How to Increase Milk Supply

From being able to pump barely 1 ounce in a 20-minute-pumping session, I eventually became an oversupplier pumping almost 24 ounces per day on top of directly feeding my baby via direct latch. I ended up with a freezer stash my baby didn't need anymore. I had to donate them all to other moms in need. 

I’m sharing with you everything I learned and did, hoping you’ll get a few tips and become successful in your breastfeeding journey!

A video version of this is available on my YouTube channel (but in English-Filipino). Search for "How to Mommy" or click on this link: INCREASING MY MILK SUPPLY

I am a first time mom. I gave birth last year, March 2, 2018, to my baby boy, via emergency Cesarean Section. We named him Cairo Dylan. He was healthy, and there seemed to be no problem at all immediately postpartum.

Except that, we weren't able to experience Unang Yakap. Unang Yakap in English translates literally to First Embrace.

Unang Yakap is the recommended skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby immediately after birth. Studies show that this saves lives as it transfers warmth, placental blood and protective bacteria from the mother to the newborn. Early breastfeeding is also promoted and a natural bond is encouraged. 

I WISH I INFORMED MY OBGYN THAT I WANTED TO DO UNANG YAKAP -- NSVD OR NOT. 

I am aware that this practice may not be done during special cases such as during an emergency cesarean section, but if it was possible, I would've wanted to be informed of what choices I had, or at least told that it wasn't happening. I understand it was complicated but I have known stories of mothers doing Unang Yakap even after a CS birth. Please read about this and try to talk to your OBGYN prior to giving birth to ensure Unang Yakap if you really want to.

My baby was just shown to me for a split second. I got to kiss him once, then I was sedated. I woke up in the recovery room. My baby was in the NICU.

Later, I was transported to my private room. 

He was roomed in that evening. Of course I tried to breastfeed him. It was challenging. I admit I thought it was gonna be easy, but he just kept crying. I knew what a deep latch was supposed to look like but we seemed to be unable to achieve it. He struggled, I struggled — it was hard.

Also, when I hand expressed, no milk came out, so it also stressed me out. I know it's normal. Milk sometimes doesn't come until the 3rd day postpartum and that's okay. That's okay and you're supposed to still keep the baby latched on so he could feed on your colostrum, which we sometimes couldn't see. Colostrum is the first form of milk produced right after giving birth which is usually very little thus almost cannot be seen since it doesn’t flow or leak. When baby is latched on, the colostrum is immediately consumed even when we don’t see it. So I knew not seeing milk leaking out was okay. The colostrum is usually enough for a newborn the first few days. So I still needed to keep him latched on and I didn't give up. 

However the people around me weren't comfortable that there seemed to be no milk coming from me. My baby kept crying. Puzzling enough, even my OBGYN kept suggesting I give formula milk temporarily until “my milk would come in,” and I had no energy to argue with her and everyone else who agreed with her. So we cupfed him formula milk when he was 3 days old. It was painful for me to watch him drink formula milk when I prepared very well to breastfeed. It was literally painful that tears would well up in my eyes. I had to look away everytime he was fed (or maybe it was the hormones).

I still continued breastfeeding him directly. Only whenever he would cry inconsolably, we would give him 1 ounce of Enfamil. It was very uncomfortable for me, especially because he kept spitting up everytime he was given formula milk. So I did my best to increase my milk supply ASAP. I ate everything i was told to eat like moringa soup, clam soup, chicken soup with moringa and green papaya, lactation cookies and drank a LOT OF WATER. 

On the 4th day, I was finally able to hand express some milk. There was actual visible breastmilk coming from me and I was so happy and reassured! 

So we stopped giving him formula milk and only exclusively breastfed him. Aside from the fact that I already had breastmilk, we also noticed he would throw up a lot every after formula feeding. So I seriously decided to exclusively breastfeed him. Later on we discovered he is allergic to cow’s milk.

However when Cairo was 2 weeks old, during a routine check up, we discovered that he lost so much weight. He lost 720 grams. His birthweight was 3500 grams, so he became really underweight. There were several reasons why and one of the reasons was because I had a very low milk supply.

That's why it was very important for me to increase my milk supply or else I had to give my baby formula milk, which, again, he is allergic of. 

Sorry for the really long intro, I think it was necessary, but anyway.. Here are the tips i can give if you're also trying to increase your milk supply.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert but these are mostly what worked for me or what I learned from my experience. I’d be happy to listen to feedback if there’s I’m anything here that is incorrect. Just let me know! 

