How to resume breastfeeding after artificial feeding. How to restore lactation after a break or illness

Not all modern mothers strive to feed their baby with their milk. But most women try to prolong natural feeding so that the baby receives all the substances it needs in a natural way. Desire alone is not enough, and it happens that milk disappears for various reasons. The child cries, sleeps poorly, worries, rarely pees, and this means one thing - he is hungry. How to restore lactation in such cases?

Why does breast milk disappear?

You can determine that milk has begun to disappear by looking at the diapers. If breast-feeding has already formed, and diapers are changed less than 10 times during the day, then there is clearly not enough milk.

Lactation may decrease for several reasons:

Lactation crisis. Lasts 3-7 days due to the child’s rapid growth and his consumption of more milk. The body is rebuilt to produce new volumes according to the infant’s requests. Doctors advise mothers not to worry and not to rush to transfer the baby to artificial nutrition. A temporary lack of the required portion of milk will not harm him. It is advised to put the baby to the breast more often so that the flow of fluid increases and lactation returns to normal.
Medicines. Drugs used during childbirth or during breastfeeding. Sometimes they negatively affect the hormonal balance of the mother in labor, and the functioning of the mammary glands is disrupted. When a mother has to start serious treatment, taking drugs prohibited for breastfeeding, breastfeeding is stopped for a while. You need to try to maintain lactation by pumping regularly. Even if it is not possible to restore full feeding, those small portions of milk with which the mother supplements artificial nutrition will be very valuable for the baby.
Experiences, stress, worries of a nursing mother. A difficult situation in the family, a serious event (divorce, death of a relative, financial complications) can cause milk burnout. It is important that close people help the woman survive these moments in order to maintain lactation.
Early complementary feeding. When a mother believes that the baby is not getting enough milk, she, without consulting a doctor, feeds him from a bottle, making a huge mistake. The baby will begin to eat the formula and will start to latch on to the breast less. In some cases, children refuse it completely. The milk burns out, and restoring lactation will be problematic.
Separation of a newborn from its mother in case of going to work or study. Then you have to pump. Weak stimulation of the mammary glands, infrequent feedings, and lack of contact with the baby lead to the extinction of lactation.
Incorrectly organized GW. Soviet-era breastfeeding policies relied on scheduled feedings only, mandatory pumping, and early weaning, since mother's milk was not considered a vital food for a newborn. This ended disastrously - the women's milk quickly disappeared. Nowadays, breastfeeding consultants in maternity hospitals strongly recommend feeding babies on demand, not using bottles and pacifiers, not supplementing their diet, and be sure to feed babies at night - the disadvantages of feeding by the hour.

What is relactation

If the mother has a desire to resume breastfeeding after a long break or transfer the baby from mixed or artificial nutrition to breast milk, it can cause lactation again. This is called relactation. There are cases when the body is stimulated to produce milk in nulliparous women to feed an adopted baby.

If your milk has disappeared, there is no need to despair. Is it possible to restore feeding if the little one is already accustomed to eating from a bottle and sucking a pacifier? GW specialists assure - It’s possible to return lactation! The main thing is to be patient and have the desire.

When is restoration of lactation necessary?

There are a lot of situations due to which breastfeeding was suspended, and each case is individual.

Restoring lactation after a long break is required due to:

premature birth of a baby. From the very first hours, such babies are placed in an incubator and are often fed formula;
development infectious diseases in a mother after childbirth, requiring drug therapy incompatible with lactation;
intolerance to mixtures. Choosing the right artificial nutrition can be difficult. The newborn suffers from constipation, colic, and increased gas production. His immunity weakens, which entails susceptibility to acute viral diseases. The only correct medicine for a frequently ill baby is mother's milk.
establishing psychological contact between mother and baby. Breastfeeding is considered an excellent way to develop healthy nervous system and a stable psyche in the child.

Methods for restoring lactation

Before restoring natural feeding, you need to determine what caused weak lactation and, if possible, eliminate it. Returning to breastfeeding is easier up to 2 months of age. When asked whether lactation can be restored, a young mother will receive an affirmative answer. It is important to teach the baby to take the nipple correctly and provide him with adequate nutrition during relactation.

