How to determine that there is not enough milk. Is the baby getting enough breast milk? Is the baby getting enough milk

Family and relationships 17.03.2021
Family and relationships

Pediatricians love to scare new mothers. The woman must have eaten something harmful if the child's cheeks turned red or bloated. Is the baby slowly growing and gaining weight? The mother is to blame for not feeding the baby well. After such a remark, the parent begins to panic. What if a newborn really suffers from a constant feeling of hunger? How do you know if a baby is getting enough milk or is not eating enough?

wet method

A healthy and well-fed baby urinates 8 to 12 times a day. The discharge should be clear, like water, without a sharp unpleasant odor. At one time, the body of a newborn releases approximately 30 ml of urine, and from 250 to 300 ml per day.

Moms who are afraid that the child is malnourished are advised to collect wet diapers. Urine diapers are put in a plastic bag so that the liquid does not evaporate. At the end of the day, when the baby is asleep, the diapers are counted and then weighed. If they have become 300 g heavier, then the baby has enough milk.

Instead of diapers, diapers or gauze panties are used. A woman allocates one day and devotes it to observing the newborn. Mom refuses diapers for a day. Instead, he puts homemade diapers on the child from a diaper or a piece of fabric and changes them immediately after getting wet. If a baby had to change clothes at least 10 times a day, there is no reason to worry.

Doubting mothers are advised to carefully examine the baby's feces. Newborns who are less than a month old defecate 4-5 times a day or after each feeding. Children's feces are watery, similar in consistency to mucus. In the first week or two they are dark, then become light brown or cream. In the feces of a newborn, lumps or granular inclusions, which are considered the norm, may come across.

When a child is 1–1.5 months old, his intestines begin to rebuild. Some babies only defecate 2-3 times a day. Mom should worry if the baby's feces become hard, and the baby cries during bowel movements. It is likely that the baby receives little milk, because of which the work of the digestive organs was disrupted, and constipation occurred.

The green hue of the feces indicates a lack of "hind", more fatty milk. In order for the child to receive rich and nutritious food, mothers are advised to express themselves before feeding. Not completely, but only until the moment when yellow milk appears.

Weekly weigh-in

Young mothers visit a pediatrician every 2-3 months, where the baby is weighed and its height is measured. The doctor calculates how many kilograms the child has gained, and draws conclusions whether he has enough milk or not. This method can also be used at home.

A woman will need scales whose error does not exceed 5 g. Models with a tare zeroing function are recommended.

The baby is weighed before and after feeding. Look how much milk he ate at one time. Babies from 1 to 3 months old should suck 100-180 ml from their mother's breasts. The norm for older children is 190–240 ml.

The scales are covered with a sheet, the weight of the fabric is set to zero. The child is placed on top, the indicators are recorded. After feeding, the baby is not changed, but again returned to the scales. Fix the second digit and subtract the first from it. Moms are encouraged to draw graphs with curves to make it easier to keep track of portion sizes.

The method gives unreliable indicators if:

  • The baby had a wet diaper at the time of the second weighing.
  • Mom changed the baby into a different costume or gave a rattle in her hands.
  • The baby is applied to the breast not according to the schedule, but on demand.

AT last case Don't waste time weighing. Children who receive breasts on demand can eat 50 ml of milk or 200 at a time. It all depends on the feeling of hunger and the mood of the baby. Scales will not help the mother determine whether the baby is full or not.

More reliable results are obtained by mothers who weigh their children once a week or a month. In seven days, babies gain 125–130 g. This is the minimum. If more, no big deal. Indicators below 95-90 g are considered abnormal. They signal that the child does not have enough food, so he is growing slowly.

Too impressionable and nervous mothers are advised to get the scales once a month. A baby can get sick and gain only 90–100 g in a week, and then he will get better, and the body will compensate for everything. The main thing is that in a month the weight of the baby should increase by at least 500 g. If the indicators are not below the norm, the mother is advised to relax and not listen to pediatricians who scold her for poor lactation.

