When will I produce Milk?

[ElisaDay89]

I'm 36weeks pregnant and I'm worried I'm not going to produce any milk.My nipples have virtually gone back to their "normal" shape and colour. No tenderness or fullness. I feel breastfeeding isn't going to happen for us.

Update!

I managed to produce a small amount of milk but it wasn't substantial enough to feed my son. I tried Boo.B Shakes and pumping. Nothing helped it increase. I have a happy well fed baby on formula now. Please don't feel disheartened if you are going through the same situation 💕

[Purpledoggy]

I would say it's pretty hard to tell until your milk is expected to come in what will happen. I have had one pregnancy and BF my LB until he was 9m. My boobs were never full or painful during pregnancy, although I did have sore nipples. I got a little colostrum out from 37 weeks but not much. My milk came in in spades 2 days after birth, even after a c-section - I went from small boobs to having proper huge udders in a matter of hours😂. I would say discuss any concerns with your midwife and also the MW in hospital when you give birth but just remember it is pretty uncommon to produce very little milk; there are lots of reasons why things can be slow at the start and some additional formula is needed in the early days, but having a bumpy start getting going is not the same as not being able to do it at all xx

[Seb9]

I never leaked, noticed any difference in my nipples or really got bigger boobs through either of my pregnancies and I breastfed both babies for over a year each. I did find it really helpful to speak to some of my friends who had breastfed and they all had different experiences.

There's a really helpful Facebook group called UK breastfeeding I think and they've got lots of lovely mums who can give you advice on breastfeeding.

My biggest take aways was:

That it takes a while to get the hang of it for baby and you. Lots of skin to skin at home on the sofa or in bed, don't rush to be 'back to normal'

If baby is having wet dirty nappies and gaining weight, you're producing enough milk.

Don't use sleep as a gauge as all babies sleep differently. Mine could be full to the brim and still never slept.

If you're having lots of pain or have concerns reach out to the infant feeding teams and advocate for yourself fiercely.

Everyone is different, one of my best friends and me had our babies a week apart. She went through bucket loads of pads for leaking and I never used one. She's got tiny boobs and I've got huge boobs! I said it might have been because I had more storage 🤣

You need lots of oxytocin, the love hormone so I found watching soppy movies or romcoms really helpful.

I did start harvesting colostrum at 37/38 weeks, which I was advised to do by my diabetes nurse, because I had gestational diabetes. They can use this to boost babies sugar levels if they had low blood sugar because of the diabetes. So you could also try this off you talk to your midwife about it.

Good luck and try not to worry too much, there's lots of help out there and even if breastfeeding isn't something you enjoy, want to do, struggle with or even just want to supplement formula is amazing stuff and baby will be fed xx

[Sw1234 in reply to Seb9]

Any advice on how to collect colostrum? I'm 32 weeks pregnant with baby 2 and will have 17 month old who was combi fed in hospital and his first 6 weeks and then formula fed (we had a tough time in hospitalas he was born by GA). I'd really like to breast feed this time and feel collecting colostrum beforehand would give me such a confidence boost. I've been given a kit from the hospital but no advice on what to do

[Seb9 in reply to Sw1234]

I'll do my best, baby is nearly 2 now so it seems like a long time ago. I found that at first I didn't really get anything the first few goes, then got what looked like a bead of liquid, but nothing I could really collect. So don't expect loads at first, it's about stimulating production.

I couldn't get a lot if I wasn't comfortable or stressed, so I would have a bath or shower and then put on something heart warming. A Christmas movie or lovey dovey stuff, something that makes your soul smile. So it triggers oxytocin.

I found the technique that worked best for me was to massage around the nipple rather than pinching the nipple itself. So with my thumb on top and fingers underneath my boob, so your holding it like a hamburger. You want to push down with your thumb without moving it over the skin. If you rub the skin you'll end up causing a bit of friction which was a bit painful. I found that out the hard way!

I used to hold a sterilised cup under my boob to catch the drops, then suck them up with the syringe. I started out not being able to fill a 1ml syringe and by week 2 or 3 being able to fill a 5ml. I would try and do it a couple of times a day, at first but when I could do 5ml I just did it once a day.

I froze them all and took them to the hospital in a freezer bag.

We used them in the hospital and carried using them at home so husband could give some while I had a bath or sleep. I found it really comforting to know I was already able to produce before baby came and both babies were really small so I think being able to give them little to ups also helped them to gain what they lost after birth very quickly.

