Breastfeeding Problems & Solutions- Milk Production

Okay, so you've figured out the latching issue. You're getting used to feeding your little one all the time. You have a profound new respect for mama cows. There can't be any more... right?

Well, just a little. Here are just a few more issues you can have as you, your body and your baby learn how to rock this whole breastfeeding thing.

- Overproduction

This happens a lot, especially in the beginning. This can lead to engorgement (aka rock hard porn star boobs without the sex appeal). I dealt with this in two ways. First, I used the diaper ice packs I talked about making in my breastfeeding prep post. Second, I would pump just a little bit (basically, just enough to allay my fear that they might actually explode). If you pump just a little, your body will figure out that it’s making too much for that time of day and tone it down a bit. Your body is pretty smart, so it only takes a few days for it to get it right.  If you pump it all, which can be very tempting, your body will convince itself that you have birthed a litter of six that it has to feed and make even more milk. See the problem?

- Underproduction

This also happens a lot, especially in the beginning and during growth spurts when the baby eats more. Your baby will generally take care of this naturally by sucking more to stimulate increased milk production. However, if you have a sleepy baby (like I did), or a baby with a latching problem (like I did), you’ll have to rely on your old friend the breast pump to help you out.
Here's the basic idea: empty breasts produce milk much faster than full or semi-full breasts do. To increase milk production, you need to empty your breasts as completely as possible and then keep the sucking action going to tell your body to make even more. When you're pumping, you can do this by letting the pump run a few minutes after your milk stops flowing. If your baby is taking care of it, you'll notice that he wants to eat more often or is sucking for longer. Again, your body is smart, so usually it will catch up to your baby's need after a day or two. Avoid the temptation to supplement with formula or  stored breastmilk. If you do, your body might not get the message that your baby needs more milk, so it won't increase its production and you'll be stuck supplementing.

- Hindmilk/foremilk imbalance

Foremilk is the milk that comes out first. It’s thinner, more liquidy and has less fat, so it’s great for satisfying your baby’s thirst. Hindmilk comes out later in the feed. It is thicker and has more fat so it’s good for satisfying your baby’s hunger, keeping him full longer and helping him gain weight. Sometimes, there is an imbalance and your baby gets more foremilk than hindmilk. Some people say this can lead to fussiness and more gas because there’s more lactose in foremilk than hindmilk. It can also lead to some lovely green poop. Also, if your baby fills up on foremilk, he might not get enough of the fatty hindmilk, causing him to be hungry more often and possibly not gain enough weight. As far as I can tell, there's no way to alter the foremilk to hindmilk ratio. However, you can maximize the amount of hindmilk your baby receives by making sure to give enough time on each breast. All the boob experts that I have been to have said to “let the baby finish the first side first”, or treat the first side as the main course and only offer the second one kind of as dessert. Do this instead of watching the clock and trying to get equal time on each side and you should be good.