Low Supply

As you might have gathered if you've read some of my blog posts, I have IGT (insufficient glandular tissue), also known as mammary hypoplasia, which means I don't have enough breast tissue and so can't make enough milk for my babies. This puts me in the minority of women. However, the number of times I've heard people say they had to give up breastfeeding because they didn't make enough milk, you'd think that it was much more common.

Low supply isn't a myth, but true low supply is pretty rare. And low supply is no reason to give up breastfeeding either. 

First of all, let's discuss what low supply isn't. Frequent feeding is not a sign of low supply. Nor is frequent waking. Both of these are normal behaviours for newborns - frequent feeds are baby's way of building up your supply. And frequent wakings help to protect baby against SIDS. Babies' tummies are tiny and breastmilk is quickly digested, hence the need for frequent meals. And during growth spurts babies feed much more often to put in their orders for more milk. The 4 month sleep regression is often a time when women believe that their milk supply has dwindled, but it's just a huge growth spurt and totally normal. Feed feed feed. 

Check out this Kellymom link to find out a bit more about what isn't a sign of low supply.

Now, there are behaviours that can cause low supply:

Top Tips for Breastfeeding with a Supplemental Nursing System

Beware! If you read to the end, you will see my nipple!

A small percentage of mums find themselves unable to exclusively breastfeed their babies. I found myself in that small percentage almost three years ago now, when B was born. I have insufficient glandular tissue and so am unable to make enough milk to keep a baby alive. It was distressing to discover, but with support I was able to breastfeed alongside supplementing. After buying a Medela supplemental nursing system and failing to get on with it, due to lack of instructions in the box and none on the internet either, I was slightly relieved when the hubby accidentally melted it whilst sterilising. We ended up using bottles with B and I would pump after every top up feed. 

This time around, I was prepared for the perils of chronic low supply. There was a supply of donor milk in the freezer and two SNSes in the cupboard. I was determined to make it work this time, knowing that with a two year old to look after, I would have very little time for the pumping required after every bottle feed. 

Our first SNS feed

An SNS is basically a bottle with thin feeding tubes attached, one of which goes in the baby's mouth along with the breast, allowing whatever supplement you are using to be drunk whilst nursing. This ensures your breasts are being stimulated to produce and enables baby to get as much of your milk as possible whilst being supplemented. SNSes can be used to induce lactation, for relactation and for supplementing a low supply. 

It is a bit tricky at first, but because I was an experienced breastfeeder this time round, I found it much easier than with B. And we're still using it 7 months later. 

So now you've got past the lengthy intro, here are my top tips for breastfeeding with an SNS - tips I wish I'd found when B was a baby: