Can You Have Too Much Breast Milk?

Does your breastfeeding baby have problems like gassiness, green poop and excessive spit up? Then you have a problem with oversupply…or too much milk.

While some women struggle to make enough milk to feed their babies, when you have an oversupply, you may have too much foremilk which can causes feelings of fullness in your baby. However this foremilk does not have enough calories or density to allow your baby to remain satisfied resulting in fussiness, stomach upset and gas.


A forceful milk letdown can also cause some of these problems. An overly abundant milk supply and forceful letdown often go hand in hand. Often mothers with these issues notice baby is trying to clamp down on the nipple to slow the supply or will notice spraying if the baby pulls off.

Here are three things you can do to help relieve these oversupply issues:

1. First, offer only one breast each feeding. This will decrease your breast milk supply slowly. If the other side gets uncomfortable, express by hand a little milk to relieve some of the pressure. Don’t express too much, because this increased pressure lets your body know that it should start decreasing the amount of breast milk being produced.

2. Calm your milk letdown by expressing just a little bit of breast milk before latching baby on. This will help to avoid a sudden rapid flow into your little ones mouth.

3. You can also put your baby in a more vertical position. This will allow you to use gravity to slow down the letdown reflex. (Your baby is also less likely to gag or choke this way.)

Once these steps are taken, most moms will be able to curb the oversupply and see a happier baby.

About the Author

Sheri Lynn is an editor for Breastfeeding Magazine a great online source for breastfeeding support and encouragement. For more information on breastfeeding issues, visit www.breastfeeding-magazine.com

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by: babies Total views: 17 Word Count: 319 Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 Time: 4:10 PM 0 comments