Is there enough breast milk for a newborn: how to determine

What do lactation consultants advise?

The condition of the baby is the most important criterion for established lactation. Mom can be completely calm if:

After satiation, the baby, as a rule, demonstrates good behavior, releases the breast on his own, stays awake for some time in a good mood, and then sleeps soundly for at least an hour, and in the best case, until the next feeding.
Urination occurs quite often: 10-15 times a day. A breastfed baby filling at least 5-6 diapers should not be a cause for concern. The color of urine should be light yellow, without a rich hue or strong odor.
Regular bowel movements occur from 1 to 8 times a day. The stool is voluminous, watery, mustard-colored, and has a faint characteristic odor. The absence of stool in a breastfed newborn is a good reason for concern. This symptom may indicate malnutrition or constipation. If 4-5 days after birth, exclusive breastfeeding is practiced and the stool has not lightened, it is possible that not enough milk is synthesized.
The key signs of established lactation are a steadily increasing height and weight of the child. If a newborn does not gain weight well while breastfed, every effort must be made to avoid supplemental feeding with formula, as this can lead to a decrease in secretion and complete abandonment of the breast.
The skin is clean and velvety, without signs of dehydration.
Development proceeds without lag.
The fontanelle on the head does not have a strongly sunken shape.

The question of how often to feed a baby breaks records in frequency of voicing.

I recommend reading: Should a newborn be woken up for feeding day and night?

Experts advise putting the baby to the breast as soon as required. This may seem tedious, but show a little patience and you will see that this principle is the best way to establish milk production in the required quantity and achieve an optimal diet.

My dears, keep in mind that for many young mothers the process of establishing lactation can take up to three months. Therefore, be patient and everything will definitely work out))

Be careful: false symptoms

My dear readers, the experience of feeding comes only with time, because each female body is individual, so you should not listen to mothers and girlfriends - they have their own story. Below for you I have collected the following signs that are not criteria for milk deficiency:

There is no feeling of fullness in the chest. This is a very individual sign. Breast size is also not an indicator. Even the smallest size zero breasts are capable of producing milk in the required quantity. The mammary glands can become significantly softer after the first month of lactation and fill only at the time of feeding, and not before.
If a newborn does not take the breast, freaks out and cries, then first of all, illness, stress and too active introduction of complementary foods should be ruled out. It is also worth paying attention to whether there are any stagnations or compactions. The milk should splash freely when pressed.
The baby cries after feeding. The cause may be an accumulation of gases, causing colic and abdominal pain. (Colic in a newborn: causes, and how to deal with it?)
Feeding occurs too quickly or takes too long. Let me remind you that all children are different. If a newborn constantly asks for the breast, this does not always mean that he is hungry - the baby may be looking for tactile contact, which he desperately needs in the first months of life. For the same reason, the baby cries if he is placed in the crib immediately after feeding.
The baby willingly takes the bottle after the breast.
Milk is expressed in very small quantities. The best breast pump is significantly inferior in efficiency to a hungry baby, so the volume of what is expressed cannot be an evaluation criterion.

How to increase lactation?

There are a few simple rules that will help improve lactation. It should be remembered that lactation is established after 3-4 months, before this there may be a rush of milk, engorgement of the mammary glands, it may seem that there is no milk in the breast (although this is not at all true), and after lactation is established, the breasts stop “filling up”, milk produced only during feeding. Therefore, if you have already established lactation, then you will not need to increase it.

The amount of milk depends on the level of prolactin and nothing else!

If the lactation process has not yet been established, and you are wondering how to increase the amount of breast milk, then remember these simple tips. In this section we will talk about what you need to do to achieve this. You will find out what you shouldn’t do a little later.

Feed your baby on demand

Do not follow any regimes; you cannot feed your child according to a schedule; he himself knows when he should eat and when he should sleep. He may require breastfeeding after 20 minutes and sleep for 5-6 hours, all this is normal!

Put your baby to your breast as often as possible, the duration of feeding can be any

The act of sucking causes the release of hormones, including oxytocin and prolactin. The more a baby nurses, the higher the level of these hormones, which means more milk.

Often women complain that the baby can suckle at the breast for several hours (see how to cure cracked nipples during feeding). This shouldn't bother you. In the first months of life, the child has a particularly acute need for contact with his mother.

