The Biggest Milk Supply Myth

I get so many questions from clients and on Instagram about milk supply.  It makes sense- you can’t see the amount of milk that is coming out when baby is nursing, so it’s hard to not worry about how much breastmilk you have in there!  

Myth-busting

The most important thing to know is that full breasts do NOT equal a better milk supply.

It’s a bit counterintuitive, because when your breasts are really full it SEEMS like your supply is great. So what is happening?

Your breasts are like a factory

When your breasts are really full, it is sending a signal to your body to make LESS milk.

Think of it this way- if a factory was making a lot of a product but they were not able to ship it out from the factory, they would slow down production because they would be running out of space to store all the product they were producing. Similarly, when your breasts are really full, they slow down milk production.

When your breasts are more “empty” (they are never truly empty) they continue to make more milk.  If the factory was making a product that was constantly moving out, it would continue to make more to keep up with the demand.

While it is true that if you were to wait to pump when your breasts were super full, you would pump a lot of milk during that one pump session. However, if you were to continue this pattern of waiting to feel full before pumping, your supply would decrease over time and you would not continue to pump large volumes. (I am using the example of pumping here because you can see the volume of milk that comes out, but the same principle applies to nursing).

How to maintain a good milk supply

Therefore, the way to maintain a good milk supply is by frequent nursing or pumping, even if you don’t FEEL like your breasts are full of milk.

A couple of real-world examples:

• If you’re at work and you don’t feel super full but you aren’t sure if you’ll get another chance to pump for a while, you should just pump then while you have a chance.

• If baby is cluster feeding and you feel “empty,” I promise that you aren’t empty and that continuing to put baby to breast will help you to keep up a good milk supply.

The key to a good supply is frequent nursing or pumping.

If your baby’s growth is good and he seems content after most feedings but your breasts are usually soft and don’t feel like they are exploding all of the time… that’s a good thing! You can be assured that your milk supply is right on track.

As always, if you have questions about your milk supply, get in touch with an IBCLC for a personalized plan of care.