How to Increase your Milk Supply Naturally

One of the things that breastfeeding moms worry about during their breastfeeding journey is finding ways to increase their milk supply to cope with the needs of their growing babies. Since numerous unavoidable factors like stress and one’s diet and illness can affect a mother’s milk supply, finding ways to keep up and make sure you have enough is high on a breastfeeding mom’s priorities.

Though there are medicines that can help in increasing a mother’s milk supply, very few women actually need to go to these lengths. More often than not, simple changes and natural solutions get the job done easily. Not only are they easy and less expensive, they are also much safer and have almost no side effects.

Above all else, there are two basic things a mom has to do to increase and maintain good milk supply.

1. Love thyself and keep the faith

There really is no going around this. A mom that tries to keep healthy habits, stays active, eats right, and takes steps to minimize stress will find that increasing their milk supply is much easier. After all, it is the mom’s body that creates the milk so it stands to reason that how she cares for her body affects the quantity and quality of her milk.

The mind is a powerful thing. Being depressed and frustrated about the volume of milk will be counterproductive to increasing milk supply. Believing in one’s own body and keeping faith that enough will be produced will help. Moms can also use meditation to decrease stress and ‘talk’ to one’s body. This will help moms get a positive outlook and be in a place of calm so their bodies function at their best.

2. Nurse, nurse, nurse (or pump, pump, pump)

Think of frequent nursing as class time for a mom’s body. The more a mom nurses, the better her body understands that there is a need to create more milk. It works the same with pumping. Remember, breastfeeding and increasing milk supply is a simple matter of supply and demand.

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Other than the basics above, there are a few other tips that can help a mom further increase her milk supply. Adding one or more of the following will help mom’s body even more.

1. Increase fluid intake.
Adding fluids helps the mom’s body produce more milk. It does not help at all for mom to be dehydrated and lacking in fluids. Taking a glass or two of water after each nursing session and consciously adding more fluids in the form of teas and soups will make a big difference.

2. Empty both breasts at every feeding.
As mentioned earlier, breastfeeding is basically a matter of supply and demand. Emptying both breasts at every nursing session by means of offering both breasts to baby, and then maybe pumping for a few minutes after every nursing session will tell the mom’s body that there is a demand for more milk.

For moms that exclusively pump, adding five minutes or so after the breasts are emptied will send the same signal to her body—that there is a bigger demand.

3. Do breast compressions.
Breast compression is basically adding external pressure to the breasts during the nursing or pumping session. It is basically massaging the breasts to help empty them out more effectively. This again triggers the mom’s body to produce more milk.

4. Take malunggay, clams and shellfish, and other supplements.
The most widely known supplement to increasing milk supply is malunggay. Adding fresh malunggay leaves to soups and other dishes regularly will help a mom get the milk boosting benefits it has. Moms can also take malunggay in other forms—capsules, powered form, tea, malunggay fortified products. Many moms opt to take the capsule since it is the simplest and most readily available. Taking malunggay in tea form is also great since it not only gives the benefits of malunggay, it is an easy way to increase fluid intake as well.

A close second to malunggay is taking clams or shellfish in soups and other dishes. Many moms have also found this to help increase their milk supply in a yummy and enjoyable way. It is best though to be very careful about the freshness and quality of the clams and shellfish. Make sure they are fresh and safe always, and remember, when in doubt, don’t. It is better to be safe than sorry since taking bad shellfish and clams is not only counterproductive but downright dangerous.

There are also numerous herbal supplements that are available in the market that are said to boost a mom’s milk supply. These are fine so long as they are proven to be safe and are bought from reputable health food stores.

When it comes to supplementation, moms need to do their research about what they take. Keep in mind that it is not only the mom’s health and body that can be affected; it is the baby’s as well.   

Increasing milk supply need not be such a daunting and stressful ordeal for moms. All there really is to do is remember that breastfeeding is beautiful and natural and in knowing the basics and being aware of what is effective and available, they are helping themselves provide enough of the best food for their baby.    

Photo from fotopedia.com