After all, he grew in her stomach for 9 months and was inextricably linked with her. When a child is born, he experiences enormous stress and needs time to get used to the world around him. He has a constant need for contact with his mother, so the child can lie at his mother’s breast for hours, periodically sucking on it.

He does this not at all because he is hungry, but because he needs his mother nearby, as close as possible. From my personal experience, I will say that a child can not let go of his mother for 6-7 hours, being at her breast. And as a mother and a doctor, I will say that this is normal! Don’t forget that in the first 3 months babies are often bothered by colic, and this is another reason to be closer to their mother (see what to do with colic in a baby).

Be sure to feed your baby at night

Some mothers want to teach their baby to sleep through the night almost from birth. Normally, a child can wake up to eat up to a year. And in the first months of lactation, night feedings play a vital role. The child must eat at night! This is important, because it is at night that the level of prolactin increases, this is a feature of the human endocrine system, which means that during this period there should be feeding so that there is more milk.

Homeopathic remedies

There are two opinions on this matter. On the one hand, no one has conducted research on these drugs from the point of view of evidence-based medicine, so it cannot be said unequivocally that they have a beneficial effect on lactation. On the other hand, it definitely won’t get worse. For many, the “placebo effect” is triggered and lactation increases; for others, the lactation crisis simply stops in a natural rhythm, but it is also possible that under the influence of these drugs the level of prolactin may change slightly (see interesting information about the placebo effect).

Products that increase lactation

The main thing I want to say is that there are no products that increase lactation! Since none of the foods you eat will affect your prolactin levels (see what a nursing mother can eat). The only thing you should do is not limit your fluid intake. Drink as much as you want. But you shouldn’t force yourself to drink an extra glass of water either. The body itself knows how much fluid it needs.

Some people mistakenly think that there should be more breast milk, and especially if there is not enough of it, then you need to drink as much cow’s milk as possible (see details about when you can give milk to a baby and whether a nursing mother can drink it). This should not be done for several reasons:

Cow's milk does not affect prolactin levels.
Everything you eat passes into breast milk, including cow's milk proteins, which can cause a severe allergic reaction in your baby.
Cow's milk is not "processed" into breast milk.
The consumption of milk and fermented milk products by a nursing mother causes severe colic in children.

What to do if your weight stays the same or increases slightly?

In cases where the baby does not gain weight while breastfeeding, before using formula, you should resort to control weighing before and after each feeding, as well as conduct a “wet diaper” test. But, keep in mind, the amount of food eaten must be studied during the day - after all, with breastfeeding, the baby eats often and does not necessarily have to eat the generally accepted amount at a time. Modern technology makes it possible to detect changes in weight with minimal errors. Before weighing, make sure that the diaper is empty. Measurements are carried out several times and the resulting average value is multiplied by the number of feedings. If necessary, the child is weighed each time and the total amount of milk consumed is added up. The standard feeding rate for a breastfed newborn per day for infants in the first four months of life is 20% of body weight. In practice, this means that a child weighing 3800 should receive approximately 760 grams of milk.

But still, you shouldn’t get hung up on numbers; the pressing question of how much breast milk a newborn should eat loses its importance if the “baby” feels well and develops properly.

I would like to note that some pediatricians consider control weighings to be a relic of the past, which make the anxious mother too nervous and contribute to a decrease in milk secretion. And I agree with them on this... Each body is individual - it would be much more informative to conduct a “wet diaper” test, but only if you do not give your baby water.

I recommend reading: Is it possible to give water to a newborn?

Unreliable signs that there is not enough milk.

There are no hot flashes or they are not felt. This is the norm of physiology, when lactation is established - hot flashes are less noticeable - the breasts are soft.

When pumping, little milk is produced. You cannot, either with your hands or with a breast pump, produce as much milk as a baby can suck.

The baby asks for the breast too often and stays at the breast too long.

The baby cries after breastfeeding. There may also be plenty of reasons for this - something hurts, teeth are being cut, etc. Incorrect application may also be the cause. The baby tries to eat, but due to a poor latch, he produces little milk and becomes irritated. This reason can be easily corrected on your own or with the help of a breastfeeding specialist.

