Advice please from BF experts..

[tomtomclub]

Hi - bit of a sad story but..

was wondering if I can call on the advice of some of Mumsnet's BF experts. I was exclusively bf ds. About three weeks ago noticed my supply had dropped right off ( ds screaming after 2 mins on breast (both sides), breasts not feeling in the slightest bit heavy or full etc) and I found out the cause of this was that I was pregnant ( an accident - my and DH's stupid fault - fell into the breastfeeding trap..). DS only 3 months old. Have since lost the baby unfortunately. I am however desperate to regain my former breastfeeding strength, as I have had to supplement ds with lots of formula for the last few weeks. He is a big boy - 15lbs 11oz at 14 weeks. I battled hard with mastitis in the first few weeks and ds and I came out the other side happy breastfeeders, and really dont want to carry on with formula feeding if poss. Should my hormone levels return to normal and bm supply return if I keep feeding him as often as possible? He goes through the night, but should I be waking him to feed to get supply back? Any help at this horrid time would be appreciated. Sorry for such a long post. Many thanks.

Hi,

Sorry your going through such a difficult time at the moment.. you will be able to get your supply back no problems.. you must stimulate your breast frequently (every 3-4hours) by either nursing or expressing (hand or pump). I would also recommend taking some natural lactation stimulators.. Oats are VERY EFFECTIVE. Eat porridge every morning and snack on oat cake or oat cookies throughout the day. OR you could buy tinctures, capsules or teas which contain Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Nettle, Goats Rue, Fennel seed - all of these are herbs and all increase milk supply. Here are a few link of sites that sell the tictures etc...

www.breastfeedingheaven.co.uk/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=5

www.pedleybaby.co.uk

www.tinyrascals.co.uk/brand/MotherLove-/

Hope this is of help. Let us know how you get on..

Take Care

you need specific advice form a breastfeeding counsellor - they are fantatsic and really worth ringing

agree with pop re councillor, failing that (until tomorrow am) i've always found tiktoc and mears on here to be excellent for BF knowledge.

google- la leche league

tomtom - sad story, hope we can help.

Yes, there are ways to get your milk back. It may be a real challenge but with motivation you can increase your chances.

Expressing/feeding 3-4 hourly is not enough - it needs to be a minimum of 8 times in 24 hours including at least once at night, so yes, either wake him or express in the night.

Be careful with herbs. Some actually work against milk production, and you need to be aware of the way the herb is 'packaged' ie seed, oil, leaves some info here .

It would be safer to see a quallified herbalist, IMHO.

Work out a plan to reduce the formula. He may need formula for a while until your supply is built up, but if you keep the formula at the same level your breastfeeding will suffer - remember, frequent feeding/expressing drives the supply. Formula increases the gaps betwen breastfeeds and so works against the re-establishment of the supply.

Keep your baby close with lots of skin to skin contact and cuddles.

You can ask your doc about prescription meds to boost your supply, too.

Good luck.

thanks for the advice ladies. Tiktok - it's good to hear some positive news, thank you. Am fed up with HV. There is such emphasis on bf when you are pregnant from the health professionals - constantly asking if you are going to be breastfeeding, sending you to workshops etc, then when you run into problems after they've ticked their little box it seems you disappear from their radar. My HV told me 'Oh well - that happens ' when I explained about my milk supply, she didn't offer the support I felt I required. Am convinced that a lot of depression in women after they have their babies is due to the traumas of feeding and I dont think the relevant support is available through the normal GP channels. They are keen to get your baby on formula and be done with you! I have found La Leche League v helpful, but it's a shame I cant get the same advice through my own HV!!!
Sorry - rant over.

Tomtom- tbh even though my mw was fab and i loved her to bits the best thing she did for me with bfeeding was send me to a bfing group. She realised that she wasn't an expert but she made me go to the experts iyswim.

Don't give up- la leche are fab