What Kills Milk Supply

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So what kills milk supply? There are several factors that play into a decrease supply of milk. Unless you are a mother who overproduces, we want to avoid a decreased milk supply! We want to ensure that our bodies are making enough breastmilk to meet our baby’s daily nutritional needs so they can be healthy and happy. I can’t wait to share this information with you today! Let’s dive in!

Have You Been There?

I was so discouraged and frantic. I had just pumped both sides and only got 1 ounce of milk! My baby was 3 months old! I wasn’t producing nearly enough to meet her daily needs!

My daughter’s pediatrician gave me formula samples to try since my milk production was low and my baby was starting to fail to thrive. I broke my heart! I felt like a failure because I couldn’t provide enough milk to meet my baby’s needs. However, I wanted my baby to be healthy, so I tried the samples.

Have you been there? Maybe right now you are feeling that way – hopeless, discouraged, worried about your baby’s health, and broken. I feel for you, Mama! Be encouraged! There are steps you can take to naturally boost your milk supply. To learn about this, read my article Tips To Boost Milk Supply (Coming next week!)

Now let’s discuss what takes us to this point of feeling broken in our breastfeeding journey. What kills milk supply?

3 Things That Kills Milk Supply

There are 3 main things that kill milk supply, and we will discuss them below. As you read them, evaluate your own life and see if these relate to you.

1. Stress

Did you know that stress is the number one killer of breastmilk supply? To understand this, let’s have a little endocrinology lesson. What happens when you are stressed? Your body produces the hormone cortisol. What does cortisol do to the body? It sends it into “fight or flight” mode. The rest of the body’s functions are “shut down” so the body can focus on meeting the stressor at hand.

This poses a problem for milk production, though! Cortisol is fighting against the hormone prolactin. Prolactin is the hormone that tells your body “produce milk!” So when you’re stressed, your body can’t “read” the message prolactin is trying to send. The result is low milk production.

Did you know that stress is the number one killer of breastmilk supply?

Simple Steps To Lower Your Daily Stress

If you are a stressed mama, take a simple evaluation of your life and see where your stress is coming from. Is it a dirty home? An unfinished house project? Perhaps you have other children who need caring for?

Whatever it is, write them down and let’s see if there are simple ways you can address those stressors. If you can, eliminate them all together!

Here are some other simple ways you can decrease your stress levels.

Get good sleep. When you are tired, it makes you more likely to be stressed. Do what you can to get good sleep.
Exercise. When you move your body, it releases tension and stress from the muscles. This boosts your mental and emotional health. It may even help you sleep better at night! Exercise is a great way to decrease your stress levels. No need to go crazy here. Even if it’s going for a walk every day, that’s great!
Avoid caffeine. If you’re like me, caffeine gives me the jitters. Lowering your caffeine intake may help reduce your level of tension in your body.
Clean up a little. Studies have shown that a cleaner living space directly impact your mental health!
Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is simply being in the moment mentally. If you are going for a walk, take in what’s around you. What do you see? What do you smell? What’s the weather like? Are there other people outside? When you’re present in the moment, it forces your brain to focus and not run wild on anything and everything.
Eat healthy. Recently, I’ve noticed a direct relation between starting my day with sugar and without sugar. If I have sugar in the morning, it puts me in a bad mood. On the other hand, if I keep sugar out of my morning breakfast, I’m much more stable and happy!

2. Not Eating Enough Calories

I find this point to surprise some mothers. “Wait. Aren’t I suppose to be trying to loose baby fat right now? Why should I be focused on eating?”

Great question! The answer is because when you breastfeed, your body is burning energy to make your breastmilk. Did you know that you need an EXTRA 400 calories per day while breastfeeding? How’s your diet right now? Do you need to make a healthy boost in your calorie intake by eating more healthy sources of calories?

Did you know that you need an EXTRA 400 calories per day while breastfeeding?

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The Rest Of My Story

Remember those formula samples the pediatrician gave me? Worse cam to worse when my baby spat up more after drinking it! I was determined to boost my milk production. Little did I know what I was doing, really, but I did a simple assessment of my life and simply tried to be healthier.

I knew I wasn’t eating enough every day, and that was partly because my baby was so colicky that taking care of “me” wasn’t really on my priority list. So, I made a change and decided to be more deliberate at eating more at every meal. Also, I tried to eat snacks during the day.

The result? Within a week of making this change, I went from producing only one ounce of milk (or 1/2 and ounce per boob), to producing 3-4 ounces! It continued to increase from there as my body got healthy again and the demand for milk was still there!

3. Drink Enough Water

filling up a cup of water using a pitcher

Breastmilk is 90% water! The other 10% is proteins and fats to help your baby grow! Your baby needs to be hydrated just like you do. If you’re not drinking enough water during the day, then it is possible that your milk production can be low as a result.

How much water should a breastfeeding mom have per day? Excellent question! The answer is 128 ounces of water! For some, this may be challenging to achieve.

One of the main reasons mothers are dehydrated is because they are busy and have a hard time remembering to drink water! That’s why I’ve created these 3 simple tips for you below. Take advantage of these 3 free tips to help you stay hydrated as a busy, breastfeeding mom!

A breastfeeding mother needs to drink 128 ounces of water per day!

4. Certain Medications

There are certain medications that can decrease milk production. Always be sure to talk to your doctor before starting a new herbal remedy or medicine while breastfeeding.

My doctor told me to stay away from medicines ending in -phen or -phol (like Acetaminophen) because they can decrease milk supply.