Sometimes even weighing is not an indicator. Some babies inherit an asthenic physique from their parents. Against the background of chubby peers, such babies look thin, if not skinny. Slowly gain weight and grow. But mothers of active and vigorous kids who do not complain about their well-being are advised not to worry. Not all children have to meet the standards.

Observant Moms

It’s easy to distinguish “hungry” babies from “full” ones. Babies who eat their daily allowance of milk have pink and smooth skin. It is tender to the touch, with a pinkish tint. Firm and elastic.

Mom is advised to lightly pinch the child by the arm or leg. Select an area of ​​skin that fits snugly against the bones. For example, the forearm. Strongly squeeze your fingers is not necessary, so as not to hurt the baby. Just squeeze for a second and let go. If the mother felt a layer under the skin, and the area quickly smoothed out, and not even a red spot remained, the child is completely healthy and does not need supplements.

You can determine that the baby is full by other signs:

  • The eyes of a newborn are shiny.
  • When a baby cries, it produces tears.
  • The skin in the fontanel area is elastic, there are no strange "dents" and pits.

Babies quickly fall asleep after a hearty lunch or breakfast. A child who does not satisfy his hunger becomes capricious and cries a lot. Tantrums do not always indicate a lack of milk. Sometimes newborns cry due to stress or lack of attention, fear, or a whiny nature.

A hungry baby first whimpers or sobs for 5-7 seconds to get the attention of the parent. Then he pauses for a moment. Mom, going to the crib, notices that the baby opens his mouth wide, as if asking for a breast. Crying resumes in just a minute and becomes continuous.

A baby who has little milk, during feeding, tosses and turns restlessly and waves his arms, and at the very end begins to jerk his legs.

The cheeks of a well-fed baby become pink. He languidly closes his eyes and immediately begins to doze off. Some babies fall asleep while feeding. It is normal for a child to have whitish foam coming out of their mouth after breakfast or lunch. This is excess milk. You need to worry if the baby is constantly spitting up.

Healthy babies who do not complain of malnutrition sleep for 2-4 hours and then ask to breastfeed. Night rest lasts longer, but not always. Lack of milk is indicated by a short nap lasting less than 40 minutes, and restless behavior of the child, who tosses, whimpers or screams loudly for no apparent reason.

False alarm

Young mothers are suspicious and impressionable. After being reprimanded by the pediatrician, they try to find symptoms in the child that indicate a lack of milk, and they wind themselves up even more. But most of the signs turn out to be false.

Milk color
Women are advised to express a glass of milk. The baby receives the wrong and too lean food if it is translucent with a bluish tint. In fact, the color of milk does not affect its value. The product produced by the mother's body contains enough vitamins, fats and minerals. female body knows better how much calcium, protein and other elements a child needs. And a bluish tint indicates that mom has a lot of fore-diet milk.

Baby can't live without breasts

Some children in literally grow in the arms of their parents. They cry and demand the breast, although they suck it for 2-3 minutes and then spit it out. Others stretch the feeding for half an hour or longer.

No need to panic and blame yourself for all the sins. Probably, the child feels comfortable only next to his mother. And feeding is one of the most intimate processes during which endorphins are produced in the child's body. Hormones are responsible for the feeling of joy and happiness, so the baby is in no hurry to part with the source of good mood.

Infants who are no more than 1-2 months old require breasts up to 20 times a day due to the small volume of the stomach. Only 15-30 ml of milk is placed in it, which after 20 minutes is in the intestines. The crumbs have to be applied to their mother's mammary glands, but this does not mean that they do not eat up.

Special kids
Babies born ahead of time, weaker than their peers. They often take five-minute breaks during feeding. Moms should not think that they have little milk. It’s just that it’s difficult for crumbs to satisfy hunger in one sitting. These babies need a short rest to catch their breath and gain strength.

Large children do not always have “big” appetites. They eat standard 50–180 ml at a time. Babies have enough of the usual portion, you do not need to supplement them with mixtures, force them to eat vegetable purees or cereals.