Mechanical impact

When the mother is determined to restore lactation, it’s time to take action. Necessary:

Constantly attach the baby to the breast. If the baby suckles up to 8 times a day, it means that it does not stimulate the mammary glands enough. Oxytocin, the hormone responsible for milk secretion and successful lactation, is not produced by the body. By offering the breast to the baby, even without his request, the mother will satisfy his sucking reflex and at the same time stimulate her body. In this case, you need to completely abandon the pacifier and supplement the baby with water.
Don't be lazy to feed your baby from 3 to 8 am. If he is sleeping at this time and does not breastfeed, prolactin, an important hormone for milk production, is not released. Night latching is the key to successful breastfeeding. Many mothers, by feeding their baby only during these hours, and not throughout the day, were able to prolong lactation for many months.
Teach your baby to latch on to the breast correctly. If the baby was bottle-fed, he will suck the areola loosely, not capturing it entirely. Stimulation of the nipple will not work, the baby will gasp for air and begin to protest, refusing the breast. There is no need to despair. They don’t stop offering breasts, trying to stick the nipple and areola into the mouth. This will require additional stimulation with a breast pump. You can also strain it manually. You need to express milk the day before at least 8 times.
Reduce supplementary feeding. It will not be possible to restore lactation in one day and feed a baby. It's a long process. During recovery, you need to supplement the child with the diet he was on, gradually reducing the portions. At the beginning of one feeding, the baby is given the breast, then formula is given, and at the end the baby is given the breast again.
Eat quality food. During this period, you should drink warm liquids more often, refrain from allergenic and fatty foods, and fill your diet with protein foods that have a positive effect on milk production. You can drink herbs and infusions that enhance lactation. Fennel, galega (goat's rue), lemon balm, cumin, and anise have a beneficial effect on milk flow. Pharmacies sell ready-made bagged lactogonic teas. They are drunk half an hour before feeding.
Make physical contact. Ideally, the mother will undress the baby and feed him in the “cradle” position. Close contact with the baby will increase milk production and calm the baby.
Perform breast massage, which enhances lactation, and take a warm shower before feeding. This will improve milk flow, and the baby will be able to quickly get enough.

Drugs to increase lactation

If mechanical methods traditional methods and tea was not called desired effect, and it was not possible to return lactation, you can contact your doctor for a recommendation. The doctor prescribes effective lactogenic drugs. By accepting them, you cannot refuse other methods. Together, medications, night feedings, pumping and massage can help completely restore lactation.

The list of such drugs includes:

lactogone with royal jelly, nettle and carrots;
femilak-2 – milk powder, including protein, vitamins, minerals;
lactavit, which contains lactogenic herbs and enhances lactation;
apilak with vitamins, bee jelly and microelements;
Mlekoin is a homeopathic remedy taken before meals.

Helping mom and emotional state

Restoring lactation is not an easy step, and after overcoming all the difficulties, the woman will be completely satisfied. After all, she overcame not only the reasons why the milk disappeared, but also taught her body to produce it again. During childbirth, a hormonal explosion occurs, sharply increasing the level of oxytocin. This is an anti-stress hormone, popularly called the hormone of well-being. Therefore, a nursing mother is calm and relaxed when breastfeeding.

Successful breastfeeding is closely linked to her emotions and good mood. If there are reasons why the milk has disappeared and lactation has stopped, not only depression, but also a feeling of guilt may occur. A woman can be helped by breastfeeding consultants, her husband, relatives, and friends. The support of loved ones is very important during relactation.

If you used a bottle

The baby quickly gets used to bottle feeding, and it is difficult to switch him back to breastfeeding. The baby has to work hard to suck milk from the breast, the flow of which is no longer as free as from the nipple. Many children do not know how to grasp the areola correctly, since industrial nipples do not always follow the anatomical curve of the nipple. When sucking, babies hurt their mother, swallow a lot of air, and then burp a lot. If the baby clicks when feeding, and the sucking process is painful, lightly press on his chin with a finger, slightly pulling the skin down. When the lower lip turns out, the areola is captured correctly.

