Occasionally I’ll hear of moms who had a well established milk supply and all of a sudden their supply drops. What can cause a late onset decreased milk supply?
🤰🏽Pregnancy. Milk supply drops during pregnancy because of hormone shifts to protect and grow the fetus. Domperidone or other milk making herbs/medications and more pumping or feeding will not work to increase supply
💊Hormonal birth control (pill including progestin only pill, IUD, etc)
🤱🏽Breastfeeding on only one side at a feeding or “block feeding” to correct an oversupply if done too long or with a small storage capacity
💊Some medications can decrease the milk supply (antihistamines, decongestants). Certain herbs in excess or as essential oils can, too (too much peppermint or sage)
🛌 Sleep training. Babies are supposed to wake often at night for the first 3 months and continue to wake through the first year. Night nursing keeps milk hormones high for making supply and sleep training can sabotage milk supply for some
😷Blocked ducts/mastitis as well as any illness with a fever may decrease the milk supply
🍼Giving bottles can very much decrease the milk supply if you’re not pumping to replace those feeds. When at all possible, pump whenever baby is getting a bottle, regardless of if it is formula or breast milk being given
🎡”Overdoing it”. Anything that interrupts feeding baby on demand, including too many visitors, too many errands, or making baby wait to feed by the clock
📌Periods. Supply can temporarily dip during periods
🚿An “abundant milk supply” associated with a less than “ideal” latch. The milk flows into baby’s mouth with little participation of baby. Baby may often choke while breastfeeding, especially during let down. Tongue tie is a common cause of baby having a shallow latch and can be a significant cause of decreased milk supply even if there were no problems early on. Baby was riding an abundant supply instead of stimulating milk supply
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