It takes few weeks to establish your milk supply.
Early and frequent hand expressing along with use of a hospital-grade double electric pump is important in getting a good milk supply.
Hand express as soon as possible after your baby is born. The amount of milk you make depends on how often you express.
It is helpful to learn the skill of hand expressing before your baby is born. Your local breastfeeding groups may be able to help you prepare.
How much milk you produce varies from person to person.
But the amounts are usually around:
- day 1 to 3 - 1ml to 10mls
- day 6 - 50mls
- day 9 - 80mls
- 4 to 6 weeks - 700mls to 900mls
You need to massage and express for the first few weeks to reach this level (700mls to 900mls). Do this 8 to 10 times in 24 hours.
It may take longer to reach this level if your baby is very premature. But every drop of breast milk is helping your baby.
It can help to keep a log of the amount of milk you express every day so you notice any changes. There are also free apps that can help you keep track.
Non-urgent advice: Contact a lactation consultant or midwife if:
- you have concerns about your supply of breast milk
Milk supply varies from person to person. If you cannot produce enough breast milk, donor breast milk may be an option. Your baby's care team will discuss this with you if needed.
Some mothers consider donating milk when they have excess milk. Talk to staff if this is something you are interested in.
Some premature babies need additional protein, minerals and vitamins. These can be added to your expressed breast milk through fortifiers. Your doctor will prescribe fortifiers if your baby needs them.
Watch a video on establishing a good milk supply
Managing your milk supply
Once supply is established, it may be possible to reduce the number of times you express each day, without affecting your supply. Talk to staff about how to do this.
If your milk supply drops, you should express more often. You can increase your milk supply by power pumping.
Staff can help you manage your milk supply by increasing or decreasing how often you pump.
Increasing milk supply
You may find that your breast milk supply reduces after a few weeks.
When a baby can feed at the breast, they have growth spurts every few weeks. This helps to increase your breast milk supply. Growth spurt days are days when a baby feeds more often.
When you are pumping for a sick or premature baby, it is important to have days when you do extra pumping or power pumping to keep your supply up.
Use a combination of breast massage, hand expressing and pumping.
When hand expressing, remember to:
- massage your breast and hand express a few times before you use your breast pump
- always hand express both breasts a few times at the end of every pumping session
It can be difficult to fit in more sessions. Try to plan them for when you have more support if possible.
How to boost your milk supply (video)
Power pumping
To help increase supply, try to add 2 or 3 pumping sessions in 24 hours. You could add 1 hour in the evening, or when it suits you most.
During these sessions:
- Express as normal (for around 20 minutes).
- Turn off the pump and do some breast massage for 10 minutes.
- Pump again for 10 minutes and rest for 10 minutes.
- Massage your breasts and pump again for 10 minutes - this means you are pumping 3 times within 1 hour.
- Continue the sessions, even if you express very little or no milk - it can take 48 to 72 hours before you notice any change in supply.
Your milk supply should increase if you power pump for a few days. Any extra pumping will help to increase your milk supply.
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