Breastfeeding and Oversupply

Last month I wrote to you about low milk supply and how to combat the challenges that it presents.  If you missed it but it sounds like something you are struggling with please check it out!  You can find the link HERE.  If you are on the opposite end of the spectrum and think you might be struggling with over milk supply then this post is for you!  I hope it helps you on your breastfeeding journey.  You are not alone.

To be honest with you, when I was first asked to write a post about oversupply I was a little intimidated.  Other than some really annoying and somewhat persistent clogged ducts, I have never really experienced oversupply myself and as you know, I try to write about things that I have personal experience with.  I want my blog posts to be more than just some unknown person spouting off about info that they read on the internet- info that you could just as easily research yourself.  Don’t get me wrong, I fully intend to provide you some links to some great internet resources that I found while researching but I also wanted to incorporate something more personal.  So, I reached out to my mommy communities and asked for help.  Many moms told me their story and I was grateful.

What is oversupply anyway?  Oversupply of milk is just what is sounds like on the most basic level – producing more milk that your baby needs and it often comes with forceful letdown which is a milk letdown so strong that it can cause your baby to sputter or choke because they cannot swallow the milk fast enough.  You may not even realize that you have this for a few weeks.  According to Kelly mom “some mothers notice that the problems with fast letdown or oversupply don’t start until [baby is] 3-6 weeks of age.”  Other issues associated with oversupply include clogged ducts, painfully full breasts, fussy baby, etc.  You can find a list of signs that you have a forceful letdown on Kelly Mom HERE.  You will also find on the same page, some suggestions for dealing with the issue.  There is also some really great info on Natural Mama’s page HERE.

I want to congratulate each of you suffering with oversupply for pushing through it and not giving up.  As someone who always erred on the low side of normal, I always wondered what it would be like to be on the opposite end of things but after interviewing several mamas with oversupply the past month, it’s clear that the other side of the proverbial fence is not greener.

Many of the mamas that I talked to told me stories about being new mothers and trying to feed their babies only to accidentally (and unintentionally) choke their babies with the precious milk that they were trying to nourish them with.  These mamas told me about let downs so strong that the spray came out twice as fast as their poor babies could swallow.  I can imagine that being in one of these mamas shoes would be equally as painful and as full of self-criticism as the shoes of a mom struggling to make enough milk for her baby.  In both of these cases, the mom is trying her best to do what is best for her baby but in her eyes “failing” in some way.  But, let me be at least one person to tell you that you aren’t failing at all and that it’s OK to struggle and that you ARE doing the best that you can.  I want to share with you the stories of four different moms who shared their story with me and now, with their permission, with you.

Mom number one told me that she accidentally gave herself an oversupply issue.  She had to exclusively pump for her baby due to tongue-tie and latching issues and was pumping to mimic her baby’s feeding patterns.  Unfortunately, she pumped so frequently that her body responded by increasing the amount of milk it thought she needed and she ended up with an oversupply.  She did admit that the one benefit to having oversupply was that she never had to worry about having enough milk to feed her baby or having enough milk for another caregiver.  But the trade off for that benefit meant that she had to pump ALL THE TIME.  She couldn’t stand how uncomfortably full that she felt all of the time and her solution was to pump off the excess.  Some would argue that continuing to pump at such a frequent interval only makes the issue worse but when you are in the thick of it, sometimes you have to do whatever you can to make it through a day.  This mom pumped off extra milk after each feeding but also in between feedings.  Over time, her supply eventually began to regulate a bit after her baby’s latch issues were rectified and she was able to wean down the pumping sessions but she also had to really work at reducing her supply.  At the end of her nursing journey though she was able to donate all of her extra milk which I can imagine was a gratifying experience.  What a wonderful gift! Her advice to other struggling mamas is to go easy on yourself.  Don’t feel guilty about doing what you need to do and no matter how long your breastfeed or if you even do at all, you are enough.