No strange sensations
In the first weeks, the body of a nursing woman produces milk under the influence of hormones. The breast during this period swells strongly, lactation is accompanied by unpleasant sensations. Milk constantly leaks and drips from the nipples. If these symptoms disappear, then the mother's body has adapted to the needs of the baby. Now there will be as much milk as the baby can eat. And do not think that the child remains hungry.

A young mother is like a first-grader who has to get a lot of interesting and useful knowledge. She will learn how to dress and feed the baby properly. Learns that children are individuals and not all of them meet the standards. Understand that in 95 cases out of 100 malnutrition is a fiction of a disgruntled pediatrician. And most importantly, the child grows up healthy and active.

Video: how to determine if a baby is getting enough milk

Among the biggest fears of a new mother, the leader is the possible lack of breast milk. But in fact, according to various sources, the absence or insufficiency of lactation occurs only in 1-5% of women in total. the globe. Unreasonable fears are most often associated with the statements of "kind" relatives, brought up in the spirit of Soviet times, when women were not ordered to feed at night, as well as changes in the child's behavior, which are manifestations of development or malaise. Instead of falling into despair, it is better to evaluate the real parameters that indicate the sufficiency of milk.

There are several objective indicators by which you can understand whether the baby is full. Any mother can evaluate them at home without special tools. Unless you need scales.

Number of urinations

For the most objective assessment of this parameter, it is recommended to conduct a wet diaper test. To implement it, you need to give up disposable diapers for at least a day. You need to calculate how many times a baby urinates in 24 hours. Normally, a child who is a week old pees at least 10-12 times. This test is valid if the baby is not soldered.

With less accuracy, it is possible to estimate the abundance of urination in disposable diapers. Provided that breastfeeding is sufficient, the baby fills them per day in the amount of 4-6 pieces.

Child's age
Urine volume per day, ml
Number of urination per day
The volume of one portion of urine, ml
1-3 years
750-820
10-12
60-90
0-6 months400-700 20-25 20-30
6 months - 1 year375-720 15-16 25-45
3-5 years
900-1070
7-9
70-90
5-7 years
1070-1300
7-9
100-150
7-9 years old
1240-1520
7-8
145-190
9-11 years old
1520-1670
6-7
220-260
11-13 years old
1600-1900
6-7
250-270

This is not the only parameter associated with the toilet affairs of the baby.


In the first days after birth, and sometimes during childbirth, the baby's intestines get rid of meconium. This is the original feces. He is dark in color. With the appearance of milk in the mother, which occurs about the third day after birth, the baby's feces become first green and then yellow. From now on, the baby should empty the intestines at least 3 times a day. This figure is valid until the child reaches the age of 3-8 weeks, when the frequency of bowel movements can be only 1 time per day, and sometimes less often, since milk is absorbed more fully.

Weight gain

If in the first 4-7 days of life the baby loses weight, which is a physiological norm, then he begins to gain weight by 125-500 g per week. The increase for the first month, the minimum value of which is 600 g, must be calculated from the minimum weight.

Age, months1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Increase per month, g600 800 800 750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350
Increase for the past period, g600 1400 2200 2950 3650 4300 4900 5450 5950 6400 6800 7150
Increase in height (in cm) per month3 3 2,5 2,5 2 2 2 2 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,5
Increase in height (in cm) over the past period3 6 8,5 11 13 15 17 19 20,5 22 23,5 25

Often it is not worth evaluating how much the baby weighs, since it is gaining unevenly, and the mother will only have a reason for concern. By the way, the scales should be the same.

These are 3 reliable indicators that may be evidence of whether or not the baby has enough breast milk. You can also evaluate sucking movements. When a baby suckles the breast not for the purpose of calming, but for food or drink, then this can be easily determined. One sucking movement consists of three phases:

  • releasing the chin down;
  • pauses;
  • chin lift.

At such moments, the baby receives the maximum portions of milk. If this happens regularly, then most likely there is no problem with lactation.

The rest of the opinions are just speculation.

Myths about lack of milk

There are several factors that may bother an inexperienced breastfeeding mom. Their appearance by the woman herself or someone from her environment is associated with the fact that the baby receives little breast milk. But this is an erroneous opinion.