If you can't do it though, don't worry, it doesn't mean you'll have any issues breastfeeding and even if you do formula is amazing stuff and a perfectly valid choice if you decide not to breastfeed.

Good luck with it, if you have any other questions let me know xx

[Sw1234 in reply to Seb9]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I really hope we can feed baby this time and feel like I'm doing more in preparation too

[Chiefy]

Hi, my advice would be to get try and get some support from your midwife now or locate a local breastfeeding consultant if you can. I never had any colostrum and my milk didn't seem to come in. I wish I had had some support in place to try and establish breastfeeding and get my milk supply started if possible, instead I just ended up feeling like I had failed my baby (even though he was great on formula and I hadn't failed him at all). This was back in covid times and social distancing meant that help was scarce to come by, even in the hospital. I think if I had had some help at least I would have felt like I had tried everything.

[Millbanks]

Don't worry - my boobs / nipples were pretty much normal throughout pregnancy.

I didn't get any leakage etc at all.

Day 2 after birth I suddenly looked like Jordan - the milk will come!

[Kat-86]

Hi,Try not to stress! I also only had sore and larger breasts in the first trimester and then they returned to normal throughout the rest of the pregnancy. No leakage either. My milk came in 2 days after the birth. I also had gestational diabetes and agree with trying to harvest colostrum prior for that purpose or to tie baby over until milk comes in. My midwife assisted with some collection following the birth and showed me how to collect with a syringe as I was not confident and didn't harvest prior. There is plenty of support if you need it. Baby is 9 months now and still exclusively breastfeeding.

[Emdog87]

I wouldn’t worry too much. I didn’t leak beforehand or feel full. My milk came in properly when baby was a few days old.

At this point you’ll be producing colostrum, which is actually quite difficult to get out. I went to a colostrum harvesting class in my late pregnancy and I couldn’t get any out but when baby came along it was fine.

[Jogsandwalks]

I had nothing and was completely dry throughout pregnancy. When I birthed my child, while still on the bed after labour, the midwife came over with a clipboard and a checklist. I imagine the checklist said some like 'has breastfed the baby...' or whatever She was like hold him to you breast, feed him. I was like, my boobs are dry they don't have milk. I thought I should have leakage or swelling or signs of something but I had had none.

So she reached over a squeezed my tit really hard and to my surprise colostrum came out. I asked for some syringes and just squeezed and squeezed as hard I could to get the colostrum out. There wasn't a lot at first but more I squeezed the more drops came out. I started harvesting little syringe fulls.

In the end I breast fed properly for 6 months.

My advice, and what I'll be doing next time, is squeeze them really hard. They might surprise you. I didn't know I had it in me - literally

[LucyAlana]

I wouldn’t worry, it sounds normal. Colostrum harvesting would reassure you and give a useful supply for the early days but there is a bit of a knack - comments above describe it well but if you are not getting anywhere then midwife should be able to help or breast feeding support group. I had a prem baby so never got far along for antenatal colostrum but he needed me to express afterwards. I spent ages squeezing boobs and getting nothing, midwife made me give him formula then changed shift and a different midwife showed me how. Once you have the technique you get a bit more each time.

Only other tip I have is make sure you eat and drink plenty as not enough for mum = not enough milk in the boobs!

[Beacon78]

Like some of the others have said my breasts didn’t change at all during the pregnancy. Due to being diagnosed with gestational diabetes and opting for a planned c-section I was told to harvest colostrum from week 36. I started harvesting colostrum from week 37. I have attached a link which provides very helpful guidance on what you need to do: kingstonhospital.nhs.uk/inf...

Initially I only got a couple of drops each time but by week 39 I was getting 20ml a day (two 10ml syringes). It really boosted my confidence. When my little boy arrived he latched on within a couple of hours and fed without difficulty. For the first couple of days I topped up his feeds with the colostrum I had harvested. My milk came through on day 3. When I took him for his day 5 check up with the health visitor he was nearly back to his birth weight. She described the colostrum harvesting as a “game changer” for me. My son has been exclusively breast fed and has gained weight consistently. He will be six months at the end of this month and I will be starting the weaning process. I believe the colostrum harvesting has given us the best start to our breast feeding journey and would highly recommend it to anyone regardless of gestational diabetes or c-sections. I wish you the very best of luck and hope everything goes well. X