Any mother will surely wish to provide their child with the best quality of breast milk. Add in the worry of failing to produce enough and what you have is a real conundrum.
Numerous reports state how breast milk is beneficial to the health of a child. However, a mother may not know that she can improve the quality of her breast milk, and it goes beyond knowing how to breastfeed. That in itself is a shame since it may mean the child is missing out on important nutrients. So, with this, it makes sense to learn that there are things that can help with milk production
9 Ways to Make Breast Milk Much Better
What follows are nine different ways in which you can improve both quality and quantity. We recommend trying as many methods as possible to maximise results.
Consume Anti-Inflammatory Foods
First, we recommend focusing on consuming anti-inflammatory foods. This means eating more fresh fruit and vegetables along with whole grains and also anything rich in Omega-3. Inflammation in your body is a terrible thing. It can restrict certain processes as your body focuses more on fighting inflammation and sees milk production as less important.
Stay Hydrated
We should drink eight glasses of water per day but if you are breastfeeding, then you need to make sure that you do this. The reason is that your body cannot produce breast milk if it is even slightly dehydrated. Some argue that you should drink an extra four glasses per day, but it hasn’t been shown that this does increase production.
Focus on Vitamins and Minerals
Certain vitamins are known to help breast milk production. The main ones to focus on include: Vitamin A, Calcium and Folic Acid. The AAP even states how these vitamins and minerals can change the content of your breast milk which means it then becomes more nutritious for your child if you follow their advice.
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Try Galactogogues Supplements
You may notice a recurring theme whereby it’s what you put into your body that affects the quality and quantity of your breast milk. While your diet plays a role, it may help some individuals to take galactogogues supplements.
For this, you should focus on Brewer’s Yeast, Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. These are herbs medically proven to help increase milk production, and they have been used for longer than chemically produced supplements or medication.
However, to get the most out of them, you should incorporate their usage alongside increasing the number of times you express. This is whether you are breastfeeding or pumping.
A Breast Pump
A breast pump is undoubtedly a useful tool. This will allow you to begin to create a stockpile of milk. Also, it allows you to express milk from one breast if your child is having difficulty latching on.
Feed the Baby Fully On Each Side
Knowing how to breastfeed correctly is important, and one key aspect is allowing the baby to feed on each side. This then kicks in the way in which the body functions. If your baby drinks more milk, then your brain is triggered by the signal to produce more milk. As a result, the quantity will increase and you will continue to produce milk.
Feed On Demand
Lactation consultants argue that feeding on demand is not only best for your baby but it also boosts your own milk production. You see, people spend more time worrying about aspects such as ‘what does breast milk taste like’ or ‘does breast milk contain lactose’ rather than understanding feeding demands.
The difficulty is that your baby will not follow your schedule. They aren’t interested in that and nor do they understand it. Instead, they feed when they want to feed and nothing else.
Relax and De-stress
Reducing cortisol levels is good in two ways. First, it allows you to express more breast milk than before as it may inhibit its production. Next, cortisol will make its way into your milk and can then have a negative impact on your baby.
It is known that your baby can effectively ‘pick up’ these messages and feel the anxiety. Babies that are breastfed will have approximately 40% more cortisol in their body than those fed by a bottle and formula. Relaxing before expressing milk will, therefore, have a profound impact on both quality and quantity.
Use Breast Compression
Breast compression is a known way to increase breast milk production. This is used when the baby is no longer feeding but merely sucking without drinking. By compressing the breast, it will turn it into more of a nibbling feed and help with further expression of milk.
While we cannot say with some certainty that the tips mentioned above will work wonderfully for everyone, there is little doubt that they will boost production and quality. Both you and your baby have nothing to lose by you trying as many of them as possible. Improve your knowledge on how to breastfeed as well as looking at what you put into your body for best results.