1. The baby continues to cry after feeding. Most often this happens in the evening. But crying is the only language of a baby. The baby screams for many reasons: fear, discomfort, headache, weather sensitivity, colic, etc.

2. The child "hangs on the chest", that is, he asks often and sucks for a long time. In fact, this is the norm. After all, breasts for a small person are not only food, but also a way to calm down, and the world full of stress, especially for a newly born baby. Yes, and difficult periods in the life of the crumbs are more than enough. Therefore, everyone has their own mode of breastfeeding. But if the child sleeps less than 20 minutes, restless, then you should contact the pediatrician.

3. Even with a breast pump, it turns out to express a maximum of 30-40 ml. This is one of the most intimidating options. But it doesn't really mean anything. After all, it is impossible to imitate the sucking movements of a child either with a breast pump or with your hands. In addition, rushes of milk occur at the moment when the baby sucks, even with greater intensity than during breaks.

4. Milk no longer flows by itself from the breast. In the first months, the mother often wakes up in a milk puddle, and during the day one cannot do without special inserts for the breast. But at about 3 months, lactation is established, so the milk stops leaking.

5. Breasts become soft even between feedings. It is also associated with the establishment of lactation.

6. The baby does not sleep at night. In fact, the baby should not skip night feedings in the first months, attachment to the breast between 3 and 8 o'clock in the morning is important for lactation. If the baby sleeps for more than 4 hours, then it is worth waking him up. To do this, it is enough to catch the moment when the baby is fiddling, and try to give him a breast. Sleepy babies suck well.

7. The child takes a bottle with pleasure after feeding. This does not always show what the baby wants to eat. In addition, bottles and nipples can make breastfeeding difficult.

If a nursing mother has encountered similar phenomena, and weight gain and urination frequency are normal, then you should not panic. Prevention, and often a solution to problems with lactation and lack of milk, is properly organized breastfeeding.

Every young mother asks herself if her baby is eating enough. After all, the health and normal development of the child depends on it. If, when feeding with mixtures, it is quite easy to understand how much the child ate, then when breastfeeding it is very difficult to determine whether a newborn is hungry. However, there are several simple rules to help you know if your baby is getting enough breast milk. It is about them that will be discussed in this article.

Baby behavior

How do you know if your baby is getting enough breast milk? There are several criteria that will make it possible to determine whether the child is full:

  • application frequency. In the first weeks of life, the child should eat eight to twelve times a day. Some deviation from this norm is considered normal: the baby may require breasts more often if he needs contact with his mother. Immediately after eating, the child should fall asleep soundly. If this does not happen, you can suspect that the feeling of hunger prevents the baby from falling asleep;
  • diaper change frequency. To understand whether the baby is getting enough milk, you need to conduct a small experiment during the day. Do not wear a diaper and count the frequency of urination. Normally, a child should write from 15 to 17 times a day. If there are less than 12 diapers, the newborn most likely does not have enough breast milk. Of course, this method will not be indicative if the child is in a diaper all day. By the evening, you can simply weigh the diaper, but the frequency of urination is more important than the volume of urine;
  • baby's behavior at the breast. First, make sure that the baby is at the breast for as long as he needs. It is not necessary to tear off the baby even if it seems to you that he fell asleep. Ideally, the baby should release the breast on its own. Secondly, it is important to hear that the baby is swallowing and not just sucking on the breast. At the same time, at first the child swallows quite often, as he receives liquid milk, thereby getting drunk. After some time, it becomes more difficult for the child to swallow: he has to make an effort to get to a thicker and more high-calorie food.

The simplest thing a mother who suspects that her baby is not getting enough breast milk can do is to observe how the baby behaves.

Weight gain

You can control his weight before and after feeding: this way you can find out the amount of milk eaten at one time. Weight gain equal to 20% of the total weight of the child is considered normal. If this increase is less, it can be assumed that the baby does not have enough breast milk and does not receive enough calories for normal development.