At the first time of giving up the bottle and returning to the breast, the baby may be very capricious, demanding a pacifier. In order to restore lactation, before the feeding process it is necessary to massage the chest, back, take a warm shower, directing streams of water to the mammary glands. When the baby is half asleep, it is good to put him on the chest to pump. This will help restore breastfeeding after a break and using a bottle.

To ensure normal restoration of lactation, doctors recommend being with the baby more often, not giving up night feedings and constantly offering him the breast. It is necessary to control the number of urinations of the baby - there should be at least 10 times a day. It is advisable to weigh yourself after meals and monitor weight gain according to age - see norms.

For a newborn no more important than a person than mom. For him she is a source of warmth, tenderness and even food. Unfortunately, some women have difficulty breastfeeding. They notice that their milk supply is becoming less and less, and the baby is not getting enough.

However, pediatricians do not recommend switching the baby to artificial feeding, because only breast milk contains elements that are vital for his proper development. How to get breast milk back? To answer this question, let's first find out why it disappears.

Application of supplementary feeding earlier than 6 days after. The child, receiving food through the nipple, understands that sucking it is much easier than the breast and begins to be lazy. Usually, slight malnutrition by an infant for 3 days does not harm him at all if the number of urinations decreases temporarily to 6-8 per day. But if after this time (6 days) the number of urinations does not increase, temporary complementary feeding should be introduced. Feed only with a spoon.
Mother's excitement. Any experience leads to a decrease in the amount of oxytocin (the hormone responsible for lactation) in a woman’s body.
Feeding a newborn with a bottle. In this case, the mammary gland is not stimulated by sucking and gradually stops producing milk.
Mom's fatigue. If a lot of worries fall on her shoulders, a complete loss of milk production is possible.

An urgent question for mothers: “ Can breast milk be returned?"—can be solved with the help of the following lactogenic drinks:

Cumin tincture

Pour 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds into a glass of boiling milk. Leave for 120 minutes. 30 minutes before feeding the baby, drink half a glass of the product.

Walnuts with milk

Grind 12 walnuts and pour half a liter of boiling milk. Leave for 120 minutes in a thermos. Drink half a glass 20 minutes before feeding.

Anise tincture

Pour 1-2 teaspoons of anise seeds into a glass of boiling water. Leave for an hour. Take a quarter glass 15-20 minutes before meals.

Nettle decoction

Pour a tablespoon of dried herbs into 1 cup of boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes in a tightly closed container. Drink 50 g after each meal.

Carrots with milk

Pour 3-4 tablespoons of grated carrots into a glass of warm milk. Take a glass twice a day.

Nutrition to increase lactation

A mother who is breastfeeding does not necessarily need to eat twice as much as usual. But on her table there must be products that help restore breast milk:

hard cheese - 40-50 g;
cottage cheese - 150 g;
milk, kefir or fermented baked milk - 200 g;
protein products (fish, veal, poultry) - 200 g.

The amount of liquid in a nursing mother's daily diet is at least 2 liters (including soups, juices, milk, etc.). You can use teas and vitamin preparations for nursing mothers.

What else will help you get your milk back?

If your breast milk has disappeared, do not despair, but follow these tips:

Taking special medications

The most popular medicine that allows you to return milk is apilak. Although it is inexpensive, it is effective drug. It is not recommended to take it without consulting a doctor, as it may develop. And this is also bad. Stagnation and even complete cessation of lactation may develop.

Cold and hot shower

Take twice a day (morning and evening) cold and hot shower. Direct streams of water onto your chest, while lightly massaging it clockwise. Then turn around and place your back near the shoulder blades under the water jets.

Therapeutic bath

Place a large bowl of hot water on the table. Stand near a bowl and lower your chest there. As it cools, add hot water. Do the procedure for 15 minutes. After drying your chest, put on cotton underwear and a warm vest. You can go straight to bed, covered with a warm blanket. You can't catch a cold in your mammary glands!

Massage

Massage your chest for 2-3 minutes (with your lungs in a circular motion clockwise) with a few drops of castor oil, previously rubbed in the palms. In this case, the woman should not feel any discomfort.

