how to increase milk production

several of my friends have asked me recently how they can increase their milk production. i had the opposite problem myself, and was getting plugged ducts and had a lot of pain because of too much milk production. in fact, i started looking into donating my milk to a milk bank because my freezer is overflowing!

some of the things that i noticed which seemed to increase my milk production were:

• drink plenty of liquids.  milk (if your child doesn’t have any dairy allergies) and water, preferrably.
• empty one side first.  have your baby drink until you feel empty on one side before switching to the other side.  if he’s done drinking and you’re still not empty, them pump afterwards.  remember, you want to get all the good hindmilk out because the foremilk is not as fatty.   there’s a really good article on kellymom about how milk production works here.
• eat! a lot of people are concerned with losing all of the weight they gained during their pregnancy.  i don’t know if this is true or not, but it worked for me.  i ate lots of meat, avocados, and other fatty foods, and never had non-fat or sugar-free anything.  i’m not talking about eating fast food or eating excessively, but when you are producing milk, your body needs more calories.  i never made it to the gym, and was able to lose all of the 40 lbs i gained during my pregnancy pretty quickly anyway.  i noticed that my milk was always very fatty compared to some other people who were really skinny.
• squeeze. while you’re pumping, you can put pressure on the mammary glands by pumping one side at a time and using the other hand to press firmly from your armpit area downwards.  also, it helps to learn how to manually express milk so that you can really get it all out.  i found that it’s really hard to completely get all the milk out just by pumping.  once your body knows that all of the milk is gone, it will start producing more.
• bring a blanket. it can get a bit chilly when your chest is exposed, and i found that i was able to let-down faster when i was warmer.  maybe this is true, maybe not.  but hey, at least you’ll be more comfortable.    this applies for both nursing and pumping.
• sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. buckle in for the long haul, don’t rush, and try to relax.  do whatever you need to do in order to settle in and not feel rushed.  when you’re pumping, i’ve heard that bringing a picture of your little one can help.  if you’re nursing, make sure you go to the bathroom first.    and even though it’s tempting, don’t try to multi-task!

for more info, you can check out the milk supply issues faq at the la leche league website.