Equally important is the monthly weight gain. For a week, the baby adds about 125 grams. However, do not think that this indicator is absolutely accurate and applicable to any child. Each baby develops in its own way: some add weight faster, others take much longer. Therefore, along with monthly weight gain, you need to monitor the condition of the child. He should sleep well, be active, be cheerful and cheerful.


A very important factor in whether a newborn is getting enough milk is how he gains weight while breastfeeding.

There are additional criteria to check if the child is suffering from a lack of food. Normally, the following indicators indicate a sufficient amount of milk:

  • periods of sleep, wakefulness and play, if the child is well fed, always exceed periods of crying;
  • baby has smooth skin Pink colour. When there is a lack of milk, the skin of the baby becomes pale and even slightly wrinkled;
  • the skin near the fontanel does not sag;
  • the baby has clear eyes, and when he cries, tears appear.

False signs of lack of milk

Women who have recently become mothers are often very anxious: they constantly think that a newborn baby does not have enough breast milk. At the same time, the likelihood of a decrease in lactation is of particular concern. It is important to understand some physiological processes in order not to worry in vain, because it is very important for the baby that the mother is calm and self-confident.

Many young mothers take the following signs for a decrease in lactation:

  • lack of milk flow. As a rule, after the sixth week of breastfeeding, the breast stops overflowing before feeding. In addition, at the same time, the baby may begin to let go of the breast faster. This suggests that too little milk is being produced. However, this is not so: the organisms of mother and baby adapt to each other. Milk is produced exactly as much as the child eats in one feeding. Well, the baby has learned to suck properly and manages to eat up in a shorter period of time;
  • the baby began to defecate less often. From about two months of age, he begins to empty his bowels less often. If earlier he "went to the toilet" after each feeding or every other time, now it happens after every third feeding or even once a day. You should not worry: it is much more important to monitor the condition of the child, this will help you find out if the newborn has enough food. If he is not worried and feels good, and the stool has a mustard tint, then the baby is getting enough food and his intestines are working as they should. Many pediatricians argue that if the child is cheerful, calm and shows sufficient activity, the absence of a hard stool for two to three days should not be alarming;
  • the baby begins to demand the breast more often than before. At the same time, many children increase the duration of feeding sessions. This happens because children grow in leaps and bounds: in a few days they can significantly gain weight and height.

Naturally, during such periods, the child needs much more food. There is no need to worry that the baby will not have enough milk, because nature has decreed that at such moments the breast begins to produce more milk.


With a decrease in lactation, some mothers immediately begin to supplement the baby with mixtures

How to determine that the baby does not have enough milk?

Signs that really indicate that a newborn baby is not getting enough breast milk are the following:

  • two weeks after birth, the child could not return to its original weight, and a month later the total increase is less than 500 grams;
  • after feeding is over, the child does not let go of the breast, is naughty and tries to grab the nipple with his mouth again;
  • the child looks worried, while after he suckles the breast, the baby does not calm down, he is especially worried in the late afternoon;
  • the frequency of urination per day is less than 12 times;
  • the child's stool has become thick and dense, has an unpleasant odor.

If you notice such manifestations, then most likely the baby really, for some reason, cannot drink as much milk as he needs, and feels hungry. What to do in this case? First of all, do not panic: in such situations, many women feel guilty and suffer from the fact that they are bad mothers, they engage in self-flagellation instead of trying to solve the problem.

Remember, you can always figure out why your baby isn't getting enough milk and do everything you can to fix the situation as soon as possible.


The biggest mistake is to immediately supplement the formula or transfer the baby to artificial feeding. Do not do this!

What to do if there is not enough milk?

