4 Tips to Increase Breast Milk Production
There are numerous articles online talking about how to increase breast milk production for new mothers. These tips are ones most mothers in Trinidad and Tobago seem to swear by. It is not simple for everyone and remember a fed baby is best. If you have any issues please contact your paedeatrician or breast feeding specialist immediately! There is an association called TIBS in Trinidad and Tobago where lactation specialists will come and help you.
1. Vervine is the first go to for most Trinidad and Tobago moms, when asked. It is said that putting the leaves in hot water and “drawing” the vervine tea to drink daily, helps the generation of milk. This plant is found in many homes in Trinidad and Tobago. Very often, it is not until a mother is struggling with milk production does she learn about the mystery uses of this plant. Some mothers do not react well to vervine but other mothers swear by it.
2. Drink a lot of water. I was told by other mothers to drink a glass of water every time I breastfed. Even though it is said that any liquid is beneficial, staying completely away from sweet drinks such as juice and soft drinks also helped immensely.
3. Drink coconut water. I drank fresh coconut water from an 8 ounce bottle or direct from the nut, every day. Please note drink fresh coconut water not the processed type. I found this one out by accident. I went to a party and drank coconut water… the milk production was ridiculous, I had to leave the party before I totally embarrassed myself with two large wet spots.
4. The more you nurse, the more milk gets made. Some people use a manual or electric pump to help stimulate the milk production, others will hand express. Freeze and keep the milk you pump for feeding the baby via bottle when you go back to work. You will find that it will help up the milk production. I personally let the babies feed as much as they wanted even though it seemed like too much and they stimulated production to go up. At times I found production getting low or if I was traveling I would keep up my milk production by using a manual pump.
I hope these tips help you. Please add what worked for you in the comments if you have any other tips that worked for you!
Bonus tip: To help prepare the nipples to prevent cracking (yes it cracks for some mothers when the baby breast feeds) I would express a few drops of milk and let it air dry on my nipples. With my first baby I actually did that for one month before I gave birth. I forgot to do it with my second baby, so cracking occurred and I had to apply the milk to air dry after my baby was born, for one week for the cracking to stop.
