perunduman susu badan

aduhssss... nape sejak dua menjak ni susu makin kurang. nak kata period tak datang-datang pun lagi

Do breasts need time to refill?

Many people mistakenly think of a mother's milk supply as being like "flesh-covered bottles" that are completely emptied and then need time to refill before baby nurses again.This is simply not how we understand milk production to function.

First of all, milk is being produced at all times, so the breast is never empty. Research has shown that babies do not take all the milk available from the breast - the amount that baby drinks depends upon his appetite. The amount of milk removed from the breast varies from feed to feed, but averages around 75-80% of the available milk.

Trying to completely empty a breast is like trying to empty a river -- it's impossible, since more milk will keep flowing in while milk is being removed.

Research also tells us that the emptier the breast, the faster the breast makes milk. So when baby removes a large percentage of milk from the breast, milk production will speed up in response.

Rather than thinking of nursing or pumping as "pouring milk out of a container" think of it as flipping on the "high speed production" switch!

Yet another analogy: Imagine you are using a straw to drink from a glass of water. As you drink, a friend is very slowly pouring water into your glass. The emptier the glass, the faster your friend pours the water. Would you be able to drink all the water in your glass?

Waiting a set amount of time to nurse your baby (under the mistaken belief that breasts need time to "refill") is actually counterproductive. Consistently delaying nursing will lead to decreased milk supply over time because milk production slows when milk accumulates in the breast.

Storage capacity: Another factor that affects milk production and breastfeeding management is mom’s milk storage capacity. Storage capacity is the amount of milk that the breast can store between feedings. This can vary widely from mom to mom and also between breasts for the same mom. Storage capacity is not determined by breast size, although breast size can certainly limit the amount of milk that can be stored. Moms with largeor small storage capacities can produce plenty of milk for baby. A mother with a larger milk storage capacity may be able to go longer between feedings without impacting milk supply and baby's growth. A mother with a smaller storage capacity, however, will need to nurse baby more often to satisfy baby’s appetite and maintain milk supply since her breasts will become full (slowing production) more quickly.

Think of storage capacity as a cup - you can easily drink a large amount of water throughout the day using any size of cup - small, medium or large - but if you use a smaller cup it will be refilled more often.

What does the research tell us about increasing milk supply?

Milk is being produced at all times, with speed of production depending upon how empty the breast is. Milk collects in mom's breasts between feedings, so the amount of milk stored in the breast between feedings is greater when more time has passed since the last feed. The more milk in the breast, the slower the speed of milk production.

To speed milk synthesis and increase daily milk production, the key is to remove more milk from the breast and to do this quickly and frequently, so that less milk accumulates in the breast between feedings:

EMPTY Breast = FASTER Milk Production