1. CHECK IF YOU REALLY HAVE A MILK SUPPLY PROBLEM. You might not have low milk supply. So try to find out first. Remember that during the first few days, your baby’s stomach is only as big as a cherry so it only needs a very small amount of milk. This means that your small amount of colostrum is enough, or some drops of milk. Your milk will eventually increase as the baby’s stomach size increases. The process is automatic since the demand will become higher. So do not be worried if your milk doesn't overflow unlike the others. Each body is different but every mother is capable of breastfeeding. There is only a record of 2% in the total worldwide population of moms completely unable to breastfeed and we’d like to stay positive we are not part of that small percentage. Trust your body and only feel concerned when other matters arise such as signs of dehydration, and severe weight loss, to name a few. If these signs are not present, you might just have a normal to average milk supply and there's no need to increase it. Trust me, you don't want to have an oversupply. It's very painful, it could lead to mastitis, and is gonna be such a huge hassle. I am not kidding. If you are “sure” to have a low milk supply, try to do this next.. 

2. ENSURE YOU ARE BREASTFEEDING CORRECTLY. Before taking any galactagogues, make sure you are breastfeeding correctly. ALWAYS remember that breastmilk production follows the law of supply and demand. The more you breastfeed, the more your body produces milk. The less you breastfeed, the less your body produces milk. If you aren't breastfeeding correctly, your baby may not be emptying your breasts, and emptying is one of the most helpful things you can do to promote milk production. So breastfeed often and correctly to express more milk and increase milk production. Some signs of effective breastfeeding include: (1) baby's lips flanged out, (2) no pain, (3) only little of the areola exposed, (4) no milk leakage, (5) no clicking sound. You may help your baby empty your breasts by doing compressions while he is feeding. Your baby might not know yet how to suckle effectively, especially premature and smaller babies, so breast compressions will definitely help. Another way to further empty your breasts is thru hand expression every after nursing. This signals the body to produce more milk. For milk flow, you may also massage, or apply warm compress. In my opinion, talking to a Lactation Consultant was very helpful for better guidance. Everything I was being told and everything I was learning online started to become confusing. So it was great to talk to someone, face-to-face, getting answers, demonstrations and encouragement from an expert. If you need to supplement while waiting for your supply to increase, whether it is breastmilk or formula milk, try not to use a baby bottle. This is for moms planning to direct latch only, once milk supply stabilizes. Here are some feeding methods you can do: (1) SNS method, (2) Drip-drop method, (3) cup feeding. In my opinion, we did those to ensure no nipple confusion. Later on, we offered a baby bottle and checked if he developed any nipple confusion by letting him latch on me directly from time to time. He showed no signs of nipple confusion. We then stopped cupfeeding and continued giving donated breastmilk using a baby bottle. We tried and considered a lot of baby bottles and what was closest to the feel of a direct latch was what worked for us. It was the Pigeon wide-neck Soft Peristaltic bottles. Other popular choices here in the Philippines are from the brands Como Tomo and Hegen, but these were too expensive for us who were trying to be free from baby bottles as soon as possible. Our goal was to feed him via direct latch only. Anyway, with the Pigeon bottles, his direct latch was not affected. However, every baby is different. Others become nipple confused very easily and end up not latching on to the mother’s breast anymore. Observe and do everything gradually. Now we can move on to galactagogues for further increase in supply.

3. GALACTAGOGUES. Contrary to what’s heavily advertised, galactagogues don't necessarily need to be difficult to look for. These are usually just simple food which we can find in our kitchens.

• WATER - Water is often overlooked but is a good milk booster. The concept is simple. The body primarily relies on how hydrated you are to create milk so try to double or triple your water intake now that you are breastfeeding.
• MORIGA SOUP - From where I am, we call this UTAN BISAYA with MALUNGGAY. Moringa is a very popular milk booster and in the Philippines, we are lucky to have this growing almost everywhere, usually, in our backyards.
• CLAM SOUP - Also known here as KINHASON, this is also popular among our grandmas and moms. Although not backed up by scientific studies, a lot of moms swear by this type of soup.
• CHICKEN SOUP WITH GREEN PAPAYA ANG MORINGA - We call this TINOLANG MANOK with MALUNGGAY and follows the same concept as mentioned above. Moringa is a good milk booster and the soup hydrates the body. I cannot say WHY there has to be green papaya but it is always recommended by the elderlies.
• ANYTHING MORINGA - Because moringa or malunggay is very abundant here, there are so many food and drinks available infused with this plant. Some bakeshops sell Malunggay Pan de Sal (moringa bread). There are moringa flakes you can buy (or make) to sprinkle on your rice or soup, and there are malunggay drinks available like this one I just discovered from Pancake House. With some lemonade and cucumber, this looks easy to recreate at home.
• OATMEAL - Oatmeal is one of the best and cheapest milk boosters I have tried. I had oatmeal every morning for 7 days and my pumping output reached an all-time-high that week. You can prepare oatmeal several ways but my favorite is just adding water, sugar and popping it in the microwave.
• MILO OR OVALTINE - I keep reading this in Facebook Breastfeeding Support groups and decided to give it a try. They say it is because of the malt content. In my experience I cannot say it gave me a mind-blowing boost, but it was a good drink to have instead of just plain water. So, it definitely helped me stay hydrated.
• NUTS - Unfortunately I had to avoid this because my baby was suspected to have peanut allergies, but I have a friend who swears by Almond milk. Nuts in general are quite talked about when it come to galactagogues. You may give it a try!
• GATORADE - Gatorade blue is included on this list because it was mentioned several times in Facebook Breastfeeding Support groups. Although it isn’t advised to be taken in huge amounts due to the sugar content, it does help you HYDRATE since it tastes good. 
• COCONUT - I have tried this a couple of times and the engorgement was very immediate. It’s easy to access fresh coconut from where I am. We happen to have a coconut tree in our backyard and I could have a drink straight from the fruit anytime I want. If this is hard to find from where you are, try the local market and keep it frozen in your fridge. In the grocery, there are packaged coconut milk that may also be as effective. From US-based Breastfeeding Support groups I was in, there was a time the Starbucks PINK DRINK was very popular as a milk booster. The particular drink has coconut milk as one of its ingredients.
• NATIVE CACAO - Locally known here as Tablea, this is also something easy to find and prepare. This is a very pure form of chocolate that has undergone very minimal food processing after being harvested from the cacao tree. You may melt it in hot water and enjoy it as a drink (tsokolate/sikwate), or add it to rice porridge to create CHAMPORADO or chocolate porridge — a popular Filipino snack/merienda. It can also be added to pastries and desserts. I cannot say if all types of chocolate works as a galactagogue but native cacao does!

When you’ve opened all kitchen cabinets and none of whatever I said works, it’s probably time for galactagogues you can find in pharmacies or specialty stores.

4. BREASTFEEDING SUPPLEMENTS

• MORINGA CAPSULES - what’s popular here are the brands Mega Malunggay, Natalac or Life Oil. I have only tried NATALAC and while it increased my milk supply, it wasnt the increase I was looking for. But I know moms who swear by these Moringa capsules and you might also want to give it a shot.

