13 Ways To Help Milk Come In Faster After Birth
The first few days postpartum are SO overwhelming (and sometimes scary!)
You’re in charge of a new little human that you only just met, you’re surviving on little-to-no sleep, and you’re waiting (not so patiently) for your milk to come in.
Your milk “coming in” is actually not a great term, because (to get technical) you’ve actually been producing milk since the 2nd trimester of pregnancy!
Remember: you’ve got colostrum ready to go.
It’s just that colostrum comes out slowly and in small amounts. But you’ve gotta trust your body… your baby’s tummy is tiny and the colostrum is specifically made by your body to be the perfect food for newborns to tie them over until your milk transitions.
Your milk “coming in” is actually when colostrum transitions from a thicker, yellow fluid to a more voluminous, whiter, “mature” milk.
MOST women’s breast milk will transition from colostrum to mature milk about 2-5 days after birth. For some women, it can take even longer.
You might be thinking… “Is there anything I can DO to speed up the process?!”
Yes… yes, there is! Here are a few helpful tips on how to make your milk come in faster…
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How To Help Milk Come In Faster After Birth
It’s a GREAT idea to take a simple and affordable breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding is something you need to LEARN to do. The Ultimate Breastfeeding Class is on-demand and perfect for new moms.
1. Try to take advantage of the golden hour.
The golden hour is the first hour after birth when your baby is awake, alert, and usually ready to latch. If possible, try to latch your baby as soon as possible.
Even if you’ve had a c-section, you can request to breastfeed in the recovery room. Babies usually get tired a couple hours after birth… so attempting to breastfeed early on is a great idea!
2. Skin-to-skin for the win
Your baby CRAVES to be skin to skin with you and absolutely looooves it! It’s the most natural place for them to be and most closely mimics what it was like in the womb. (warm, comfy, hearing your heartbeat)
Skin-to-skin enables your baby to breastfeed more often because they’re close to the breast and can smell your milk. Plus, skin-to-skin boosts the milk-making hormones and reduces newborn crying.
The more you can be skin-to-skin with your baby after birth, the better! It speeds up your milk to come in because you’ll naturally breastfeed more often. (the key to speeding up the process!)
3. Room In With Your Baby
Rooming in the same room with your baby in the hospital will ensure you’re breastfeeding on demand through the day, and night, and so you never miss a moment to respond to their hunger cues. Speaking of hunger cues…
4. Recognize Hunger Cues
Breastfeed on demand and respond to your baby’s hunger cues before they get too fussy.
Don’t worry about breastfeeding too much. (that’s not a thing!) Remember this: you can’t overfeed a breastfed baby, but you can UNDERFEED them.
5. Nurse On Demand Around the Clock
A baby that nurses frequently will often bring in mom’s milk faster. The more you breastfeed, the more your breasts will produce… simple supply and demand!
Your newborn will need to feed every 2-3 hours around the clock… this translates to about 8-12 nursing sessions every 24 hours. And breastfeed every time they display a hunger cue… even if you just nursed them an hour ago!
If you and the baby are separated or baby isn’t latching well, you can hand express or pump to stimulate the breasts, get colostrum out, and help milk to come in. (note: hand expressing is more effective for colostrum removal than pumping) Learn it!
6. Hand Express
The more milk you remove, the more milk you’ll make. Hand expressing your colostrum can help speed up your milk coming in. And whatever colostrum you get out you can feed to your baby with a syringe.
Video on how to hand express
7. Breast Massage
You can incorporate breast massage and compressions while your newborn is nursing to ensure you get a lot of colostrum out.
Or you can use THIS handy little tool which uses vibration to encourage milk removal.
8. Expect a fussy baby
Like we said earlier, babies usually get sleep a couple hours after birth. But it seems like on day 2 (curing the night specifically), babies usually WAKE UP and the only thing that makes them happy is breastfeeding and cluster feeding. This is normal, and expected. Your baby will want to be nursing a ton and that’s actually a good thing! It’ll help signal your body to ramp up milk production and help your colostrum transition to mature milk faster. Days 3 and 4 postpartum might be a fussy time for them too. Put them to the breast whenever they display a hunger cue. Just keep feeding, your mature milk is on the way!
9. Wake your baby to feed if necessary
If your baby is sleeping through nursing sessions, you may need to wake them up. (especially if you had a medicated birth) You never want a newborn to go more than 3 hours without a feeding.
Related article: Baby Sleeping While Breastfeeding? 27 Ways To Keep Them Awake!
10. Stay Hydrated
While drinking extra fluids won’t increase your milk supply, being hydrated WILL decrease it. So you want to make sure you stay hydrated. Keep a water bottle nearby and drink whenever you think of it.
My midwife actually recommended drinking THIS after birth because it helps replace lost electrolytes during delivery.
11. Eat Well
Did you know breastfeeding moms require an extra 500 calories per day? Making milk is hard work!
Make sure you don’t deprive yourself, especially as you’re recovering from birth. Eat a well-rounded diet and focus on fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Also, a lactation cookie can’t hurt!
Lactation cookies contain galactagogues (foods that help milk supply). One of my favorite tips for pregnant mamas is to make and freeze some lactation cookies for postpartum. I encourage moms to bring some with them to the delivery room. Lactation cookies a great way to ensure you’re getting that extra 500 calories in a day and they’re easy to eat, one-handed snacks!
This is my favorite way to make lactation cookies ahead of time because you simply add butter, 2 eggs, and then bake!…
12. Avoid Pacifiers
Although you might choose to use a pacifier later on, try to delay giving it to baby until you’re milk is well-established (about 4 weeks postpartum).
Your baby has a natural desire to suck and any suckling they do away from the breast is a missed chance for breast stimulation (and bringing your milk in faster!).
13. Connect with an IBCLC
IBCLCs (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants) are the best of the best for troubleshooting and support.
Most hospitals have them on staff so ask to see one when you’re in the recovery room. Ask them any questions you have and be sure to have them observe you and your baby breastfeeding to make sure baby is breastfeeding well
What triggers breast milk to come in?
After birth, when the placenta separates from the uterus, there will be a sharp drop in the hormone progesterone. This triggers the breast to ramp up milk production.
So no matter if you have a vaginal birth or a tummy birth (c-section), rest assured your milk WILL come in! (it’s just a matter of when)
Things that may delay your breast milk to come in after birth:
A lot of bleeding after birth
Infection or illness with fever
Previous breast surgery
Strict or prolonged bed rest during pregnancy
Having a c-section or a traumatic birth experience like a long labor or a lot of interventions
Being a first time mom. Studies show 1st time moms often have a slight delay in milk production.
Certain medical conditions (diabetes, thyroid conditions, pre-eclampsia)
Stress
A high BMI (above 26-30)
Having any retained placenta fragments (your progesterone levels won’t drop to trigger milk production)
Being separated from baby or baby having a poor start to breastfeeding (remember: the more milk you remove, the more milk you’ll make… so you’ll need to get hand expressing or pumping to stimulate your breasts as soon as possible)
What if you If you have a delay in your milk coming in?
Try not to stress! Continue to breastfeed/hand express/pump as necessary and keep removing milk. Reach out to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns or if your baby isn’t having enough wet/dirty diapers.
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