For a baby, mother's milk is the best food. The main thing to do when signs of a lack of milk appear is to pull yourself together and contact a pediatrician or breastfeeding specialists, which can be found in any city. They will help you find out what caused the decrease in lactation or the decrease in the nutritional value of breast milk. In addition, you can try to solve the problem yourself. First of all, it is recommended to behave as follows:

  • try to put the baby to the breast as often as possible. Thanks to this, milk will be produced more actively. Do not give your baby a pacifier: the more often it is applied to the breast, the more milk is produced;
  • don't give your baby a bottle. Drinking from a bottle is much easier than sucking milk from your breast. Having become accustomed to the bottle, the child will "lazy" near the breast, preferring to receive food more in a simple way;
  • in the early stages of establishing breastfeeding, after each attachment of the baby to the breast, express the remaining milk. This will help activate the process of producing breast milk, and will also become excellent prevention mastopathy;
  • a woman's body produces too little milk when she eats poorly and drinks little fluid. Since a nursing mother provides food not only for herself, but also for her child, then normally she should consume up to 2500 calories per day and drink at least two liters of water per day. During lactation, no diets for weight loss are allowed; this should be done after stopping breastfeeding. In addition, spicy, salty and smoked foods can reduce the amount of milk produced, so a nursing mother needs to eat right;
  • maybe when the baby is unable to properly latch onto the breast. This problem occurs quite often. The baby should completely capture the nipple and areola (this is a round pigmented area around the nipple on the chest) with his mouth, without resting his nose on the chest, which can interfere with his breathing. To help your newborn baby, learn the rules of feeding or ask a nurse, a lactation specialist, or an experienced friend for help. Sometimes a change in position during feeding helps to solve the problem;
  • purchase special teas and vitamins that stimulate lactation. Do not forget to consult your doctor first: when breastfeeding, even the most innocent drugs can harm a newborn baby;
  • breastfeed all the way to the end. Often the baby, after drinking the fore milk, begins to act up and calms down only after he receives a second breast. This is due to the fact that much more effort is required to suck out thick, fatty hindmilk. If the baby sucks only liquid milk, he will not get the right amount of calories and eat up, which negatively affects the baby's health and the rate of weight gain;
  • try to increase the frequency of night feedings. Many try to feed the baby for the last time in the late afternoon in order to sleep peacefully at night. However, experts say that it is night feedings that play a decisive role in increasing the volume of milk produced. In the period from three to eight in the morning, feeding stimulates the production of a hormone called prolactin, which is responsible for increasing lactation;
  • Finally, try not to worry or worry unnecessarily. Stress affects milk production in a negative way. You can solve the problem with breastfeeding at any time: it is possible to establish lactation even after a few weeks of break.


Another important point: a baby may worry not only because he is hungry

Excitement, whims and crying can be caused by poor health, colic, bloating. If you are not sure that the baby is crying because of hunger, then the pediatrician will help to find out the true cause of the restless behavior.

Now you know what signs indicate that a one-month-old baby is not getting enough breast milk. Remember: any problem can be solved, and every mother, if desired, can provide her baby with enough food!

Lyudmila Sergeevna Sokolova

Reading time: 3 minutes

A A

Article last updated: 04/30/2019

How to know if a newborn is getting enough breast milk

You can find out that a child does not have enough milk by a number of characteristic signs. Timely measures will help to solve problems with lactation and provide good nutrition.

At the beginning of natural feeding, many mothers are concerned about the question of whether the child has enough breast milk. Concern is natural, because it is not possible to determine the exact number. And if the baby is anxious and naughty, then suspicion develops into confidence, and mothers decide to supplement with formula.

You should not rush to make such a conclusion, first you need to observe the baby and carry out a series of simple manipulations.

How much milk does a baby need under one year old?

In their desire to feed the baby, many people forget that the child eats exactly as much as he needs. Breastfeeding on demand will provide him with the necessary amount of food. For full feeding, you should not give a second breast until the first is emptied. This will ensure that you get the rich "hind" milk you need to satisfy your hunger.

You should not give formula to a baby unless it is clearly established that his anxiety is caused by hunger. Constant overeating of a newborn can form into a habit, which subsequently leads to obesity and health problems due to excess weight.

Signs indicating a lack of milk

Crying, sleep deprivation and whims are often not related to hunger, but have completely different reasons. He may be disturbed by loud sounds, harsh light, colic, cutting teeth. To understand that the child does not have enough breast milk, you can by the following signs:

  1. Within two weeks of birth, the baby's weight increased by less than 500 grams.
  2. The milk in the breast ends before the baby has time to let it go. He begins to show excitement, not releasing the nipple from his mouth.
  3. The number of urination becomes less than 10 times in one day.
  4. Fecal masses become dense and thick.
  5. At the end of feeding, the baby does not calm down, but continues to look for the breast.

