Low milk supply

Life as a low milk supply mom is hard. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve this fate...if there was anything I could have done to make my milk supply flow freely. I can certainly say that low milk supply moms suffer. It is torturous.

It all started with my daugther. I never imagined I wouldn't have enough milk. When she was born, I'd done all the reading and was ready and excited to breastfeed. Ava appeared to have a great latch from the start too, and boy did she love to breastfeed! Unfortunately, I had some excrutiating pain problems (which will be the subject of another post). At 3 days old, Ava had lost 8 ounces. At 7 days, she was up 4 oz. At 10 days, she was up 2 more oz. At 23 days, she was only up 2 more oz. So obviously around the 1.2-3 week area, my supply was no longer able to keep up with her demand. It showed too - she was ALWAYS trying to nurse, was always crying when she wasn't nursing, had pooped a grand total of three times in her life (minus meconium), and was always rooting. I never leaked. I was never engorged. I never felt letdown. I never heard Ava swallow. So at 23 days old, after a strong talk from my very pro-breastfeeding pediatrician and lactation consultant, we started supplementing with a little bit of formula. I had intended on getting my supply up enough that we could wean off the formula, but it never happened. I tried everything - pumping ALL THE TIME, nursing ALL THE TIME (despite serious pain), herbs, teas, meditation, and a prescription drug called Domperidone. The drugs helped, but not quite enough. So Ava continued to get 4-10 oz of formula every day and gained only 1/2 oz/day at best. It hurt every time I had to give her the formula because it was something I never ever wanted to do.

Fast forward to Alder's birth. I was prepared with what I might face again. We watched carefully to see what was happening with his weight and nursing. At 3 days, he'd lost 12 oz. At 7 days, he was still down 12 oz, he still had jaundice, and he hadn't pooped yet (minus meconium). The pediatrician told us to supplement right away. I asked for a few more days to work on it. I had my Domperidone and herbs at home and started them right away. I pumped after every feeding. I woke the baby every 2-3 hours to make sure he was feeding at least 10-12 times/day. I used breast compression. Thankfully, Alder gained 1 ounce/day for the next 2 months after that. It has slowed down now, and I'm worried about it. But he's still gaining in the acceptable range. So I've managed to avoid formula so far (at almost 4 months!). Now that I'm away from Alder (at school) a few hours a day, he's taking in more expressed milk from bottles than I can pump. I'm slowly losing ground and my freezer supply is disappearing. Soon it will be gone. Thankfully, my good friend and doula has volunteered to donate her extra milk to us. I will be grateful for that gift forever. But I just wish I didn't have to worry about it at all.

A true, low milk supply is actually quite rare, though the term gets thrown around a lot. Unfortunately, many doctors and nurses are not very educated in breastfeeding and mistakenly advise moms to supplement when they don't need to. So many women think they have a low supply, but very few actually do. I've breastfed for a total of 16 months now between my two kids, and I've tried EVERYTING and seen all the experts to try and figure this out. I always keep this little glimmer of hope that it will get better. Perhaps with my next child. But so far, it appears I'm one of the unlucky few with a true low supply. And we absolutely cannot figure out why, because I don't fit the typical profile for a low supply.

In treating my low supply, I've had GREAT success with the drug Domperidone. This drug is normally prescribed for gastro-intestinal issues, but it has the side effect of increasing prolactin levels and therefore milk production. For me, it has been a wonder-drug with absolutely no side effects besides the increase in milk. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get. The FDA has not approved its use for lactation (though the AAP has approved its use in breastfeeding mothers), and for some unknown reason, they have cracked down on physicians and pharmacies that still prescribe and distribute it. Jack Newman, perhaps the world's leading breastfeeding expert, has a few choice words for the FDA on this issue. It has been used safely and effectively around the world for decades, and has far fewer side effects than the other drug Reglan that is commonly perscribed for increasing lactation (which is also not FDA-approved for lactation, but they aren't being jerks about that drug). With my daugther Ava, our pediatrician was hesitant but did write the prescription for me, which I filled via the internet with a Canadian pharmacy. With Alder, I jumped ahead by ordering from this New Zealand company that ships from Vanuatu, thereby avoiding the need for a prescription. Plus, it is far cheaper this way.

I wish low milk supply wasn't something I had so much experience with. Like I said, I have this hope that with my next child, perhaps it won't be a problem. But if I continue to have problems, I feel well-prepared to deal with it. My heart goes out to any mom who suffers with this problem. I understand the heartache and feelings of inadequacy. It hurts.