How to Increase Milk Supply – What Actually Works

I talk to mothers every day who are so confused, so overwhelmed, and just at the end of the rope about what they can do to increase their supply and they're not even sure if their supply is even out of whack. But they're seeing all these girls on TikTok who are filling up chest freezers and it's got them really concerned.

It's not the piece that's out of alignment. We do want to be completely certain that we are getting effective, regular milk removal throughout the day. So when we're starting out, that means throughout the 24 hour day as we're later on in our resting journey or depending on our goals, that means during the waking hours.

So we definitely want to be sure that we're on top of that. So if you're feeding out the breast exclusively, The things you want to look out for our baby's latch. You want to make sure that baby has a really good, comfortable latch. You want to be sure that baby's gaining weight and that they're having good output, wet and poopy diapers.

Right from there, if you're using a pump, either exclusively pumping or you're relying on a pump for some amount of your milk removal, you want to be really sure that you're consistently pumping on a good schedule, that you're getting consistent milk removal throughout the day, depending on if you pump at night.

So, uh, That's super important that when you're picking out a pump that you make sure you have one that works for your body because our boobs are all different sizes, nipples are all different shapes, and we want to be sure that we have a really good fit. So, as far as the pump, it's not just a matter of the pump itself, it's the flanges.

So, I'm sure you've seen so many hacks and tips and tricks on getting a good flange fit. So, I'm not going to go into all of that, but suffice to say, you want to be sure that your flanges fit correctly. You want to use that handy dandy little device that came with your pump when you ordered it. Or if it didn't, then you want to hop on Amazon and grab one of those little silicone measurers.

There's a lot we can do, so don't worry. But those are the two main things. So you're feeding at the boob or you're removing milk with a pump. That's how you're telling your body at the first level, we need to make milk. We're removing milk. Our body's like, okay, that supply is there. We're going to meet the demand.

If it were as simple as just removing more milk would make more milk, then all of us would be able to just Add an extra power pump session and we would make more milk. If you've ever tried power pumping and you didn't get the results that you wanted, then you know it's not that simple.

There's more going on. Our bodies are so amazingly complex that to try to water down how we make milk to just supply and demand is really doing a big disservice to moms. So we want to talk about the other things beyond supply and demand.

If you are not eating enough, your body is not going to prioritize making enough milk. If you are not sleeping enough, your body is not going to prioritize making enough milk.

And I know you're probably thinking WTF, I have a newborn. What do you mean not sleeping enough? I know we're not all going to be sleeping those perfect eight hours. We're not going to be getting that great score on our Oura ring, but I mean that you're having Some amounts of helpful sleep that's giving you some amount of rest, right?

Let's be realistic. If you are not hydrated enough, your body is not going to prioritize making milk. And so let's talk about hydration because that is a big thing that I see getting All sort of confused in the web and on social media and just all over the place. Everybody seems to be super confused about hydration.

What do I mean when I say electrolytes and minerals? So keeping it simple, our body has a delicate balance of electrolytes and minerals, and we want to be sure that we're supporting those. When we drink tons of plain water, we're not supporting that. So what do I like to suggest my clients drink? I like to suggest them drink mineralized water.

Meaning, if you like bubbly water, like sea water, sparkling mineral water. That can be great. But if you like still water, that's super awesome. That's really important and much easier to drink a lot of. So we want to be sure that we're drinking half of our body weight and ounces of mineralized water. You can add a splash of juice to your water.

This is not the time to be counting calories and trying to restrict. Your body just grew an entire human. and that takes so much out of you and now it is sustaining that human while healing from giving birth. So you need to be eating plenty of protein, plenty of carbs and plenty of fat. I'm a huge advocate of fat with my clients.

I love animal based fat, but really whatever fat you enjoy, let's do that. It is so important. Our body makes cholesterol from our dietary fat and our cholesterol is what governs how we make our hormones. If we are not eating enough fat, we are not going to be able to make the right balance of hormones in order to make good amounts of milk for our babies.

