Hey mommas, did you ever hear of dips in breast milk, do you know what that means or is? If not it’s okay, let me explain. A dip in milk supply is when your milk volume decreases. This can be for a number of reasons. Rise in hormones, possible stress, menstrual cycle is on amenorrhea period is over, going back to work just to name a couple of reasons, not eating enough or not eating helpful foods to help production, and scheduled feeding. As body changes hormones can change as well, causing a disturbance in milk making hormones, stress hormones like cortisol can increase and disrupt milk making hormones like oxytocin, and prolactin these hormones are responsible for making milk and ejecting milk from breast. As for menstrual cycle, may disturb breastfeeding a bit, because of the natural cycle and rise in hormones like estrogen . Although dips may be challenging to avoid, there are some things we can do to help so dips aren’t too drastic. So we can start by always attaching baby to trick body and brain into making more milk. Baby suckling triggers body messages to brain saying “more milk”. Scheduled feedings can also cause you to experience dips in milk, to avoid scheduled feedings, you should feed on demand or when baby is showing their hunger cues, hunger cues from baby such as crying will signal your body to make milk, and tend to baby. Mommas body is so in sync with baby, your body will respond sometimes before you physically pick baby up. In my experience with hunger cues, my body would make too much milk when my son would cry I’d have to run to feed him before I soaked my shirt or bra ( happened plenty of times). You can try lactation snacks here at Made Me Milk, we have a variety of snacks to help increase milk volume and help dips be less extreme. Foods also play a big role in healthy milk making, foods high in protein, foods that are fibrous green leafy (softer greens to avoid gas or bloat), and of course proper amount of rest, keep stress at minimal, and remember to physically attach baby if able to, to help trigger milk making hormones. Baby may also fondle at other breast and nipple to stimulate other breast before switching to work on increasing supply in that opposite breast. All of these things can help lessen the detriment of the dips you may be experiencing. You can always talk to your provider for further assistance and support. 

Also for more information and support visit links below:

https://lllusa.org/low-milk-supply/

https://adriaticawomenshealth.com/how-to-boost-breast-milk-supply-during-your-menstrual-cycle/