Expert: ruth kraft - 11/29/2009

Question
QUESTION: i am a mother of 3 months old girl child. i nurse her full time since i am not working. i feel i do not have enough milk to satisfy my child's hunger.i heard that breast pumping frequently for 10 to 15 minutes will increase the quantity of breast milk. i do not want to collect milk in a bottle and then feed. My main aim is to increase milk production for my baby. kindly guide me on this since i am really confused as to what to do to increase my milk supply. i nurse for nearly 20 to 25 minutes each session.

ANSWER: You can take mothers milk tea ( herbal tea ) Pump frequently, or try Fenugreek capsules. However, Many women feel they don't have enough . What makes you think you arent getting enough milk? If you are only nursing, and the baby is 3 months old, Does she have 6-8 wet diapers a day? Is she gaingin weight? If so, then you have plenty of milk :) and you have no need to worry about extra stuff! my guess is, at 3 months, then you are doing fine. otherwise there would be something else showing up by now.

Congrats!

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QUESTION: thanks.
i am sure that there are about 8 to 10 wet diapers a day. but the issue is she does not seem satisfied after each feed which makes me dissapointed.Is this mothers milk tea available in India also? Is there any chance to increase the milk production even after 3 to 4 months after delivery? i want to exclusively feed her breast milk for 6 to 8 months.

Answer
She is definatly getting enough if she is having that many wet diapers and growing well. My guess is she is going through a growth spurt. Babies have growth spurts at 6 days, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 m onths, 9 months, and 12 and 18 months... this is where they spend a week or two acting like they havent had anything to eat in ages.... act as though they are starving.. It is something you just have to nurse through. this helps increase your supply to what she needs. She can tell your body  how much she needs. You shouldnt have to add anything to your routine. Our bodies know exactly what they are doing. There is a way to try to increase that, I am not sure if The tea is available in india or not, you can also try fenugreek herbs. those are both available here in the us. You might be able to order them online. But again, I think your prabably fine, if she is doing well, there is no reason to think you don't have enough milk. As time goes on, your breasts adjust to the amount of milk you have and they will no longer have that full feeling, but you will always have milk. As long as she is nursing as much as SHE wants, she will always get what SHE needs ;)