With that said though, there are ways to totally. Work and exercise, get a better rate on your nutrition if you're not feeling good about that while still supporting your supply, but just make sure that you're eating enough. That's the name of the game, eat enough. So let's talk about lactation cookies, lactation tea, and all that other super cool stuff that we see marketed to us all the darn time if your algorithm is anything like mine.

So I'm actually not an anti galactagogue. Anti milk tea, anti lactation cookie, lactation consultant. I think that those things have a time and a place within our breastfeeding experience and that they can be used really strategically to support a mom's milk supply. But if we were ranking things, we're going to look at effective milk removal first.

So the third thing then, very last, would be things like Supplements, teas, cookies, etc. So with that said, what do I like? Below I'm going to link the supplements that I actually like and have seen to be effective with my clients.

So I actually really enjoy using a handful of herbals that are not as commonly seen using the lactation space with my clients. So a few of my favorite things for supporting your milk supply would be hops, milky oats and blue vervein.

That can be really great for helping with stress. So I really try to take a root cause, holistic look at your entire person, and then work on all of those factors that come together to govern how much milk you make. So I do really enjoy if you're wanting to keep it simple and just pop on Amazon, I really do enjoy, legendary milk supplements.

If you are breastfeeding, at the boob, there are cash cow, liquid gold. Both of those are really great. If you're a pumping mom, I really like their pump princess. That's really great. But I would say don't buy any supplements. Until you have gotten someone to take a good deep dive onto why you think your supply is low in the first place.

Save your money, save your time. I know you guys are probably not running down to get another pill to take, if you're anything like me. I don't want to have to take any more supplements a night than I do, and I want to make sure that they're really effective. So in order to make sure that your supplements work effectively, we want to get all the other things in order first.

One more thing that's super duper important that I have seen come up in a lot of consoles across the years Taking a break between pumping sessions or between feeding sessions to let your boobs fill up more does not help you produce more milk. I know a lot of moms, they love, they love that morning feed or that morning pump where it's been a lot of hours since baby last ate because they're like, whoa, look at this, I got four ounces from each side, I got three ounces from each side, whatever it is, right?

And throughout the day, usually they get maybe one and a half, two ounces. Don't let that trick you. It is so much better to get effective. consistent milk removal throughout the day. Even if you're like time for time, you're getting less milk. So just that's a pro tip right there. Don't let that trip you up.

This is less than last time. That is just going to be a feedback loop for our body that we don't like what's going on and our body is not going to relax and it's not going to have good milk production. It's not going to have effective removal. So don't don't let that trip you up. Cover up the pump. Pop a blanket over it, whatever you need to do.

Don't be sitting there micromanaging, counting each little drop, because that is not going to do you any favors. Now that we've gone into all of that, let's talk about what does low milk supply look like in terms of when should you be concerned.

So don't let anyone gaslight you into thinking, Oh, babies, newborns just eat all the time. Don't worry about it. If you're worried, talk to someone. So that's number one there. Just let's get that out of the way. So as far as the really big urgent, If baby's not pooping often, if they're not peeing often, if they're not gaining weight, if they're extremely sleepy and lethargic at the boob to where they're not getting a good latch, if your latch is painful, if your nipples are cracked, if you're noticing creases on your nipples after you get baby off any of those things, get help, reach out to someone.

I'm here. I would love to help you with that. So just reach out to a professional and we would love to get things on the right track. If you are concerned about anything within your breastfeeding journey, Ask for help. I see so many moms who come to me in a place where things are all out of whack and it's so hard to get things back on track.

We are here to listen to you and to support you in whatever way you need, whenever you need. So just remember that.

So, I've outlined all of the things that you need to know about milk supply, what can you do about it, what actually is a normal milk supply, when you should be concerned. So, I hope you really enjoyed this episode, and I look forward to chatting with you next time.