Effective exercises

Get down on all fours and lift your head up. Remove your bra. In this position, move around the apartment for some time.

At chest level, keep your arms bent at the elbows, clasp your fingers together and point upward. On the count of 1-2, press your palms together with force. On the count of 3-4, relax them (the position of your hands does not change).

Rest to increase lactation

How to restore breast milk supply through rest? To do this, take your child for walks more often. fresh air. Put off all household chores for 2-3 days. Go to bed with your baby.

Feeding on demand

The hormone prolactin is responsible for the production of breast milk, and frequent breastfeeding stimulates its production. At each feeding, place the baby on both breasts, then completely express the remaining milk. The frequency of feedings should be increased to 11 times a day (do not exclude feeding at night, because at this time there is an increased production of prolactin).

Communication with the baby

Take your baby more often and talk to him. Touching your loved one increases milk production.

Proper feeding

When feeding, make sure that your baby latches onto the nipple correctly. His sucking movements should be active.

Helpful advice: A baby who is bottle-fed still has the genetic skill of sucking at the breast. In order to awaken him, the baby must be put to the breast in a state of drowsiness.

After birth, for any baby, the first place in importance is his mother. Almost every woman dreams of feeding her child with a completely natural product. However, not everyone succeeds in this. Some people have to think about how to return milk to a nursing mother. Otherwise, the child may not finish eating. Against this background, he is very capricious, sleeps poorly and gains weight.

Pediatricians are convinced that today there is no formula that can fully replace mother's milk. The latest version of the drink contains the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals and trace elements beneficial to the body. Thanks to them, the baby will be able to grow and develop properly.

Why does milk disappear?

Breast milk, namely its quality and quantity, directly depends on the general health and emotional state of the woman. During feeding, the following negative situations may occur:

It is not recommended to start using supplementary feeding if the lactation crisis does not exceed six days. After all, if the baby receives more convenient way get food for yourself, you won’t want to go back to the previous one. Pediatricians say that receiving insufficient milk for three days will not negatively affect the overall health of the baby. Parents can focus on the number of wet diapers. The alarm should be sounded if their volume has sharply decreased. Complementary feeding is introduced if a woman has no milk for six days. It should only be administered into the body using a spoon.
During lactation, a woman should minimize her personal worries. They can negatively affect the body's production of oxytocin. This hormone is necessary for milk production.
Infant It is strictly forbidden to supplement your drink using a bottle. In this case, the sucking reflex is completely suppressed in his body, which in turn is necessary for lactation.
Mommy should not get tired physically and mentally. Otherwise, the risk of complete disappearance of milk increases.

If there is no emergency, then the woman should do everything to maintain lactation. Otherwise, its volume decreases sharply, and then it disappears completely.

Additionally, it should be noted that in medical practice it is extremely rare to encounter women who cannot produce enough milk. Most often, the process can be adjusted. However, for this you must have sufficient desire.

It is quite possible for women to resume breastfeeding in the following cases:

The onset of a lactation crisis.
There was a need to not give breast milk to the baby for medical reasons.
Initially, the GW process was organized incorrectly.
Milk begins to disappear due to psychological or physical fatigue.
Led to the problem poor appetite child.

Lactation crisis

While breastfeeding, many women notice periodic changes in milk production. They occur against the background of hormonal changes during the restoration of menstruation. Changes are provoked by the baby’s rapid growth and his increased need for food.

As a rule, a slight deficiency in breast milk can be observed in a woman within three days. Recommended to use special means for stimulation. Pediatricians do not recommend starting to use the mixture immediately. A woman should increase her intake of warm fluids, massage her breasts and put her baby to her breasts often. As a rule, feeding can be resumed after a few days.

Warm drinks help increase lactation volume

Break in lactation

No one is immune from disease. While taking medications, it becomes necessary to wean the baby from the breast. Otherwise, the drugs can pose a real threat to him.

If there is a long separation from the mother, the baby will also not be able to continue feeding as before. If possible, the baby should be given expressed milk. However, such a picture will certainly lead to a decrease in the activity of the mammary glands. Restoring blood pressure after a forced break can be very difficult. That is why such a decision is made only as a last resort.

