Lack of breastmilk production

My cousin has a baby boy just two months ago, she went through C-
section to deliver the baby, she didn't have milk till five days and
now she is complaining of not producing enough milk for her baby. she
gets him to suckle often to follow that demand and supply rule for
breastmilk producation but not much of use. Her son cries a lot and
doctor says that baby is not getting enough feeds. The mom is very
determin to breastfeed exclusively for six months at least. Can anyone
help with idea to improve her breastmilk and avoid top feed??

wrote:

My cousin has a baby boy just two months ago, she went through C-
section to deliver the baby, she didn't have milk till five days and
now she is complaining of not producing enough milk for her baby. she
gets him to suckle often to follow that demand and supply rule for
breastmilk producation but not much of use. Her son cries a lot and
doctor says that baby is not getting enough feeds. The mom is very
determin to breastfeed exclusively for six months at least. Can anyone
help with idea to improve her breastmilk and avoid top feed??

She needs to nurse the baby longer. Let the baby
nurse and nurse and nurse, don't time the duration
of each nursing session. If baby falls asleep
quickly while nursing, wake baby up.

(By the way, milk coming in at 5 days is not late.
3-5 days is normal, and colostrum serves baby
just fine while milk has not come in yet, so don't
let her keep thinking that there was something
wrong.)

If baby is crying, it's a late sign of hunger.
Baby should be brought to nurse as soon as he
roots (points his face around, brings his fist
to his mouth).

Just increase the nursing duration and see if
that helps.

-- Anita --

wrote:

My cousin has a baby boy just two months ago, she went through C-
section to deliver the baby, she didn't have milk till five days and
now she is complaining of not producing enough milk for her baby. she
gets him to suckle often to follow that demand and supply rule for
breastmilk producation but not much of use. Her son cries a lot and
doctor says that baby is not getting enough feeds. The mom is very
determin to breastfeed exclusively for six months at least. Can anyone
help with idea to improve her breastmilk and avoid top feed??

One more thing, most babies need to nurse more
often than formula babies get fed. So, nursing
every 1.5 hours for 30+ minutes is normal. Don't
let your cousin think she does not have enough
milk if that happens.

-- Anita --
c-section both times, Pillbug only had formula
while in the NICU and Rocky has never had
formula and is still nursing at 2y3m

Hi --

Another thing she can check is that the baby is nursing effectively. Is
the baby swallowing? If not, check the latch, check the latch, check
the latch! Getting a newborn to latch correctly can be a challenge, and
a newborn who fails to latch correctly won't consume enough, will remain
hungry, and won't build up mom's nursing supply.

Second, remember that newborns are known to nurse constantly. That's
fine. Some newborns nurse more efficiently, so less often, and that's
fine too. The thing to check is how often the baby fills its diapers.
There should be 6-8 soaking diapers a day and, during the newborn
period, daily big runny poops. (Being a newborn is messy :-) If the
baby is filling plenty of diapers, then forget about everything else,
mom's doing things correctly.

I hope this helps,
--Beth Kevles
-THE-COM-HERE
http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the GMAIL one if you would
like me to reply.

Irrational Number wrote:
One more thing, most babies need to nurse more
often than formula babies get fed. So, nursing
every 1.5 hours for 30+ minutes is normal. Don't
let your cousin think she does not have enough
milk if that happens.

Also, on that point, don't forget that if you want to know how long it
is between feedings, you go from start to start. For example, If feeling
every 1.5 hours, if you feed for 30 minutes, you'll start again in 1
hour.

wrote:
My cousin has a baby boy just two months ago, she went through C-
section to deliver the baby, she didn't have milk till five days and
now she is complaining of not producing enough milk for her baby. she
gets him to suckle often to follow that demand and supply rule for
breastmilk producation but not much of use. Her son cries a lot and
doctor says that baby is not getting enough feeds. The mom is very
determin to breastfeed exclusively for six months at least. Can anyone
help with idea to improve her breastmilk and avoid top feed??

Good for her! What I would recommend is that she looks for a nursing
expert. She can see whether there's a qualified lactation consultant in
her area, and/or try to get in touch with the local branch of La Leche
League. Possibilities include:

1. The doctor could be wrong. Some doctors know what they're doing when
it comes to assessing breastfeeding, and some don't. For example, some
doctors overestimate the amount of weight a baby should be gaining (an
average of an ounce a day is sufficient).

2. The baby may not be latching on well, and may not actually be taking
much milk.

3. The mother might benefit from some herbs or medication to increase
her supply. However, I wouldn't try that unless someone who knows what
they're talking about has made sure that neither 1. nor 2. is the problem.


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell

1. The doctor could be wrong. Some doctors know what they're doing when
it comes to assessing breastfeeding, and some don't. For example, some
doctors overestimate the amount of weight a baby should be gaining (an
average of an ounce a day is sufficient).

I thought for breastfed babies 4oz a week was sufficient, which is more
like 1/2 ounce per day.

Cheers

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:
1. The doctor could be wrong. Some doctors know what they're doing
when it comes to assessing breastfeeding, and some don't. For
example, some doctors overestimate the amount of weight a baby
should be gaining (an average of an ounce a day is sufficient).

I thought for breastfed babies 4oz a week was sufficient, which is
more like 1/2 ounce per day.

The general amount I've been told in NSW, Australia, was 100g - 250g per
week, which converts to 3.5oz - 8.8oz per week. I have a 27 month old and an
11 month old so this is pretty recent and not from umpteen years ago.

Engram

On Sep 24, 7:28 pm, Irrational Number wrote:
wrote:
My cousin has a baby boy just two months ago, she went through C-
section to deliver the baby, she didn't have milk till five days and
now she is complaining of not producing enough milk for her baby. she
gets him to suckle often to follow that demand and supply rule for
breastmilk producation but not much of use. Her son cries a lot and
doctor says that baby is not getting enough feeds. The mom is very
determin to breastfeed exclusively for six months at least. Can anyone
help with idea to improve her breastmilk and avoid top feed??

She needs to nurse the baby longer. Let the baby
nurse and nurse and nurse, don't time the duration
of each nursing session. If baby falls asleep
quickly while nursing, wake baby up.

(By the way, milk coming in at 5 days is not late.
3-5 days is normal, and colostrum serves baby
just fine while milk has not come in yet, so don't
let her keep thinking that there was something
wrong.)

If baby is crying, it's a late sign of hunger.
Baby should be brought to nurse as soon as he
roots (points his face around, brings his fist
to his mouth).

Just increase the nursing duration and see if
that helps.

-- Anita --

Thanks for so many good suggestions, I have conveyed em to my cousin
and let's hope that she improves.

Actually I meant Colustrum by saying that milk came in 5 days. I had
directed her prior to her labour that the infant should be fed
colustrum within 1 hour and it provides antibodies and is full of
nutrition. At her delivery I managed to visit her each day she was in
hospital. I was surprised that she did not have colustrum.

Even more shocking that no one (health staff) assist this first time
mother to cope with this problem.AA cried and cried so doctor advised
Lactogen which he was fed for first five days (sad enough).

I have three of my very close ones who went through C-section, have
faced no colustrum or lack of breast milk and I want to know if there
could be ways to tackle this.

TN wrote:

At her delivery I managed to visit her each day she was in
hospital. I was surprised that she did not have colustrum.
[...]
I have three of my very close ones who went through C-section, have
faced no colustrum or lack of breast milk and I want to know if there
could be ways to tackle this.

How did you know there was no colostrum? That
doesn't seem possible.

It is extremely difficult to express colostrum,
so if you tried to help them express and nothing
came out, that is not an indication of not having
colostrum.

-- Anita --