What if you have a lot of milk while breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is a blessing and the best food for a baby, because with mother's milk he will receive everything he needs for his development and growth, it will fully satisfy the need for fluid. Mother's milk is well absorbed by the infant's fragile digestive system and, unlike animal or milk mixtures, does not cause intestinal disorders, allergies, colic. It's a big problem if a woman has little of it, but abundance is no less a challenge. In the first days after childbirth, the breast fills, swells and hardens. Because of the tight areola, the baby is often unable to suck out enough milk. Sometimes the wrong position of the baby during feeding leads to this, painful cracks form - an easy way of penetration into the mammary gland through the lymphatic vessels of the infection. As a result, there is stagnation in the chest and a real threat of mastitis. According to statistics, from 3% to 5% of women after childbirth face this. Disease therapy often makes it impossible to return to breastfeeding.

Any breastfeeding mother has problems with excess milk supply, or hypergalactia, beyond the first few weeks after birth. Very little research has been done to determine, explain, or help solve this problem. Lactation experts have identified several problems for women with hypergalaxy.[1]

Hypergalactia is also called hyperlactation, excess and accumulation of breast milk. In the 10th International Classification of Diseases, the terms hypergalactia, hyperlactation and increased lactation are used. The term most commonly found in dictionaries to describe excess milk is hypergalactia.

The generally accepted definition would be a condition of excessive milk production, which leads to discomfort and can force a nursing mother to express and store milk in excess of what the baby is taking. Mothers with hypergalactia are at increased risk of developing acute mastitis, [2]clogged ducts,  [3]chronic chest pain, and  [4]early weaning. 

Many women induce hypergalactia on their own in various ways. Many herbal supplements are used to increase milk supply, such as alfalfa, fenugreek, goat root, fennel, thistle, saw palmetto, and shatavari. Young mothers are often instructed to breastfeed their babies for hours, for example 15–20 minutes per breast, rather than breastfeeding according to the infant feeding tips. This causes some mothers to breastfeed longer than their baby needs, which further raises prolactin levels.[5]

So what if a nursing mom has a lot of milk?

How to reduce milk supply while breastfeeding?

As a rule, by 3-4 months of a child's life, the process of milk production is improving itself and the problems associated with this go away. Until this period, a woman needs to learn how to cope with its abundance herself. [6]Hyperlactation most often occurs due to the individual characteristics of the mother, genetic disposition, improper organization of feeding, pumping. To reduce the amount of milk during breastfeeding, you need to take the following measures:

• Before feeding, express the breast a little, which will make it softer and more pliable for the baby, and the feeding more effective. This is "front" milk of low fat content, for the child's body the next one is more important - fat;
• during feeding, allow only one breast to be emptied and do not limit the process in time. If the child gets tired of sucking and falls asleep, after a short pause, massage the breast and squeeze the milk directly into the mouth, doing everything to continue sucking (push the nose). It is recommended to give one and the same breast for 3-5 hours;
• In this case, the second breast just needs to be pumped a little (full will lead to even more milk production), for relief, you can use a breast pump. After that, apply a cold compress for a few minutes;
• latch on the baby to the breast as often as possible;
• sometimes the baby chokes due to the abundance of milk, he is not able to absorb so much liquid. In this case, you can resort to relaxed feeding: the mother reclining with her head raised, her shoulders and arms supporting the baby on her. This posture allows you to grasp the chest deeper, better move the tongue. Many women give preference to feeding in a sling, noting its effectiveness;
• traditional methods, which women resorted to in the old days, offer compresses from cabbage leaves on a swollen chest, decoctions of sage,  [7]oak bark inside (reduce the amount of milk), mint  [8]and parsley root (remove fluid from the body); 
• a nursing mother should limit the amount of fluid consumed; 
• take a warm shower, during which milk itself will pour out of the breast.

Pharmaceuticals to reduce lactation

1. Pseudoephedrine is a widely used decongestant that has been found to reduce milk supply. One study found that a 60 mg dose of pseudoephedrine was associated with a 24% decrease in milk production. It is unclear whether the effect is achieved by lowering prolactin levels. [9] Pseudoephedrine can be given at 30 mg initially, observing the side effects of nervousness, irritability, and insomnia. If the 30 mg dose does not decrease the supply within 8-12 hours and is well tolerated, the mother may increase the dose to 60 mg. Once the mother notices that her milk supply has dropped, she can use it every 12 hours as needed to keep her supply at an acceptable level. It is important not to administer this for a set amount of time, such as twice a day for 3 days, as this can lead to a drop in stock. By using it as needed, the mother can more carefully determine her body's response to the drug.
2. Estrogen has a negative effect on lactation by reducing milk supply. [10]Estrogen can be given as a combined contraceptive pill once a day for a week and then stopped. The mother should see a decrease in milk supply by 5-7 days. If her supply increases over time, she can be re-treated with a short-term combination contraceptive pill. Estrogen treatment increases the risk of thromboembolism in the mother, especially if given up to 4 weeks postpartum.
3. If none of the previous treatments reduces milk supply, the final step will be antiprolactin drugs such as bromocriptine or cabergoline. Both are effective in reducing dshf, jnrb of milk early in the postpartum period. Cabergoline has been shown to have fewer side effects than bromocriptine. [11]However, very little is known about the transfer of cabergoline into breast milk, while very little bromocriptine is transferred into breast milk.
4. There are no published reports on the efficacy of any of these drugs in the treatment of hypergalactia in the late stages of lactation.

All the inconveniences, difficulties of the feeding period will be rewarded with a good immunity of the child, protecting him from infections, frequent colds, as well as appetite, weight gain and proper development.