You can increase your milk supply naturally at home by following some important steps that will help you get enough milk for baby, as well as increase a low milk supply in general. New moms have a hard time knowing if their breast milk production is sufficient for baby, so I'm going to go over evertything you need to know when it comes to increasing your milk supply at home. I am a mom of 4 boys, and I breastfed all of them. I am also a certified nutrition coach and pre/post natal fitness specialist, so I specialist in helping new mothers lose weight while breastfeeding. I've had to lose the weight and keep up my milk supply 4 times now, and I learned the hard way that lactation cookies are not a great way to increase your supply! I also know that many mamas are wanting to achieve a healthy milk supply because they are going back to work. I have some extra details on getting your milk supply prepared for going back to work, so your freezer stash can meet baby's needs while you are gone!
Always meet with a lactation consultant in the beginning:
It is always a really good idea to visit with a lactation consultant in the very early stages of breastfeeding. That helps you rule out any latch issues from the beginning, and lactation consultants have extra tips and tricks that many of us aren't aware of. A good latch is essential as baby nurses to get in enough milk at each feeding, and a professional can really help ensure this is happening! Even me, a mom of 4, has learned something new from a lactation consultant every time I've met with one.
Increasing your milk supply naturally involves a few steps to get started:
- Learning what foods and nutrients to eat to nourish your body
- Testing home remedies like fenugreek tea and herbal supplements
- Increasing on-demand feedings with lots of skin contact
- Storing more milk to measure how you've increased milk flow
I've learned that focusing on a healthy diet, adding in natural supplements, and feeding baby frequently are the most important things to solving a low breast milk supply. I think the power of nutrition is key, but many breastfeeding moms don't know what nutrients to focus on, or what a balanced diet for breastfeeding looks like, so they jump to lactation cookies and high-calorie foods to try and achieve a short increase in breastmilk supply. Sometimes, eating higher carbs can help increase milk supply right away because it gives your body extra glucose, but this doesn't solve the root issue of needing more milk supply long term.
The foods that increase milk supply naturally:
Milk-boosting diet to start eating immediately:
Adding milk-boosting foods to your diet is going to be very important to increasing your milk supply naturally. Healthy lactation is the result of a healthy, thriving body. This means that nutrients are partly the building blocks to a lot of milk. Think of nutrients as the foundation to hormonal health. If your hormones have the proper nutrients, they will function correctly. It is like putting diesel in a car that takes gas. It can't run properly, and there will be a lot of compensations. If you don't put the right nutrients in your body for lactation, then your milk supply is really going to suffer.
Lactation smoothies:
Lactation smoothies are a quick and simple way to start adding more nutrients to your diet that will help increase your milk supply. The key is to provide the RIGHT nutrients, which we've included in our Milk Dust protein powder. There are specific nutrients that need to be blended in your smoothies to really ensure that you are supporting your body's needs a breastfeeding mom. These nutrients come from sources like chia seeds, flax seeds, protein, healthy carbohydrates, folate, vitamin b12 and more. Milk Dust is a quick, easy and tasty way to blend everything you need together with some fresh fruits and veggies. It has an amazing lactation-boosting blend that pairs with the power of the nutrients to give you a huge boost in supply.
WHAT IS IN THE MILK DUST PROTEIN LACTATION BLEND?
The Milk Dust lactation blend consists of these specific ingredients that increase milk supply:
Milk thistle:
Milk thistle is widely used as a galactagogue, and there is a great study that reports a 32% increase in milk supply after mothers used it for 63 days. "Results:Women orally treated for 63 days with Silymarin showed a clear galactagogue role for the product with an increase of 85.94% of the daily milk production (placebo: +32.09%). No drop out, nor unwanted effects were reported in both groups. Compliance and tolerability were also very good…" This is great news, and shows the power of milk thistle for lactation. This is one of the main ingredients in the lactation blend.
Organic Red Raspberry Leaf:
Red raspberry leaf doesn't have as much clinical backing on its own for milk supply specifically, but it is amazing in supporting overall hormonal health in women. In addition. red raspberry leaf when combined with other ingredients like fenugreek are shown to increase milk supply in this study. In addition to the lactation benefits, Vitamin B6, found in red raspberry leaves, is a fighter of all things PMS, including mood changes and irritability. In addition, B6 binds to estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, helping regulate these steroid hormones, reducing your risk of cancer. Lactation is a very hormonal-dependent process, so any ingredient that helps balance this process is going to benefit lactation.
Brewer's Yeast:
Brewer's yeast is one of the ingredients that has been used for centuries to increase lactation. This means that there are hundreds of years of anecdotal evidence to support its use. The studies illustrate that it is actually the nutritional enhancement brewer's yeast provides that increases milk supply. This is where Milk Dust differs than other lactation drinks, which I will go into, but Milk Dust also targets nutrients that help increase and support lactation as well. This study states, "Although studies in ruminants indicate that brewer's yeast might increase milk supply, the effect is attributed to improved nutrition (increases in vitamin B and chromium) rather than any specific effect on lactation." Overall, with the centuries of use and amazing nutrient qualities, it is an important part of the Milk Dust lactation protein blend.