It is important for every woman to properly organize the breastfeeding process. More recently, it was proposed to do it hourly. However, today pediatricians recommend giving your baby food on demand. The process should also be carried out at night. Additionally, it is necessary to completely abandon supplementation and pacifiers.

High load on the body

During the feeding period, an acceptable climate should be created for a woman in the family. Quite often, milk disappears after stress. Mommy should not be burdened with housework or other problems. In the presence of stress in the body, the production of prolactin is provoked, which has a suppressive effect on lactation.

Lack of appetite in baby

The amount of breast milk directly depends on the baby's need for it. Problems may arise due to an irregularly shaped nipple or a weak body of the child. This situation is often observed in premature babies or after surgical delivery. In this case, you should not give up lactation, because the problem will go away on its own as the baby grows.

Basic techniques for restoring lactation

Many women are interested in the question: is it possible to resume the process? Today, this problem is considered completely solvable. Pediatricians note that it is eliminated much faster if the child is not yet months old. The main thing is for a woman to set a goal and boldly go towards it.

The rest of the family members are required to organize a favorable microclimate. The baby should not feel abandoned. A breastfeeding specialist will be able to answer many questions. He will correctly analyze the situation and give his recommendations.

If the mother feels that the baby is not getting enough milk, then she should do the following:

Keep your baby close to you as often as possible.
Completely avoid excessive physical or psychological stress.
To stimulate milk production, you should regularly apply the baby to the breast.
Completely abandon supplementary feeding.
Review your diet.
Traditional methods help increase milk flow. However, before using herbal remedies, you should consult a pediatrician.
Breast massage.

Constant contact with the baby

The mother is recommended to be with the child throughout the day. Psychologists advise taking him in your arms and hugging him. The baby should feel his mother with his skin. Thanks to this, it will be possible to stimulate the production of prolactin and oxytocin.

A safe and calm environment should be created for the child. He must constantly hear the smell of his mother's body and the taste of her milk. Thanks to this, it is possible to quickly resume the sucking reflex.

Constant physical contact can only be ensured if the baby is in the mother’s arms. It is recommended to use a sling for this. Sleeping together at night is important. Thanks to this, mommy also won’t have to constantly get up to the baby’s cradle to feed.

If problems arise with lactation, then household chores should be transferred to assistants. Stress and overwork are dangerous. They can lead to negative changes in hormonal levels.

Co-sleeping is good for mother and baby

Use of supplementary feeding

In the process of restoring lactation, it will not be possible to immediately give up artificial mixture. Pediatricians recommend taking alternating meals. However, in any case, the breast should be given to the baby at the beginning and at the end of the process.

Today you can buy in any pharmacy special devices. A small container with a tube is brought to the mother's nipple. At the same time, the baby's sucking reflex is additionally stimulated. For ease of use, the container with the mixture can be completely attached to the woman’s neck.

However, we should not forget that a sharp reduction in supplementary feeding can lead to a deficiency of certain substances in the body. The situation with overeating is also dangerous. We should not forget that everything healthy vitamins and minerals are found in hindmilk. This is why it is so important that the baby is able to empty one breast completely in one feeding.

Proper nutrition for women during lactation

Mommy must carefully analyze her diet. It should contain a sufficient amount of protein. Then all other vitamins and minerals also enter her body.

To restore lactation, you should analyze your drinking regime. It is best to drink only warm drinks. Their quantity during the day should be at least two liters.

ethnoscience To increase milk volume, he suggests using nettle, anise, cumin or fennel. Today, in any pharmacy you can find a wide range of teas with this effect. However, before using them, you should make sure that you are not allergic to any of its components.

Mommy can breastfeed for a long time if she eats right

The mother will have enough milk if her baby needs it. That is why a woman should try to put the baby on her breast as often as possible. Against this background, the amount of prolactin in the blood increases several times.

Child psychologists say that the more often a child receives breastfeeding, the faster he can learn to suckle. If the baby does not show special interest in it, then parents are recommended to accustom him to the sucking reflex.

