How to increase breast milk?

Follow these simple steps to improve your breastmilk.

1. Make your baby feed consistently and on demand. Latching well, on the areola, is important for good and fruitful latching.

2. Stay calm and positive. This is very important. All positive emotions like happiness, excitement, laughing, feeling of joy, etc; improve breast milk production. Negative emotions like anxiety, restlessness, suffering, pain, frustration and sadness decrease breast milk production. This is because; the trigger to optimum milk production is from hypothalamus, which is an emotional centre.

3. Eat tasty and healthy foods, and timely meals. If you eat foods that you don't like, it decreases your satiety hormones and in turn affects your happiness. Also, optimum digestive juices are not produced and complete digestion of the foods you have eaten will not happen, resulting in nutritional deficiency and indigestion symptoms (constipation, belching, reflux and bloating of abdomen). For the same reason, meal time must be only meal time and engaging in gadgets during that time is not advisable.

4. Include easily digestible whole cereals like rice and little millet. Sprouted and malted ragi is also good, but it may cause constipation in some women and if so, avoid it. Good vegetables which are healthy and aid in boosting milk production are gourds like ash gourd, snake gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, round cucumber; roots like kanda (yam), carrot and beetroot, drumstick, raw papaya (cook it the way you coot bottle gourd) dark green leafy vegetables like palak, methi, drumstick leaves and green lettuce. Beans, sweet pumpkin and tindora are also good. Avoid raw vegetables. Include lot of plant protein in the diet. Lentils, sesame seeds, peas, soya and raw nuts like cashew nuts and walnuts and very good sources of vegetable protein. Vegetable protein is superior to animal protein during lactation. It is a myth that increased milk intake increases milk production. In fact consuming lot of milk may cause constipation in mother and colic in baby.

5. Use rock salt instead of refined salt. Use jaggery or honey instead of refined sugar. Avoid giving honey to baby until one year of age. Use cow ghee or butter or cold-compressed oil for cooking. Do not heat them too much. Avoid fried foods. Use these in moderation.

6. Eat as much food as you want as per your appetite needs and as frequently as you want. Try to have some soup or snack during midnight feeding. Relish your food and show interest in what you eat. Enjoy your meal. This is very important for releasing proper enzymes and hormones for digestion and milk production.

7. Some spices like methi, ginger, ajwain and garlic may be included in the diet in moderation.

8. If any particular food has caused colic in the baby, avoid that food for a week or so and restart.

9. Drink minimum 4 liters of liquids, preferably water. Other liquids include butter milk, coconut water, vegetable stew, vegetable soups, rice gruel, lentil soup and fresh non-sour fruit juices. Also, drink water frequently. Increased water intake removes stress-inducing toxins and aids in better digestion of the foods you have taken.

10. Sleep well. This is very important. New mothers do not get proper sleep because of increased feeding in the nights. Actually, they need more sleep than any average woman because of increased stress, hormonal surge, physical exertion and loss of nutrients due to breastfeeding. Since proper night-time sleep is not possible, they must take 'power naps' during the day, when the baby is sleeping. A tired mother never makes good amount of milk.

11. Don't get diverted with family member intrusions. Family members interfere and pour advice in the best interest of the mother and baby. Do not get perturbed with that. If you are not sure of their suggestions, talk to the pediatrician. Always try to have good relationship with family members to gain their support in the care of the baby.

12. Keep yourself happy. Take care of yourself. Do stuff you enjoy and like like watching movie, shopping, listening to music, reading a novel, etc. Pamper yourself.

13. Mediate atleast 5 minutes a day. During meditation breathe in with your nose and breathe out with your mouth. Meditation channelises your thoughts and actions into the right path.