Fenugreek seeds:
Fenugreek has both anecdotal and evidence-based studies. This means that subjects reported an increase in milk supply based on their own experience when using fenugreek to increase milk supply. "In a US survey, of 122 mothers who used fenugreek as a galactogogue 43% thought it increased milk supply and 5% thought it decreased their milk supply" (study). In addition, fenugreek was included in an overall study of various herbs to increase lactation. "Shatavari, torbangun, fenugreek, milk thistle, and a Japanese herbal medication were the 5 herbal preparations studied. Five trials found an increase in breast milk production. "(study). My favorite study is this one, that shows fenugreek alone increased milk supply against a placebo. Any studies using a placebo are very helpful becuase the comparison shows the power of the product itself. "The NMA results of 4 studies indicated that consumption of fenugreek significantly increased amount of the produced breast milk [11.11, CI 95% 6.77, 15.46] versus placebo. " This is 4 studies, which shows the power of fenugreek alone, and why it is an essential part of the Milk Dust lactation blend.
Fennel seeds:
Fennel seed is very similar to fenugreek, and it too has been shown to increase milk supply both anecdotally and in scientific studies. The International Journal of Pediatrics reports that, "Ten studies were included into review. Five studies showed the fennel alone or in herbal tea can increase breast milk and neonatal anthropometry." 10 studies is a lot, and those studies focused on fennel, showing the power of the ingredient by itself to increase lactation.
THE POWER OF THE MILK DUST LACTATION BLEND:
By blending all of these ingredients together, you can harness the power of each of them in slightly smaller doses. This helps mitigate any of the possible side effects, and allows all of them to work together. This is why Milk Dust is so successful in increasing milk supply. It offers the best, most researched ingredients in one blend to really support healthy lactation. Lactation consultants use this, and Milk Dust has been used to help mothers relactate!
"I am constantly looking for supplements and tools to help my ladies. I ordered your sample pack and tested it for 6 days. I can honestly tell you I loved it, I was really impressed with the smell and taste, your lactation blend is great, the product overall exceed my expectations."
- Michele Hodges Lactation Consultant + Lactation Sation Podcast
I've found that the best way for me to increase my supply is to focus on eating clean and nutrients. Protein powder really helped me add in more protein to my diet, especially when I am someone that doesn't love to eat a lot of meat or eggs. I tend to like carbs and sweet foods, so the best food for me was a sweet and delicious protein shake or smoothie! The good news is that Milk Dust also targets sugar cravings, so it can help you in your weight loss efforts too! The simple diet lifestyle changes had a huge affect on me, and below are some additional foods you need to add to your diet. From there, I have a few more tips that will help you increase your milk supply naturally at home, so you know you have enough breastmilk for baby.
Skinny and Milk-Boosting Lactation Smoothie Recipes That Work!
Additional Milk-Boosting Foods To Add To Your Diet:
- Salmon
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sweet Potatoes
- Strawberries
- Oatmeal
- Nuts and seeds
- Beans
- Green leafy vegetables
- Whole grains like brown rice
Top Galactagogue Foods To Increase Milk Supply
We have some awesome meals you can pack for work and lunch to ensure you can keep your milk supply up throughout the week.
Moving on from the foods you need to start adding to your diet, pumping and breastfeeding also needs to increase. Increasing the demand will increase your supply.
Increasing Feedings Both Pumping and Breastfeeding:
Increasing your feedings both with baby and the pump are essential and the best natural ways to increasing your milk supply. Here are your steps to make sure you are increasing your feeding and pumping sessions:
- If you are feeding your baby on demand, with little pumping, start adding pumping sessions
- If your baby is sleeping through the night, add a power pumping session or feeding session in the night (this is temporary to build supply!)
- If you are alternating pumping and nursing, start tracking how often. Add two more sessions each day for a week.
- If you need more in your stash, add two more sessions again for a week.
Make sure you are using a good breast pump:
Not all pumps are created equal. Finding a pump and fit that works best for you is really important. Some moms have better success with manual pumping, while others do fine with an automatic pump. Don't be afraid to try different pumps to make sure you are getting the most of your pumping sessions.
If pumping isn't going well, add more skin-to-skin sessions:
This is a really important note for mamas having trouble with pumping. If your body isn't responding to the pumping well, you can scale back and add in more skin-to-skin feedings. Try this for a few days, then replace your nursing sessions with pumping sessions slowly. This will help your body become adjusted to the demand before using the pump, making it easier to pump more milk at each session.
Tips on storing milk:
Your milk storage bags can be lined up in a soda or pop box for a quick and easy way to keep them from falling all over your freezer. You can organize boxes based on the weeks you pumped them to rotate through. Check out our breastfeeding hacks with some awesome ideas on how to store your breast milk as well as other tricks. Breast milk can last about 6 months in the freezer, and longer in the deep freezer. This means you can really pump up your supply for a while, then scale back when you have enough in storage.
When going back to work, stress can really affect your supply:
The stress of needing to pump and store extra milk, as well as leaving your baby can put a toll on your milk supply. This is a large reason Milk Dust exists.
Milk Dust takes the stress of eating ALL the milk-boosting foods off your plate.
Our formula is specifically made to nourish postpartum mamas, encourage milk supply and reduce the sugar cravings that can make eating healthy difficult. By giving new mommies a tool to help with this process, we hope it makes the life of a working and pumping mom just a little bit easier. Feel free to use code: LACTATION for 10% off your first order!