During periods of problems with lactation, it is strictly forbidden to use pacifiers and bottles. They make it possible for the baby to get food without making any effort. After this, it can be very difficult to move back to the mother's breast.

Some babies have very little need for food. If the mother notices that he does not have time to empty the breast during one feeding, then it is necessary to perform the pumping procedure. It is performed at least 8 times a day. It is advisable to use a breast pump for her. The device allows you to quickly and effectively restore lactation.

Cracked nipples are unpleasant for the child, so he may refuse to eat. To eliminate them, you will have to take a short break from breastfeeding.

While taking a shower, a woman is recommended to perform a breast massage on her own. To do this, apply pressure to the collar and décolleté area with your hands. Massage manipulations are also recommended between the shoulder blades. Experts also recommend taking a contrast shower twice a day. In this case, a stream of water is directed directly to the breast itself. Additionally, movements should be made clockwise.

A medicinal bath also helps to increase the amount of milk. To prepare it, just place a bowl of water on the table. She must be pleasant. Next, the woman lowers her breasts completely into it. The positive effect will be noticeable if the procedure is performed for at least 15 minutes. During the feeding period, only cotton underwear should be worn. In the cold season, you should warm yourself with a vest. A woman should not forget that the mammary glands can easily get cold during this period.

You should massage your breasts for several minutes every day. To do this, it is enough to make movements in a circle. Castor oil is used to improve skin properties. It is recommended to warm it up in your palms first. This will help avoid discomfort.

Gymnastics during breastfeeding is beneficial for mothers

A woman is also recommended to do gymnastics regularly. To do this, just get on all fours and slightly raise your head up. Additionally, you should get rid of your bra. Then you should move around the apartment in this position.

You can also hold your arms at chest level in a vertical position. Additionally, the elbows are bent and the fingers are connected to each other. Alternate movements are made in the vertical direction. You also need to count to two and press your palms tightly against each other. On odd counts they are relaxed.

Milk will return quickly if the woman spends enough time in the fresh air. For a few days you should put aside your chores and enjoy short walks. When the baby rests, the mother should sleep too.

Every baby has a sucking reflex from birth. However, mommy will need to do everything to awaken him. It is important to strictly follow all doctor's recommendations. Thanks to this, it will be possible to quickly and effectively return milk to the breast.

Lactation crisis

Almost every woman faces a lactation crisis - usually at the stages of intensive child growth (3, 7, 11 and 12 months). Only 5% of mothers lose milk due to serious health problems, but for the majority, the body will fight to the end, as they say, to the last drop of blood (milk in our case), to provide nutrition for the offspring.

And as always, there is a reason for the problem. All that's left is to find her!

Don't save money!

Think about it: are you putting your baby to your breast too rarely? Some women believe that they should “accumulate” milk during the day so that they have enough at night and don’t have to bother with a bottle. This is a huge misconception. That's not how the "system" works.

In fact, the more often you breastfeed your baby, the more intense milk production. An increase in its quantity is provoked even by the fact that you simply take the child in your arms, hug the baby, lull him to sleep, or play airplane. Therefore, do not refuse “veal tenderness”!

On demand, not scheduled

If you realize that there is less milk, put your baby to the breast in violation of the feeding schedule. You won’t starve your child either, and you will give a signal to your body, which will begin to produce a “natural product” in increased volumes. And one of my articles will help you understand.

At each feeding, place the baby on both breasts, and be sure to express any leftovers, if any. If the standard recommendation is to feed a child 8 times a day, then you can increase it to 11 feedings, and the Earth will not stop rotating. And be sure to make sure your baby is latching onto the nipple correctly.

Be careful with complementary foods!

Pediatricians do not advise getting carried away with complementary feeding using a bottle. It is easier for the baby to “extract” his “daily bread” from it, so he may become lazy and be more reluctant to take the breast. They gave in once, twice... Doctors, even with a decrease in lactation, advise feeding babies with a spoon so that they do not get used to the bottle.

Eternal stress

If you are very nervous, then you should not be surprised at the loss of milk or a decrease in its quantity. Yours emotional condition directly affects lactation.

The advice of mothers - all without exception - is the same: calm down, relax more, pamper yourself, because the birth of a child does not mean that your life is at an end.

