Constantly hungry baby & Domperidone tablets

[Muntjac]

My baby is 4 weeks old and feeds continuously - he is on the breast for about an hour each time, which includes 5 minutes for a nappy change at half time (between boobs). I wait until he falls off the breast before putting my boobs away, but he almost always wakes up 5 minutes later and starts rooting for the breast again, and cries if he doesn't get it. Does this sound normal?

I suspect that my milk supply is low as I've tried expressing and get very little milk out (30 ml after 20 mins' expressing is about average). My doctor has just prescribed Domperidone to me to increase my milk supply, as I went in complaining of very sore breasts and she thought this may increase the efficiency of his feeds - but the information leaflet with the tablets says that breastfeeding mothers shouldn't take them as the drug passes through to the breast milk. And there don't appear to have been any clinical trials into the effects on babies of drinking breastmilk contaminated with this drug. (It's an anti-sickness drug normally given to people with stomach ulcers!) Has anyone ever taken it? Does it work? Is it safe?

Thanks a lot.

Muntjac, the behaviour you describe is well within normal for a baby of this age.

Expressing is no indication whatsoever of what the baby takes or what you make.

I am surprised your doc prescribed dom. where there is no real evidence you need to increase your milk, to be honest.

If your baby is gaining weight and developing normally you can be pretty sure your milk supply and his intake is just fine.

Hi Munjac,
I don't know about the domperidone i'm afraid, I'm sure others who have taken it will be along soon. I'm also a bit confused as to why the doctor gave you domperidone when you were asking about sore breasts?

I wouldn't assume that you have a poor milk supply just because you're not expressing much.

When he wakes up 5 minutes later, why not just put him on the other side for a bit? He's so little that he wants and needs to be kept close to you and fed at every little murmur.

How is his weight gain and poos and wees by the way? This will give you an indication as to whether he is getting enough milk.

Try a bf helpline if you are still having probs.

good luck

Hello, I took domperidone with my first dd (very little weight gain at 7 weeks) and I'm pretty sure it helped, because when i ran out of pills and had to get another prescription, I definitely had more problems feeding in the few days when i wasn't taking it. Also, neither I nor dd had any ill effects from it, so don't worry about that. I think it is still "unofficial" that it increases milk supply and that's why there is nothing in the info leaflet. But it is quite widely known. I was told by the breastfeeding expert at King's College hospital to ask my doctor to prescribe it.

I bow to Tik Tok's greater knowledge on this, but would say if you feel it is the right thing, then you can take it without worrying unduly and see if it helps.

Hmmmm.....mrsbabookaloo, meds should not be taken just because the 'taker' feels it is the right thing. They should only be used when there is a clinical reason for them, and this is particularly the case with a bf mother.

Dom. is known to be effective when mothers have genuine issues with milk supply which are not addressed by the usual things of increasing the no. of feeds and improving the baby's removal of milk.

The OP does not (to me) appear to have a problem with supply - at least, none of her description matches up with any usual sign of poor milk supply. It's definitely not a treatment for sore breasts, either.

So using meds for what might be a non-problem is not a great idea

Thanks everyone - can I just ask Tiktok, what are the signs of poor milk supply?

My baby produces lots of wet and pooey nappies every day - and he often gets that thing where the milk starts to come out of his nose - so presumably he is getting enough milk?

muntjac - at four weeks old, a well-fed baby will have reached birthweight and will have started to gain weight. He will produce several wet nappies every day and prob several poos (though this is not definative - some babies don't poo every day by any means, and this is epecially the case after the first weeks. No poo would only be a warning sign in a new baby). He will enjoy feeding and show by his behaviour he wants to feed.

You cannot judge milk supply by how much you can express, how long or how often the baby feeds/sleeps. All these are very individual and vary a lot.

From what you say, your baby is fine, is feeding well, and your milk supply is fine, too. I would be looking elsewhere for a solution to your sore breasts, and I'd be wondering if my doctor knew about bf, too

Hi tiktok, of course you are right.I did not mean to imply that meds should just be taken casually; I expressed myself rather carelessly.

I am normally the last person to take pills or advocate taking them. When i took domperidone, things were at rather a desperate stage with dd1 and I was trying very hard not to have to supplement with formula. I took them, rather nervously, on the advice of the infant feeding consultant at Kings.

However, Muntjac's situation sounds different and you have considered it much more carefully than I did, and she probably has no need to take it.

I suppose I was just wanting to answer her qs: has anybody taken it? is it safe? and does it work? to which I would answer yes.

Anyway, enough self-justification!

'Sokay, mrsb

I'm told that domperidone is better at restoring supply that used to be good, rather than producing supply out of nothing.

If your baby is feeding near-continually, and if your breasts (nipples?) are sore, then it may be that your latch could do with some fiddling. What's your local BF support like? This page lists local breastfeeding support groups in the UK.

Thanks mrsbabookaloo - I will bear what you've said in mind re the pills being safe but for the time being I think I will leave them unopened and see how I get on.

I have since been back to see another doctor who has prescribed me treatment for ductile thrush - fluconazole - as he thinks my symptoms sound like I have this, and this was what I thought I had in the first place anyway.

And thanks for the link notquitecockney - I have been to a few BF drop-ins, I have had slightly different advice from each of them which has been frustrating for me, but what they do all tend to tell me is that my baby's latch looks "textbook", so I am not feeling inclined to go back to any of them. However, if the thrush treatment doesn't relieve my symptoms, then there must be some other reason why my boobs feel so dreadful even between feeds, so in that case I am considering getting an independent BF counsellor/lactation consultant to come and see me at home.

To that end, if anyone knows where the best at-home breastfeeding advice comes from - in terms of really perfecting my technique in a way that suits me rather than what they tell you in training - and I'm willing to pay for that advice - then please do offer suggestions (i.e. if there is a particular organisation that has the best people to give this kind of personalised, expert advice, which I can then contact to see if they have someone local).

Thanks a lot

Sounds pretty normal to me. DS2 was attached more often than not at that age.

Make sure your latch is good and keep your nipples nicely soft (the lansinoh cream is good, as is fresh air) and just let him feed as much as he seems to want.

I think it takes boobs a few weeks to get into the groove of feeding. They have to sort themselves out in much the same way as the baby's digestive system is sorting itself out. I have no qualifications however and this is just a guess based on my experiences.