IS MY BABY GETTING ENOUGH MILK ?

When it comes to breastfeeding the baby, sometimes less is more and at other times more is less and how much to feed is always a trivia.

A mother does not understand why the baby keeps clinging onto the breast and why are you sometimes cries even after the feed.

We need to understand that

• Breastfeeding is a qualitative and not quantitative process. •The milk amount you express via any pump or any other method is not the same amount that your baby gets when he or she directly suckles. The baby always gets what he needs.

•Always being on the breast doesn’t indicate lesser milk flow or supply • Soft breasts do not indicate that they don’t have milk• Waking up frequently or taking a bottle even after a Breastfeeding is not again a sign of low supply.• If your breasts do not leak doesn’t mean you have no or low milk supply• Irregular feeling or frequent feeding by the baby or unsettled evenings are again not a sign of low milk supply

Then how do you know whether your baby is getting enough milk or not!

There are two main indicators—

1. WEIGHT GAIN

A 5-7% Weight loss after birth is normal and baby then regains the weight by 10 to 14 days (some babies may even take longer). If baby is gaining sufficiently well on mothers milk then baby is getting enough. One should evaluate the growth using WHO baby weight gain growth curve ( different for boys and girls) and can be downloaded from their website. If the curve plotted is consistently up and not kinking (dropping down) means your baby is gaining enough weight and hence you are milking enough.

2. PEE COUNT

6+ Pee count in 24 hours.

Expect one be on the one of the baby increasing to 6 by day four.

If the baby is wetting six nappies in one day means he’s being well fed (which in case of diapers means 2 to 3 diapers in 24 hours).

OTHER POSITIVE SIGNS✓ Baby is active and meeting developmental milestones✓ Long pauses while sucking (observe the babies’ chin movements)✓ Initial first 3-4 days the stool colour is usually black or green and after that it normalises to mustard yellow. However poop count is not an indicator as babies may poop frequently in a day (eight times in a day) or maybe once in 8 to 10 days; if the baby is not uncomfortablepoop counts and variations do not matter much. 

Babies who are at the breast for longer durations are because of the comfort and warmth they receive when they are on the chest of the mothers;

Breasts are baby’s habitat so it is natural for them to be on the breast most of the times even if they are feeding or not.

Dr. Yogyata Gandhi 

Lactation Counsellor — Your Lactmate

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