Do you like shopping? Spend a couple of hours walking around the hypermarket! Do you want to relax and pamper yourself? Go to a spa or bathhouse. By the way, you can find out more about baths during breastfeeding.

If caring for a child takes a lot of energy, you don’t get enough sleep, you constantly suffer from headaches, and you give up and your mood is at zero, don’t hesitate to ask your family for help or invite a good nanny. And don’t be afraid of judgmental looks - your health, both physical and psychological, is more valuable.

Two to three hours will be enough for you to regain your strength, and your rested body will happily begin to carry out the primary task of producing milk. By the way, you shouldn’t endure a headache or other physical pain, as I told you earlier.

Let's eat and drink!

During breastfeeding, eating right is one of the main tasks. breast milk, we have already discussed. All that remains is to compile correct menu and be sure to drink plenty of fluids - at least 2 liters per day. Not at once, of course, but throughout the day in small portions.

It is advisable to drink something warm before feeding - herbal tea or light broth. Warm drinks increase milk production, as does a warm shower or bath.

Gymnastics and massage

Breast massage helps restore lactation. Massage your breasts clockwise for 3 minutes. Or do simple gymnastics:

get on all fours, lower your head up (let your bra lie on the sofa), and then doggy-walk around the room;
bend your elbows at chest level, place your palms with your fingers facing up; alternately press your palms against each other and loosen (lower your elbows).

Folk wisdom

To list the many traditional methods restoring milk will not be enough with the fingers of both hands.

carrot-milk drink - grate fresh carrots, pour 3-4 tablespoons with a glass of milk, leave for 2-3 hours, drink 30 minutes before feeding;
nettle infusion - you can buy a ready-made pharmacy mixture or pick fresh nettles at the dacha, then a canteen
pour a spoonful of leaves into a glass of boiling water, leave for a day, drink 2 times a day after meals (store the infusion in the refrigerator);
caraway drink - 5 grams of seeds, pour half a glass of sour cream or milk, mix thoroughly, eat a tablespoon before eating (also store in the refrigerator).

Lactogonic teas and dietary supplements

To restore lost breast milk, you can drink special teas and dietary supplements.

I chose the following:

granulated tea “Hipp” - a wonderful mixture of fennel, lemon balm, cumin, nettle and anise is absolutely harmless, this tea can be prepared quickly, and a glass a day is enough to resume lactation;
an analogue of “Hipp”, but only without lemon balm, “Laktavit” tea - prescribed if the milk has disappeared, if you like not very strong tea, then brew one bag, if you want stronger, then two;
tea in bags “Babushkino Lukoshko” - I liked it with rose hips, but somehow it didn’t go very well with anise, one bag is enough for a day, since after 10 minutes of infusion the brew turns out to be very strong;
On the third day of taking it, Laktogon helped me increase the amount of milk - this is a food supplement with royal jelly, oregano, dill, carrot juice and a bunch of other goodies.

I heard good reviews from mothers about the dietary supplements “Apilak” and “Mlekoin”, however, the first contains royal jelly, so it cannot be taken if you are allergic to bee products.

Here, perhaps, are all the recommendations that those who want to return breast milk should know. Reveal your secrets of breastfeeding - it will be very interesting to read. If you learned something useful from the text, please support my blog and share the article on social networks. I bid you farewell until new topics!

And as usual, a useful video:

A decrease in lactation may be due to various factors, but restoration of breastfeeding is almost always possible. Why may difficulties arise with lactation and how to normalize breast milk production?

1. Mom started giving supplementary food. If the child often wakes up at night, is capricious, and often sucks, it may seem to the woman that he does not have enough nutrition, and she gives formula. But the more the baby drinks this mixture, the less milk the mother produces. Restoring lactation with mixed feeding is possible. But the mixture will have to be removed. If its volume is large, it is not 50-100 grams per day, you need to gradually, daily, reduce the amount of supplementary feeding by 5-10 grams. At the same time, put the baby to the breast more often.

Just keep in mind that if you decide to express additional milk after feedings, you can provoke hyperlactation. And in order to establish lactation after severe lactostasis or mastitis provoked by it, time and effort will also be needed.

