Ensuring supply

[Ellivort]

Is there anything that can be done during pregnancy to better ensure supply after birth? With DD she never latched and although I pumped for 8 weeks I never did have an adequate supply before drying up.

This time around I really want to successfully breastfeed. I have now been diagnosed with PCOS, which can hinder supply (or so I've heard), but I am on metformin, which apparently should help.

I just wondered if there are any safe things I can do prior to birth to ensure a good supply early.

 

[noon_child]

No there isn't anything you can do. Pregnancy itself stimulates the growth of milk making cells ready for the baby's arrival, then the separation of the placenta from the body creates a cascade of hormones that ensures that milk comes in (between day 2-7, more usually 3-5) whether you fed baby in those first few days or not. After that cascade of hormones subsides it is literally how much milk is removed from the breast that stimulates the breast to make more.

PCOS can cause low supply and oddly oversupply - but I have no idea if it only ever causes one or the other or if this can change for each baby. It may be that your PCOS isn't a factor and your prior difficulties were to do with pumping not always adequately mimicking a baby's suck, so this time if your LO latches you might have no problems! I hope so, and Good Luck.