below
For Mom’s health, the following things can negatively affect supply:
- hypothyroidism
- retained placenta
- postpartum hemorrhage
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- breast injury/surgery
- anatomical problems
- medication—like Sudafed or Benadryl
- hormonal birth control
- smoking
Luckily, most of the low supply triggers can be resolved, and there is no reason why your supply cannot rebound or establish.
