Milk not coming in

Have you been putting baby to breast?

Hi Lara. Do you have any health conditions that might affect it? Did you have a c section or vaginal delivery? And did your breasts change during pregnancy? I ask because I have PCOS and my boobs didn't change at all in pregnancy. I kept asking people if this would mean I wouldn't be able to breastfeed and the response was always that I would be able to. I had a c section and thought my milk was just a bit late coming in but it never appeared. Same with my second pregnancy. Tried everything and had so many people supporting me to try and stimulate it but it just never came in. Hopefully your experience is different. X

I know others where milk has come in late - or they didn’t start trying until their LO was slightly older. Have you asked your health visitor to refer you to your local infant feeding team? They should be able to give you support and help with trying to up supply. Good luck!

Have you tried a electric pump

Just letting the baby suckle brings milk in. I noticed with game expressing i got nothing when i first had my son 2 weeks ago and even now i still don’t however with an electric pump i did get milk. Now getting 7 ounces out of one side in 15 minutes of electric pumping but absolutely nothing if hand expressing

@Jess I don’t have any health problems that I know of. I had a vaginal birth and my nipples changed colour during pregnancy but other than that my breasts haven’t changed. They aren’t sore of anything x

I have tried the pump but it’s just not strong enough and I put baby to breast but again, nothing happens. I will ask for a referral, thank you everyone x

@Lara what do you mean by "nothing happens"? Is baby sucking? Are you putting baby to breast every 2 hours?

My breasts were exactly the same (just change in colour of nipples). Its definitely worth contacting the health visitor or a breastfeeding team for support and continuing to try with babe as its still early days and you never know, but my advice would also be to have a plan b (ie formula) that you've accepted might be necessary. With my first, I was accepting and following all the help and advice and continued trying but my baby began losing so much weight and it was so scary. The second I accepted that my milk wasn't coming in, she started to gain weight and is now a healthy 19 month old. So do what feels right x

My milk was delayed due to having a c-section, I won’t lie that first week was hard going. My HV and midwife told me to pop baby on chest skin to skin, continue to offer the breast to feed and ensure you offer both sides and then express after each feed.we topped up with formula using the finger feed method with a syringe every other feed, offering the bottle can confuse their sucking motion/latch and make things a little harder. your midwife/HV can tell you how much formula they need based on their weight etc. After 2-3 days we were able to decrease the formula top ups and I’d say after a week or so he was exclusively breast feeding as my milk came in. I was advised that oats help with milk supply and to ensure you are eating/drinking plenty. If you are wanting to BF it may be worth reaching out to your HV/midwife and getting support they have been amazing either me, without them I definitely would given up . Hang in there mamma it will come x

I feel you. I'm on day 10 with no milk so I'm resigning myself to the fact it won't happen. If you want to chat about it, feel free to message me. I have been advised to do as much skin to skin as I can, put them to the breast and hand express every 2 hours. I hope things work out for you.

@Katie As in not even a drop comes out, my nipples are completely dry. I put him to the breast before each feed so every 2-3 hours. I’ve tried letting him latch, he just gets really upsets because he’s not getting anything. I’ve tried hand expressing and pumping and I’ve not had a drop of milk 😔

With my first I lost a lot of blood in a complicated vaginal birth and was told that was why my milk took about 10 days to come in. I spent those days with baby suckling a lot. Every time he would suckle, my husband would give him a syringe of colostrum that I had expressed during pregnancy. My body also didn't respond to the pump and never did, even once my milk came in and I had plenty to feed my baby. It wasn't an easy feeding journey but was worth it for me. Equally, don't drive yourself mad if it's too much. I have a friend who got her milk to come in 3 months post birth so it's totally possible if it's really important to you. I'd focus on skin to skin and letting baby suckle and hopefully it will come in soon! 🙏

You could try putting baby to breast regularly if not already, eating porridge oats, lactation tea (I use HOTTEA MAMA Milks Up tea), electric breast pump. All the best

There are a small group of women who never get their milk. My friend (and her mum and grandma) are in that group. Due to the family history she was aware it could happen and had formula ready. Stress never helps and fed is best. You are doing everything you can so be kind to yourself and if it doesn’t come it’s ok. You will still be able to fed baby. You are doing great 😊

Pump/bring baby to breast at night too, the night time one is one of the most important ones for supply x

Have you tried supplements? Of course check with health visitor / local lactation support first x