• MOTHER'S MILK TEA - this is an herbal tea that can be found in Healthy Options. It comes in a pink box with several tea bags. The ingredients are known herbal galactagogues like fennel, aniseed, coriander, fenugreek, blessed thistle, etc..
• M2 MALUNGGAY CONCENTRATE - one of my favorite drinks was this tea that I got from Andok’s. Andok’s is a roasted chicken place (lechon manok), who happens to sell M2 as well. It’s a moringa concentrate tea drink and may be prepared hot or cold. I preferred to have mine cold since it was summertime when I gave birth. Aside from the milk boosting properties of moringa, it definitely increased my fluid intake because it tastes really good.
• MOTHER NURTURE - Up to this day, Mother Nurture is something I would drink if only it doesn't cause an oversupply. It is a moringa drink that comes in coffee or chocolate flavor. Some of the ingredients are moringa, ashitaba, gotu kala, and stevia as sweetener.  it always kept me company when I powerpumped at 3 or 4am. I liked their chocolate variant best served warm.
• LACTATION COOKIES - there are a lot of lactation cookies being sold online these days and a lot work really well because of the ingredients. It is usually an oatmeal cookie. Oatmeal is already a milk booster, so baked with flaxseed meal, brewer's yeast, fenugreek and other nuts, it's definitely a good lactation treat! While you may bake your own, I guess nobody has the energy for that so buying would be a great option.
• FLAXSEED MEAL - Aside from being one of lactation cookies’ ingredients, this can also be mixed with your drink, like coffee. I tried it and didn’t like it very much mainly because of its texture, but it has been proven to work really well. I have been told by other moms that they just add it to their Milo, or oatmeal.
• BREWER'S YEAST - If you are into baking, you may replace the usual yeast you use to brewer's yeast and create instant milk boosting pastries! 
• FENUGREEK- Fenugreek is one of the most common recommendations by moms to other moms but this is not for all. For some, it increases milk supply, while for some it does the opposite. It's very important to observe your supply closely when starting to take fenugreek. Aside from it being a hit or miss, its side effects may include your body fluids smelling like maple syrup like when you pee or sweat. In here we can buy this in capsule form from Healthy Options. I tried this and took 1 capsule, 3x a day. My milk supply increased. But my milk quality was not the best. I cannot find very many stories like mine but I had to stop taking fenugreek the moment I realized it was making my baby gassy. He had a hard time sleeping at night. He cried and spit up a lot and after further observation, we noticed that it was only when I took fenugreek that he was like that. Whenever I wouldn't take fenugreek, he was ok. But to a lot of other moms fenugreek was the answer to their milk supply problems. It wouldn't hurt to try.
• LEGENDAIRY SUPPLEMENTS - Aside from Fenugreek capsules, I also came across these organic supplements online. It comes in different variants, since milk boosting herbs may work differently for each mom. Their best sellers are Liquid Gold and Pump Princess. I started with those two first. I ended up trying out all variants but Liquid Gold definitely worked best for me.  The increase was very evident in fact whenever i did not take it, my milk output wasnt as much. I have so much to say about Legendairy supplements that I am creating an entirely different blog post about it, also for a thorough walk through on how it worked for me. This is quite expensive though, but I was able to completely eliminate all other supplements I was taking (Mother Nurture, m2 concentrate, Fenugreek, lactation cookies) and the expense isn't comparable to the cost of formula milk. All the benefits Legendairy supplements gave us, such as the opportunity to keep breastfeeding, doesn't have a price. I always say this, again and again, and this is not sponsored: Without Legendairy, I don't think I could've continued breastfeeding.

• DOMPERIDONE - This was gonna be my last resort but I didnt end up trying it because of Legendairy supplements. Domperidone (common brand Motilium) is an OTC for nausea and vomiting. Anyone can buy it. In high doses, it is said to become a galactagogue. It increases you milk supply. From what I gave gathered, the dose has to be extremely high and I’m talking about taking 3 tablets, 3x per day. That's 9 tablets per day. The problem is, to some it works, to some it doesnt. And when it works, and you stay on that high dose for quite a while. It becomes dangerous as it may cause irritability, mood swings, heart problems, depression. That's why when you don't need to take Domperidone anymore after stabilizing your supply or building your stash, YOU CANNOT JUST STOP COLD TURKEY. You need to taper it down for weeks. It is advised to take Domperidone as a galactagogue with close supervision by a Lactation Consultant to be guided accordingly. Please do your own research since I wasn't able to try this first hand.

Aside from taking galactagogues, here are other practices you NEED to do. Remember that even when taking galactagogues it will all be useless if you don’t do frequent emptying (may it be thru direct latch or pumping). IT IS STILL NECESSARY in order for you to increase or maintain milk supply. To do this, here are more tips:

5. BREASTFEED ON DEMAND. This is applicable when breastfeeding via direct latch. When you see hunger cues (closed fist, eye rubbing, opening of the mouth, or something as simple as crying) offer your breast. There are different opinions about this but I choose to believe that you can’t really overfeed a baby via direct latch. He’ll unlatch when he’s had enough. We need to trust our babies more.
6. PUMP EVERY 3 HOURS. If you decide to be a pumping momma, always pump consistently. It follows the same idea as breastfeeding on demand and emptying the breast always. The more you pump, the more your body produces milk. This is something “new” here in the Philippines especially since exclusive pumping is almost unheard of, so majority of the moms don’t know how often they should pump to increase or maintain supply. I hope this helps. But also, take note that if you do not have a milk supply problem, you should only start pumping past 6 weeks postpartum. This is the time when your milk stabilizes basing on your baby’s need. If you pump before 6 weeks postpartum even without a low milk supply problem, you might suffer from an oversupply. This brings risk for clogs, mastitis, or worse, an abscess. In line with pumping to increase your milk supply (or also if you want to build a stash), invest in a good and sturdy double electric pump. I bought an ordinary low-end single electric pump when I first decided to pump. It was ineffective, a waste of time and money. Then I bought another pump, a manual pump, which I only used ONCE. For someone with a milk supply problem, it wasn't the most helpful decision at all. Finally, I met another breastfeeding mom (Cairo's pediatric dentist), who advised me to go for a hospital grade pump no matter how expensive, if I was that desperate to increase my milk supply. So I went ahead and got a Spectra 9 Plus Double Electric Breastpump which saved me so much time and energy. It pumps out milk from both sides at the same time so with a pumping bra, I could do it hands free. It made a HUGE difference. I also didnt have to plug it in. It is rechargeable so I didn't need to pump near an outlet. Since it’s double, I can pump from both sides at the same time, so everything was done faster. It is quite pricey but because we relied on pumped milk for several months, it was very worth it. Don’t be like me. Buy the best type of pump there is and don’t settle for what’s cheaper if it isn’t proven to be a good brand. In the end, I wasted the money I spent for the cheap pumps. Reviews, blogs and experiences are all over the internet. A tip is to look for UNSPONSORED reviews. You can also ask online mom groups. Powerpumping also helped me alot. The same pediatric dentist who advised me to buy a better pump urged me to powerpump. I’ve heard of it before I met her but I didnt start doing it until she told me to. She swore by it and I was ready to try anything at that point. Powerpumping is when you pump using a double electric pump for 20 minutes on both sides and rest for 10 minutes. Pump for 10 minutes again on both sides and rest for 10 minutes. And then pump 10 more minutes to complete the process. That’s a total of 1 hour. This works in increasing your milk supply since it makes the body think that your baby is feeding on that much, that often. It takes a lot of time but I treat this as my 1 hour of “me time” daily. I just prep my baby (he should be well fed and happy or asleep) and place my husband in charge for an hour. I like doing it early in the morning when everyone is still asleep (3 or 4 AM). I watch vlogs or happy shows, or browse through the Instagram stories of Legendairy Milk (@legendairymilk). The success stories always make me feel good and I am able to pump more when I feel good. Remember to be consistent. If you do all of these but not daily, there is no assurance of your milk increasing. It has to be a routine. If you are a working mom, you may pump at work! Buy an insulated bag or an ice chest, some ice packs, breastmilk storage bags or bottles, a pumping bra and a nursing cover. You can do it!

7. BE AROUND SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE. It takes a village. This doesn't only apply to raising a child but also to breastfeeding. It's difficult to keep doing something you are struggling with if everyone around you is telling you to give up. I am very fortunate I was living with people who either agreed to my decision or were neutral to it. No one was very much against it, in fact they helped me whenever I needed anything lactation-related. If it's hard for you to find support from your home, there are many support groups online that you can talk to 24/7. In the Philippines, the biggest group is on Facebook, Breastfeeding Pinays, and a Cebu-based version of it, Milk Making Mommies. Everyone there is very responsive and supportive. I found myself online friends I've genuinely connected with, in fact, that group is where I first heard of Legendairy supplements which, like I mentioned, is probably the biggest reason why I am still breastfeeding.

8. ELIMINATE STRESS. I noticed that the more stressed out I was, the less milk I expressed. Receiving donated milk was a huge help because it stopped me from worrying if my baby was gonna have milk for the day or not. It was essential while I was working on my milk supply to avoid formula milk as my baby's milk preference. Formula milk has a different taste compared to the mother's milk. There are cases where the baby refuses to nurse when being mix-fed since formula milk tastes better. Although this is not always the case, it's still great to have a breastmilk donor to largely reduce your stress levels. Once I stopped worrying, I was able to concentrate on worry-free pumping, and my supply was always more whenever I wasn't stressing out on anything. Some moms do online shopping, watch funny shows on Netflix or read good books while pumping. NEVER watch the news or read the news while pumping. 😂 This is the most important but most neglected advise. Try to always stay optimistic. I am a huge believer of The secret and The Law of Attraction so I know that crying and feeling guilty will make it worse.

So those are all my tips mommies, I hope I was able to help! It was very important for me to increase my milk supply and it paid off because my baby gained so much weight, and now, at at 18 months old he’s really happy and healthy. Comment below if you have questions or send me a message! I am always very willing to help.