There can be many reasons (incorrect attachment, mom’s stress, etc.) Also, don’t forget that your breast is not only food for the baby, maybe he just needs physical contact with his mother a little more than usual.

How to avoid suppression of lactation?

My dears, as I already said, successful breastfeeding comes only with experience. Therefore, to help you and speed up the process, I have collected the most important points that are worth paying attention to. So, what can interfere with the full production of milk:

Incorrect attachment to the breast, leading to a superficial latch. Do not hesitate to ask for help from a more experienced friend or contact a breastfeeding specialist.
A clear feeding schedule. The modern mother often has to withstand the onslaught of older relatives, who are convinced that they know exactly how and how many times to feed the baby. Remember that infrequent and short breastfeeding can lead to milk deficiency. Set your own breastfeeding rules that will be as comfortable as possible for you and your baby.
The breast does not empty completely. Use a breast pump or hand expression. In the first months of lactation, they may be simply necessary. When you are sure that your baby is gaining weight normally, you can gradually stop pumping.
The child is additionally offered a pacifier or supplemented with baby food from a bottle.
The baby is given additional water before complementary feeding is introduced. Young mothers often wonder whether a newborn needs water when breastfeeding? I would like to draw your attention to the fact that breast milk consists of 90% water and fully satisfies the baby’s primary needs in the first months of life. If this worries you, then think about the children in Africa... no one gives them water, but they are constantly under their mother’s breast in a sling.

How to tell if you have enough breast milk

There is no mother who would not think about the amount of milk during breastfeeding. Women want to better feed their baby, but when they feel an empty breast, they sound the alarm. In some situations it is really necessary to supplement the child's feeding. There are reliable signs of a lack of milk in a nursing woman. From 2 to 10% of mothers encounter them.

Most of the symptoms that women think are signs of milk deficiency are not. Most often, the lack of natural nutrition is far-fetched. Mom, having listened to her neighbor, friend, grandmother and other well-wishers, decides that her child is not getting enough to eat. “Look, your milk is blue, empty, not fat.” “The breasts are small, where does the milk come from?” “A child is crying, which means there is not enough milk; well-fed children do not cry.” However, this is not at all true.

If a woman has convinced herself that the baby does not have enough milk, then so be it. Mothers supplement their babies and suppress their need to breastfeed.

Over time, natural food is produced in smaller quantities, and the baby completely switches to artificial feeding. Thoughts about a lack of milk followed by the introduction of supplementary feeding are a direct path to curtailing lactation.

You can determine whether your baby has enough nutrition using the following indicators:

work of the excretory system;
weight gain and height gain;
condition of the skin;
general well-being.

By number of urinations

The fact that the child is not getting enough to eat is indicated by a small amount of wet diapers and the rich color of the urine. Modern mothers use comfortable diapers for their babies. But these assistants do not allow you to count the number of times a child urinates during the day. Therefore, for the experiment, the mother will have to give up comfort for 24 hours and dress the baby in rompers or swaddle.

A newborn baby urinates about 5 times a day. By the end of the second week, the infant counts at least 10 urinations. If during the day and night there are less than 10-12 wet diapers, then this is a sign of a lack of milk.

By child's weight

The baby’s weight is the main indicator that should be relied upon when assessing the quality of nutrition. If a baby does not have enough milk, he will have trouble gaining weight and growth. For each age, upper and lower limits of body weight gain have been established. If there is not enough milk, then the baby will gain less than 500 grams in the first months. In the future, if there is a shortage of food, negative indicators of body weight gain are possible, that is, the baby will lose weight.

Komarovsky says that in the first month the baby gains about 600 grams. In the next two months he gains 800 grams. Subsequently, weight gain decreases, but the dynamics still remain positive. Komarovsky also advocates control weighing, which modern doctors do not consider indicative.

On baby's skin

If a baby does not get enough breast milk, he will show signs of dehydration. In the first six months, the mother's breast is food and drink. If there is not enough milk, then little fluid enters the baby's body. In such a baby, the skin becomes dry and the saliva becomes more viscous.

During illness, infants may also show signs of dehydration. They are associated with intoxication of the body and do not indicate that the baby does not have enough milk.