Increasing your supply

In the early weeks, you and your baby work together to build your milk supply. Breastfeeding your baby whenever they show they are hungry will help them get all the milk they need to grow and develop well. 

Over time, your body learns how much milk your baby needs. But some things may cause your supply to drop. These include your baby having formula, breastfeeding less or if you or your baby are very unwell..

You're not alone if you sometimes worry if you’re making enough milk for your baby. But is it low supply, or just normal changes? Sometimes the feel of a mum’s breasts or her baby’s behaviour cause her to worry even though her supply is okay.

The good news is breastfeeding works on supply and demand. The more milk that’s removed from your breasts, the more milk your breasts will make.

If you do need to increase your milk supply, you can try some of the helpful ideas below. You should notice a difference in just a few days.

Breastfeed your baby more often

Offer more breastfeeds. This is the simplest and most effective way to increase your supply. Most young babies will have 8 to 14 feeds in 24 hours and some will have more than this. 
Feed your baby based on their needs rather than at set times. Some feeds will be closer together than others, so look for early signs of hunger.
Feeds don’t need to be very long, just more often. Some feeds may be only 5 to 10 minutes long. But others may be 30 minutes or longer, such as when your baby slowly feeds to sleep.
Try some top-up breastfeeds or small ‘snack’ feeds between your baby's usual breastfeeds. 
Breastfeed to soothe your baby instead of using other comforts such as a dummy. Many babies have fussy periods when they want to breastfeed a lot. Just follow baby’s cues and feed more often. This usually settles down in a few days. 
Breastfeeding more often causes your breasts to make milk more quickly and this increases your milk supply. 
Is your baby now sleeping longer at night and missing a feed? It’s okay to wake your baby. Your milk-making hormones are highest at night so this can boost your supply.

Feed from both breasts

In the early days, your baby may be content with only one breast. But fairly soon, most babies will need more. Now may be the time to offer your baby the second breast.
Let your baby finish the first breast before switching to the second. Your baby may be ready to swap sides when their sucking slows or they fall asleep or come off the breast by themselves.
You can even change sides a few times during a feed, whenever your baby's sucking slows. This triggers your let-down reflex again and encourages your baby to suck more strongly.

Help your baby get the milk

Check your baby's latch. A baby who is well attached can remove milk more easily. Make sure it feels comfortable and you can see (or hear) your baby sucking and swallowing regularly.
Help your milk to flow. Relaxing, deep breathing and warmth on the breast can help.
Try breast compressions to help your baby get more milk.

Reduce any top-ups

Formula or other foods can make your baby less hungry for your breastmilk. To boost your supply, offer more breastfeeds instead.
Offer your baby both breasts at each feed. After a short break offer the first (and even the second) breast again. You may find that your baby gets enough breastmilk this way and doesn't need any expressed breastmilk or formula.

Should I express?

Expressing takes a lot of time and energy. If your baby can breastfeed well they will increase your supply more easily than pumping.

But if the ideas above aren’t enough for you, or your baby can’t feed well or often enough, you may need to express.

Try some short pumping sessions close together. Pump for just 5 to 10 mins but repeat this several times over an hour or two.
Finish off each session with a few minutes of hand expressing. This will remove more milk.
Express both breasts at the same time, or express one breast while you breastfeed from the other. This saves time and can remove more milk.
As your supply increases you will be able to stop expressing and just breastfeed.

Next steps

Most mums find the tips above are enough to increase their supply to meet their baby's needs. If you don’t notice any difference after a few days, or your baby is not thriving as they should, you may need extra support.

Struggling with a low milk supply can be very upsetting and frustrating, but you don't have to face it alone. Call the breastfeeding helpline and have a chat with a breastfeeding counsellor if you are worried. And remember that any amount of breastmilk you provide your baby is valuable.

Some medical conditions cause a baby to have a poor sucking action, or make it more difficult for a mum to make enough milk. Talk to your child health nurse, lactation consultant or doctor if you are worried about these things.

This video from Global Health Media gives steps to improve your milk supply and your baby’s feeding.