Breast milk is very crucial for growing a healthy baby. It is necessary for all new mothers to make sure that the newborn baby is getting enough of breast milk. For raising a healthy child, all mothers should ensure that baby is fed only on breast milk for first six months. Read on to find tips for improving breast milk supply.Everyone knows that
breast milk is best for the baby at least up to first six months. But, there are issues that make the supply of breast milk get reduced in many mothers. It happens in almost every mother’s feeding period that she notices reduction of milk supply and gets worried about that.
Though there are many things that matter, food has an important role to play here. There are some herbal products too that help in increasing the breast milk supply, but majority of the mothers find that a right combination of selected food items have positive impact on the milk supply.
Causes That Lower Breast Milk Supply
- Stress
- Lack of sleep
- Dehydration
- Insufficient amount of food intake
- Baby’s growth shoot
- Dehydration
- Hormonal changes like thyroid problem
How to Increase Breast Milk Production
Have a quick look at some tips for improving your breast milk supply.
Stress Management: Try to reduce your stress level. Try to relax and stay away from any kind of tension and worries. Try to nurse your baby in a quiet room where you do not have any kind of distraction. You can put your feet upwards during this time and give some relaxation to your feet too.
Breast Massage: Massage your breast before you feed your baby. This will help the child get rich and high calorie milk throughout the time. This also helps the child suck and brings milk down efficiently too.
Postnatal Diet Care: Take care of your diet and try to have some carbohydrates and proteins as this helps in production of breast milk naturally. Eat good quality food and reduce intake of fat and sweets. This will save you from gaining weight also.
Water Intake: Drinking plenty of water and increasing the intake of fluids will help you have enough milk production. Breastfeeding mothers need more water than normal and if she feels dehydrated, it will have negative impact on the milk supply.
Breastfeeding Routine: Nurse your baby every 2 hours in the first month and then gradually make it at least 8 feeds in 24 hours. Also feed him as long as he wants to have. Follow the
breastfeeding techniques and make sure your child is comfortable while you feed him.
Foods to Increase Breast Milk Supply
There are certain foods that are said to enhance the production of breast milk in lactating mothers. There is no hard and fast rule or quantity of eating these. You can have as much as you like in their natural form.
- Oatmeal
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- Green beans
- Parsley
- Pees
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Beets
- Brown rice
- Barley
If you take proper care of yourself and your diet, you will have a good and satisfactory nursing time. Also pay attention to the feeding timings and drink plenty of water. Do not stay empty stomach and have something or the other at regular intervals. Avoid caffeine and alcohol during your entire lactating period.
Though there are certain food supplements and herbal products available in market to increase your breast milk production, you should try to get the results in natural ways. The above food items along with increased intake of milk and pulses will help you get desired and positive results. Observe the growth rate of your child and if it is normal, you do not have to worry about these.