Mom number two had a similar story in that it ended with the blessing of being able to donate milk but she didn’t get there without a fight.  She told me that she had an extreme case of oversupply.  Her daughter would choke every time she tried to feed her and her nipples were cracked, raw, and bleeding from her daughter biting them in an effort to slow the milk flow.  Both she and her daughter were miserable.  Every morning she would wake up with rock hard lumpy breasts and if we daughter slept more than five hours at time she could pump roughly 16 oz of milk in one session.  For me just thinking about that is mind blowing!  The most that I was ever able to pump in one sitting was 8 oz and that was a fluke.  I was so proud of myself that I remember taking a picture!  This mom on the other hand was praying for less.  She suffered through mastitis TWICE and pumped every two hours at work for almost a year after her maternity leave was over. She could never leave the house without her pump and described it as “painful agony.”  Her over supply allowed her to have so much milk stashed up that she was able to use frozen milk for daycare AND donate over 1000 oz to babies in need.  Yes, you read that number correctly she had more than enough to feed her own child, plus a freezer stash, and donated OVER 1000 oz!!!  Wow!  The best part of her story was when she told me “It was harder for me than labor, but every bit as much a beautiful gift.”  I found that description to be incredibly moving.  This mom is now 17 months postpartum and shared with me that her supply is finally beginning to regulate and she is still strongly nursing on.  Her advice to other moms is to trust your gut and your body – you can do this!  Hang in there because it DOES get better and to seek out help from a lactation consultant – especially if it hurts.  She suggests getting your baby checked for ties and recommends getting an “awesome” pump.

Mom number three described having an oversupply with her son as being “a prisoner to the pump.”  I am sure that mom number two could relate.  Mom number three needed to pump six or seven times a day just to deal with the amount of milk that she was producing.  She couldn’t wait to get rid of the pump and I’m sure was counting the days the entire time – but she kept at it.  When her son was ten months old, she had pumped enough milk to feed him for another two additional months and she ditched the pump as soon as she possibly could.  She is now a mom to a baby girl as well and told me that with this baby she was really careful not to pump in the first three months if at all possible – focusing instead on exclusively breastfeeding.  She believes that this helped her to avoid oversupply the second time around.  Her daughter is now 13 months and she would consider herself a “just enougher” as far as supply is concerned.  She shared with me that she actually doesn’t mind pumping this time around because she feels like she has more freedom with it.  She also credits the fact that she has a 100% hands free pump and highly recommends one to any moms who have to pump frequently.

Mom number four has never really pumped but is an exclusive breastfeeder who has dealt with over supply.  Just because you are dealing with oversupply does not mean that you have to pump!  She shared with me that in the beginning she had no idea that what she was dealing with wasn’t “normal.”  She said that she was essentially “waterboarding” her daughter every time that she tried to feed her, milk would squirt her in the eyes and go everywhere.  Both she and her daughter were frustrated and didn’t know what to do.  Luckily she sought out help from a lactation consultant but it still took considerable trial and error before she found a solution that worked for her.  She tried block feeding (check out the links in the beginning of this blog for info about this) and nipple shields but it wasn’t until she tried changing nursing positions that her nursing relationship changed.  She shared with me that she needed to hand express before attempting to nurse and that she would just let the milk run into a clean washcloth.  I know that to those of us on the other side of the fence, the idea of wasting even a little bit of milk can be anxiety inducing.  This mom admitted that she had no idea that she was wasting “liquid gold” because she honestly had so much she didn’t even think twice.  She also had no need for a freezer stash though since she was breastfeeding only.  For her, she said that avoiding the pump was a blessing because she felt that it would have made her oversupply worse.  Instead, she hand expressed before every nursing session until her breasts were soft and then nursed her baby lying on her side.  She told me that discovering this nursing position saved her.  Any extra milk would run onto the sheets or clean towels (which she obviously threw down before hand) instead of choking her daughter as she tried to eat.  Another position that she found helpful was to nurse her baby lying down with her baby on her belly.  This position gives the baby more control and slows down the flow of milk a bit.  Once her flow finally regulated she was able to try traditional nursing positions again but it took time.  She confided that she often felt guilty and afraid to bring up her struggle with oversupply because of how many people she knew were dealing with low supply.  People kept telling her that “oversupply was a good problem to have” without having a clue about how difficult it really was.  She wants others to know that it’s OK to talk about oversupply and that it IS a REAL problem but with support you can get through it.

If you are struggling with oversupply I hope that the stories in this post help you feel less alone.  I hope that the links that I provided in the beginning of this post provide you some suggestions on how to cope with this challenge and I encourage you to seek out help from a lactation consultant and support from a group of moms who have been where you are. You can get through this.  Nurse on mamas and a very special thank you to the moms who shared their stories and made this post possible – I truly appreciate it.

https://nurtureparenting.com.au/breastfeeding-oversupply-fast-flow-and-a-forceful-letdown/