Establishing Your Milk Supply

Breastfeeding infant

Establishing Your Milk Supply
By La Leche League Canada

“Milk is produced almost continuously: the more often the baby nurses, the more milk there will be.”

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Breastfeeding infant
The delivery of the placenta tells the body to start producing milk. This happens whether a mother is breastfeeding or not. By day 3-5, mother’s milk comes in and volume increases. Frequent nursing and regular removal of the milk stimulates the breast to produce more milk. Milk changes through a feeding and throughout the day to meet a baby’s changing needs. Foremilk, at the beginning of a feeding session, contains less fat and more water. Hindmilk, later in the feeding, contains more fat and is higher in calories. Babies need both foremilk and hindmilk to provide total nutrition

Breastfeeding early and often is one of the most important factors in getting breastfeeding off to a good start. Babies who are allowed to breastfeed within an hour of birth and then at frequent, unrestricted intervals, help mother establish a good milk supply sooner than those who are put on a strict feeding schedule. Newborns usually nurse about every two hours, or at least 8-12 times per day; some may nurse even more frequently. Feeds may not be spaced evenly throughout the day. Some babies cluster several feeds together and then sleep for a longer stretch.  The rest of this informative article can be found HERE.