To know for sure if the baby is getting enough breast milk, you can use several tricks.

  1. Count wet diapers. The method is not effective if the baby is in a diaper all day, so you should set aside one day and save him from being in it. More than 10 urinations must occur during the control time. If there are fewer of them, you should think about the insufficient nutritional value of breast milk.
  2. Weigh the child. Experts have calculated that with a normal feeding regimen, weight gain should occur in the range of 0.5 to 2 kg per month. By six months, the weight of the child should double from the original, and by the year it should triple.
  3. Count the number of bowel movements. If the baby eats willingly and satisfyingly, then its number of emptyings should reach 4-5 times a day.

Not all doctors support this rule. Many experts believe that with well-established feeding, breast milk is completely absorbed. If the child is cheerful, active and calm, the absence of feces for up to 5 days is considered the norm.

Observe and listen carefully to the child during feeding. With proper breast capture and active nutrition, the child makes characteristic swallowing movements with a certain frequency. If the throats are inaudible or extremely short, the chest grip should be changed to achieve the correct position.
If, when analyzing the information received, it turns out that the child does not receive enough food, several simple steps should be taken to increase it.

Do not rely on the method of weighing an infant before and after feeding. The duration and amount of breast milk consumption is influenced by many factors, the indicators may vary with each feeding, and it is impossible to determine the exact value.


How to increase breast milk production?

If the mother decides to postpone artificial nutrition and try to improve breastfeeding, then the following measures will help her:

  1. Increase in application frequency. Everyone knows the axiom: the more milk the baby eats, the more its production will increase. Lactation is directly dependent on the number of attachments, so the exclusion of nipples and pacifiers would be a reasonable solution.
  2. Feeding from one breast to the end. Many mothers are faced with a situation where the baby, actively eating for the first 5-10 minutes, suddenly begins to act up, and calms down if you offer him another breast. This is due to the fact that the "hind" milk is more fatty, and it takes more effort to suck it out. Toddlers, being lazy, prefer to get lighter, but energetically less valuable “front” milk, which negatively affects their saturation.
  3. Increased night feedings. It is the nightly attachments that play leading role to ensure sufficient breast milk. No need to worry about the fact that this can be harmful, food does not stay long in the baby's stomach, moving into the digestive tract. Feeding from 3 to 8 in the morning provides the strongest release of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for the formation of breast milk.
  4. Increasing fluid intake by the mother herself. To female body function properly and produce the required volume of breast milk, it should be provided with a sufficient amount of liquid. A breastfeeding mother should drink at least two liters of water daily.
  5. Expression of milk after feeding. The same principle applies as with increasing application frequency.
  6. Calmness and relaxation. Violation of lactation is often associated with psychological problems, so it is recommended to discard all negativity, focusing only on positive emotions and images. Tea with mint or chamomile flowers will help to relax only if the baby is not allergic to these components. Also use warm liquid stimulates the flow of milk.
  7. If you have problems with attachment or doubts about insufficient saturation creep in, you should contact a breastfeeding specialist. In the maternity hospital, the answer to this question can be obtained from the neonatologist, who will help determine the degree of saturation and resolve the concerns that have arisen.

Conclusion

To find out if a newborn has enough breast milk, you should watch him for a while and make sure that whims and irritations have other causes. By counting wet diapers and the number of bowel movements, you need to make sure that they are not lower than those that neonatologists and pediatricians adhere to.

When in doubt, the best solution is to contact a breastfeeding specialist who will help resolve these issues. If in the process of observation there is an opinion that the child does not have enough breast milk, you should wait a little with feeding with an artificial mixture, and try to establish a full breastfeeding.

