Causes of low MS:
There are many reasons for low milk supply. The primary control of milk supply is related to the amount being taken from the breast. Anything that inhibits the amount the baby can take from the breast or that is being taken from the breast can inhibit supply. The most common causes that are related to inhibition of the baby's ability to access the milk are:
1)when the baby is not latched deeply enough on the breast, and
2) babies who are not at the breast long enough or frequently enough. These two causes probably result in the vast majority of low milk supply, they are extremely common and also happily generally easy to "fix".
Another common cause of low supply is supplementation with formula or solids, since that will cause the baby to take less bresast milk from the breast and ultimately the breast will produce less.
Sometimes babies are too sleepy, though this usually only occurs in the beginning or if the baby is ill, and don't take enough milk, leading to low supply.
Sometimes there is something dysfunctional about the baby's suck, such as a short frenulum that restricts the baby 's ability to suck and therefore take milk from the breast though suck and tongue problems are usually accompanied by nipple soreness.
Most of the common causes of low supply can be fixed easily by fixing the cause such as improving the latch or increasing the frequency of bf.
True low milk supply, where the mom is truely unable to produce adequate milk even though all the management issues of bf are going well is pretty rare. One cause is retained placenta, which can be corrected by taking the retained placenta usually. Retained placenta generally occurs in the early weeks. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone), which can be corrected with medication, is another potential cause of low milk supply. Excessive loss of blood during the birth can cause low supply. And very rarely inadequate breast tissue. Polycystic ovarian syndrome can also create low supply.
Low milk supply is also a problem that many moms think they have when they don't. *Perceived* low supply is a very common problem. Many moms think they have low supply when they actually do not b/c they are using the wrong signs to judge milk supply. Here is a post on how to assess milk supply:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ppbreastfeed&msg=63037.3
There are many reasons for low milk supply. The primary control of milk supply is related to the amount being taken from the breast. Anything that inhibits the amount the baby can take from the breast or that is being taken from the breast can inhibit supply. The most common causes that are related to inhibition of the baby's ability to access the milk are:
1)when the baby is not latched deeply enough on the breast, and
2) babies who are not at the breast long enough or frequently enough. These two causes probably result in the vast majority of low milk supply, they are extremely common and also happily generally easy to "fix".
Another common cause of low supply is supplementation with formula or solids, since that will cause the baby to take less bresast milk from the breast and ultimately the breast will produce less.
Sometimes babies are too sleepy, though this usually only occurs in the beginning or if the baby is ill, and don't take enough milk, leading to low supply.
Sometimes there is something dysfunctional about the baby's suck, such as a short frenulum that restricts the baby 's ability to suck and therefore take milk from the breast though suck and tongue problems are usually accompanied by nipple soreness.
Most of the common causes of low supply can be fixed easily by fixing the cause such as improving the latch or increasing the frequency of bf.
True low milk supply, where the mom is truely unable to produce adequate milk even though all the management issues of bf are going well is pretty rare. One cause is retained placenta, which can be corrected by taking the retained placenta usually. Retained placenta generally occurs in the early weeks. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone), which can be corrected with medication, is another potential cause of low milk supply. Excessive loss of blood during the birth can cause low supply. And very rarely inadequate breast tissue. Polycystic ovarian syndrome can also create low supply.
Low milk supply is also a problem that many moms think they have when they don't. *Perceived* low supply is a very common problem. Many moms think they have low supply when they actually do not b/c they are using the wrong signs to judge milk supply. Here is a post on how to assess milk supply:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ppbreastfeed&msg=63037.3
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