Top 5 Hacks: How to Keep Up Your Milk Supply for Busy Pumping Mums

Are you worried about your milk supply decreasing when you return to work? Is your busy schedule preventing you from pumping at the right time? This is a common issue that many new mothers encounter. Motherhood is an incredible journey, but also full of hardships and challenges, especially when you have to return to work and try to maintain your milk supply for your baby. But don’t worry, we are here to support you. This article shares 5 simple tips for using an electric breast pump to help busy mothers maintain a stable milk supply every day and ensure an adequate supply for their little one.

1. Try Side-Lying Nursing at Night

The first tip for mothers to maintain their milk supply for their babies is to breastfeed while lying on their side at night. Nighttime is the time when the hormone prolactin, which stimulates milk production, reaches its highest level. Therefore, breastfeeding at night is crucial for maintaining an ample supply of breast milk.

Breastfeeding in a side-lying position can help mothers breastfeed more easily and frequently without needing to sit up. Thanks to that, it can stimulate the mammary glands to function stably and increase the ability to secrete milk without causing fatigue.

Breastfeeding while lying on the side also helps reduce stress and minimise interruptions to the mother’s sleep, especially for busy mothers, which in turn helps ensure the quality of milk secreted. Additionally, regular nighttime feeding will help prevent the breasts from becoming engorged and signal the body to continue producing milk.

2. Use a Haakaa or Milk Catcher

The next tip that busy mothers who still want to maintain their milk supply should not ignore is to use a Haakaa or milk catcher. A Haakaa or milk catcher is a tool that helps mothers collect milk from the other side while the baby is breastfeeding.

When the mother breastfeeds on one side, the other breast will also secrete milk thanks to the “letdown” reflex. The milk catcher will help take advantage of that natural flow of milk, instead of wasting it, thereby stimulating the breast to produce more milk in response to the increased demand.

A Haakaa or milk catcher also helps mothers take care of their babies more flexibly, thanks to its ability to store milk. Each time the mother breastfeeds, a small amount of milk can be collected, and when accumulated, it will form a significant amount of stored milk (freezer stash). With a freezer stash, mothers will not be stressed by the fear of not having enough milk, helping them to be more flexible when breastfeeding and contributing to stabilising their milk supply.

Not only that, the milk catcher also helps to empty the breasts effectively. Milk is drawn out evenly from both sides to avoid clogged milk ducts or reduced production due to stagnant milk. You can choose a Haakaa or a specialised milk catcher to apply the above tips. Or you can also use a portable breast pump as a milk catcher instead.

A hands-free pumping solution can help you combine nursing and pumping more conveniently. You can alternate between breastfeeding on one breast and pumping on the other to stimulate increased milk production. If you are concerned that pumping may impact your baby’s sleep quality, consider selecting a quiet electric breast pump. These types of breast pumps often have a better milk suction capacity and operate smoothly, minimising noise that can affect the baby.

3. Try Breast Compression

Breast compression is also a helpful technique to stimulate better milk production. You can gently compress your breasts while your baby is feeding so that your baby can get more milk each time. When you compress your breasts, more milk will flow out, especially at the end of the feeding. At that time, hindmilk, a fatty milk rich in energy, will be produced more. Your baby will become fuller and fuller, which will help establish a stable feeding cycle and promote effective milk production.

Breast compression helps empty the breasts, sending a signal to the body to produce more milk and maintain a high milk production level. This tip also helps stimulate your baby to suck more actively. When your baby starts to fall asleep, breast compressions help the milk flow faster, making your baby continue to suck hard and prolong the feeding time, creating more stimulation for the breasts.

Besides, you can also gently massage your breasts to stimulate better milk production. You can choose top-rated breast pumps for mums in UK and Ireland. These breast pumps often have an additional massage mode, which helps stimulate and apply gentle pressure to the breasts to stimulate milk production.

4. Give Lactation Cookies and Supplements a Try

Another tip to help busy moms maintain their milk supply is to try lactation supplements. Lactation supplements are foods or herbs that can stimulate the mammary glands, assisting the mother’s body to produce more milk.

Lactation supplements are often papaya, oats, brown rice, fennel seeds, spinach, or ginger. Lactation teas or supplements can contain ingredients such as fenugreek, blessed thistle, milk thistle, etc. In addition, you can try pancakes made from oats and cereal or lactation cookies, made from oats, flaxseed, and yeast.

The effectiveness of lactation supplements varies from mother to mother, so you can try them to see how they work for your body. However, consult your doctor before trying any foods to ensure that this change does not harm the mother and baby.

5. Maintain a Healthy Diet

Lastly, maintaining a healthy diet is essential to provide the body with adequate nutrition. A healthy diet and proper hydration will help busy mothers maintain a healthy milk supply.

According to research, breastfeeding women need to drink about 13 cups of water per day (about 104 ounces). Breast milk contains up to 88% water, and water largely determines the quantity and quality of milk. Water helps the mammary glands function stably, reducing fatigue and stress to produce milk of better quality. Therefore, you should try to drink a glass of water after pumping or breastfeeding. And of course, you can flexibly supplement water from filtered water, warm water, juice, or milk soup.

Similar to pregnancy or before giving birth, nutrition plays a crucial role during the breastfeeding period. A nutritious diet will help maintain a healthy milk supply, provide essential nutrients for the baby, and aid the mother in recovering more quickly after giving birth. Therefore, balance your diet and daily calorie intake.

You should eat enough of the 4 main nutrient groups, including protein, starch, healthy fat, and vitamins, so that the body has enough nutrients to produce milk. You should not diet too much because postpartum weight loss should be gradual, prioritising adequate nutrition and light exercise. Don’t forget to limit foods high in caffeine, spicy, seafood, greasy, or alcoholic beverages to avoid affecting the mother and baby.

Wrap Up

No matter how busy your work schedule is, with the five great tips above and a quality electric breast pump, you can maintain a plentiful milk supply for your baby. Breastfeeding does not need to be perfect; it just requires enough effort and perseverance every day. Remember, every drop of breast milk is highly precious, and you have done very well. Wishing you always have enough milk, enough strength, and enough love on the journey of raising your child to grow up!