Read more:

No one can doubt the benefits of breastfeeding. World Organization Health advocates for exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond. However, many women still continue to doubt their own ability to breastfeed their child. This is due to the old Soviet stereotypes about the feeding regimen, the timing of the introduction of complementary foods and the amount of mother's milk needed by the baby in one feeding for each month of life.

Meanwhile, we must not forget that each child develops individually and his food needs may not coincide with the recommended regimen norms prescribed in "smart books".

This article is about how to understand your baby and be calm about the fact that the baby is full of breast milk.

How to determine the amount of milk required for a baby

When the baby is artificial, then he is offered a certain amount of the mixture at certain intervals. The recommended amount of formula is calculated according to the age and weight of the child. On average, up to 6 months, a newborn needs such a volume of nutrition that is equal to 1/6 of his body weight. This rule applies to both artificial and breastfeeding. But one child simply will not eat so much, and the other will not drink even half of his portion. So is breastfeeding.

It turns out that there are norms, but not all children fulfill them. It is almost impossible to accurately determine the amount of mother's milk that a newborn will need for one feeding. It is only known that different children drink from 700 to 1200 ml per day. Moreover, the daily volume of milk, both on the 2nd and on the 5th month, may not differ much, but the weight of the child will still increase. This is because the composition of human milk changes every day to meet the individual needs of a growing baby.

Weighing the baby before and after feeding is an objective way to monitor effective breastfeeding

How to determine the amount of milk drunk by the baby

If a nursing mother is haunted by the question of how much milk her baby receives, she can conduct a control weighing. To do this, immediately before feeding, the baby is weighed on a special electronic baby scale. Then he is fed and weighed again. The difference in weight will reflect the amount of food eaten.

Important! The newborn must be dressed in the same clothes before and after feeding, otherwise the result will be unreliable.

In one feeding, a child can suck out 50 ml of milk, in another - 150 ml. This is quite normal, but only if the baby is fed on demand at intervals of 2 to 3 hours and is not supplemented with any other liquid.

Summing up the figures of all feedings per day, we get the daily amount of milk drunk by the child, which is 700 - 1200 ml.

How to know if your baby is getting enough milk

In order to determine whether the baby has enough breast milk, it is necessary to completely abandon disposable diapers for one day. This is done so that the mother can control the amount of urination of the baby. Children who are exclusively breastfed and not drinking any other liquid from 2 weeks to 6 months of age should urinate at least 12 times a day. This is the most important indicator that the baby has enough milk.

But there are also other criteria by which you can find out that the baby is receiving breast milk in sufficient quantities:

  1. The periods of sleep, wakefulness and play far exceed the periods of crying.
  2. The baby's skin is pink and elastic.
  3. The skin near the fontanel does not flow.
  4. The eyes of the baby are shiny, tears are released during crying.
  5. Weight gain of at least 125 - 150 g per week.
  6. At least 12 urination per day.

If all these indicators are positive, then the baby certainly gorges on mother's milk.


The main criterion for sufficient feeding of the baby is a normal monthly weight gain.

Signs of a lack of breast milk

When a baby does not get enough breast milk, he does not gain weight and behaves restlessly. In addition, the mother may notice that the baby, while feeding, comes off the breast with a cry, and then takes it again. The situation may repeat itself several times. This behavior of the child can be triggered by colic or a poor outflow of milk, and not by its lack, so it is necessary to find the true cause of the baby's anxiety.

The number of urination performed by babies will tell about the sufficiency or lack of milk. This is perhaps the most important criterion that you need to pay attention to. But the frequency of stool has nothing to do with the amount of milk.

If a child has frequent crying without tears and a sunken fontanel, then you should immediately consult a doctor, as this may be one of the signs of dehydration.

In conclusion, I would like to reassure young mothers. Women who really cannot provide their baby with breast milk, only 2%. It is clear that a mother who loves her baby will be constantly concerned about his nutrition and health. To be afraid that the child is malnourished, to doubt the amount of breast milk is a problem for all breastfeeding mothers without exception. To overcome these problems, self-confidence, care for one's health and nutrition, good rest, and joint sleep with the child are necessary. And our advice will help to properly understand and solve any problem.

We recommend reading

Top