2. The baby is not breastfeeding, or the baby and mother are separated. Is it possible to restore lactation after such a forced break? Possibly lasting several weeks. Yes, and if the mother pumped regularly and well, there will be enough milk right away. If not and it is necessary to supplement the diet with a mixture, proceed according to point one. And so that the child does not completely abandon the breast in favor of a bottle, you can purchase a special system for supplementary feeding from the Medela company, or assemble it yourself using a dropper. This system is attached to the nipple. And from the reservoir, through a tube attached to the nipple, artificial nutrition is supplied to the baby. At the same time, he sucks the nipple, stimulates the breast, and thus it is even possible to restore lactation after Dostinex, if milk is still produced in some volume. There are various wonderful cases. Even when milk appeared in a nulliparous woman.

3. The child is very small, lazy, sucks slowly. If mommy acts according to the old recommendations that each breast should be given at one feeding for 15-20 minutes. Or even feeding from one breast at one feeding, the baby may become malnourished. Newborn babies sleep a lot and doze during feedings, right with the nipple in their mouth. That is, if the baby falls asleep while suckling, this does not mean that he is full. Insufficient weight gain or even slight weight loss of the baby will indicate malnutrition. If this is the reason for your decreased lactation, then everything will work out if you hold the baby at your breast for a long, very long time, maybe even an hour at one breast and an hour at the other. If a baby makes sucking movements in his sleep, this means that he is not sleeping soundly, and it makes sense to continue to hold him at the breast. The need for long-term feedings may persist until the baby is 2-3 months old.

4. Introduction of complementary foods. Many mothers rush to replace breastfeeding with complementary foods. Accordingly, the amount of milk decreases more and more. In most cases, a mistake is the early introduction of complementary foods, at 4 months, since by 7-8 months adult food can completely replace breast milk - according to WHO, the best nutrition for a child under 1 year of age. How to restore lactation if milk is lost in this case? If the child at least sometimes sucks the breast, then, no matter how trite, offer it more often. Moreover, it’s better even before complementary feeding, that is, for a hungry person. It is good for children to breastfeed before bedtime and immediately after, at night.

5. Frequent use of a pacifier. The more the baby sucks on the pacifier, the less stimulation the breast receives. By the way, most mothers who offer their children a pacifier begin their periods very early after childbirth. Sometimes even after 6-8 weeks. And this is also in some way a negative factor. The amount of breast milk due to the restoration of the menstrual cycle will decrease even more.

6. Feeding on schedule. Pediatricians recommend giving breastfeeding to children once every 3 hours during the day. From birth, teach discipline, so to speak. And they say that if a child requires breastfeeding more than once every 3 hours, he does not have enough milk. Of course, this opinion has little relation to reality. But Small child, 5-6 months, needs frequent breastfeeding. This makes it easier to survive reactions to vaccinations and teething. And putting a baby to sleep by simply giving him the breast is much easier and more correct than prolonged rocking.

7. No night feedings. There is an opinion that the duration of night sleep without feeding should be at least 6 hours even for infants. Of course, few mothers want to wake up several times a night. However, only artificial infants can sleep for so long, with rare exceptions, since artificial milk or fermented milk formula takes longer to digest than breast milk. And the baby stays full longer.

At the same time, there is such a thing as REM sleep - during shallow sleep, many young children wake up. You don’t need to think that frequent awakenings at night are a sign of baby’s hunger and lack of milk.

But if your baby cries at night, breastfeeding is the easiest way to soothe him. A plus to this is improved lactation due to increased production of prolactin. This hormone is produced precisely at night. If you do not breastfeed your baby at night, your lactation will decrease slightly.

8. Severe psychological condition. The restoration of lactation after stress is facilitated, as one can logically assume, by good mood, frequent and prolonged communication with the child. If the baby is small and there is such an opportunity, you can forget about household chores and stay in bed with him for a couple of days. Just watch your favorite movie and enjoy being together with your child. You can take pills to restore breast milk lactation, but do not rely too much on a good effect. It is important to restore mental balance, then milk will be produced in the right quantity.