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- My milk didn’t come in.
- My baby was never satisfied.
- He nursed all the time.
- I couldn’t pump anything out.
- My baby wasn’t gaining enough weight.
- I stopped producing milk.
- My baby didn’t want to nurse anymore.
“He wanted to nurse all the time.”
Breastfeeding Frequency Dilemmas
Human milk digests very quickly and it is expected that the baby will need to nurse frequently. However, there are times when it seems that an infant is effectively attached to the breast all day and night. During these times the baby is usually going through a growth spurt and is nursing to stimulate the breasts to increase milk production to meet his needs. The removal of milk through very frequent let-downs and near-constant stimulation will both increase the amount of milk produced by the breasts and the percentage of fatty hindmilk produced.
Mothers should not be discouraged when they hear stories from others who’s infants fed every three hours or so. These babies most likely were formula-fed, or were supplemented with formula and solids. The amount of milk that women are able store in their breasts at any one time also varies. While no lactating mother’s breast is ever truly empty, some babies will need to nurse more frequently than others to satisfy their nutritional requirements. It is important for mothers to know that their milk is perfectly capable of meeting their infant’s growing needs, and if they give their babies frequent and unrestricted access to their breasts, their milk will not run out.
