While pregnant, many women do not give much of a second thought to whether they are producing breast milk. Instead, the focus is on babies and their health as well as mothers and how they are faring. It is not until the day of delivery comes that mothers are tasked with trying to breastfeed their newborns. Then it becomes real that breast milk needs to have come in so that little ones can be healthy and thrive. This is why new moms wonder when they should be expecting their breast milk to come in.
According to Healthline, some women will experience their breasts leaking during the third trimester of pregnancy. What they are leaking is colostrum. For those women who are leaking colostrum, it is not an indicator that they will produce an overabundance of milk after babies are delivered, per publication. It also does not convey that women who do not leak mean that milk production will be sparse. It just means that as the body is readying itself to deliver a baby some women will leak and others will not. It does not mean anything more than that.
Here is when to expect your breast milk to come in.
When Breast Milk Comes In
During pregnancy, women will begin the production of breast milk. But the first milk that babies have is not the breast milk that many new moms imagine.
According to Medela, expecting women begin to produce breast milk around week 16 of pregnancy. The breast milk that they are producing is colostrum, which is the first nutrition that breastfeeding newborns will receive.
Colostrum, per publication, is a different consistency and texture than later milk. And until breast milk does come in, it is the nutrition that babies will be sustained by.
Around two to five days after delivery, according to Medelabreast milk begins to come in. While the volume will need to increase to meet the needs of babies, this is when colostrum is replaced by milk and will be the food that helps babies to grow and gain strength for the weeks and months to come.
How To Know If Breast Milk Has Come In
New moms may wonder if they will know when their breast milk has come in. And fortunately, there are ways to tell when it finally happens.
According to RMC Health System the signs that breast milk has come in include:
- Breasts being full
- Heavy feeling in breasts
- Breasts being engorged
- Milk leaking from breasts
- A newborn’s eating pattern changes
- Changes in the appearance of breast milk
When this happens, milk has come in and babies’ feeding will cause the production to increase to meet their needs over the next several months.
How To Deal With Engorgement
After breast milk comes in, women may experience their breasts becoming engorged until babies are able to consume enough milk per feeding to empty breasts completely or nearly so. Until then, according to RaisingChildren.net.aumilk will build up in the breasts and cause them to become uncomfortable or even hot to the touch.
Per the publication, in order to combat breast engorgement, there are some things that women can do to make themselves more comfortable. Those things include:
- Breastfeed babies on demand
- Massage breasts while breastfeeding
- Change breastfeeding positions
- Place an ice pack on the breasts
- Wear a supportive bra
- Use a breast pump to empty breasts if engorgement lasts for more than a few days
By taking these steps to relieve engorgement, breastfeeding will be more comfortable for new moms until engorgement no longer happens.
Why Breast Milk Production Is Not Increasing
While most women have their breast milk come in within a week after delivery, others will find that their breast milk is delayed. For those women, there may be some medical reasons why breast milk is not being produced as it should.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicinereasons that women do not produce the milk their babies need in the days after delivery include:
- C-section
- Stress
- Obesity
- Infection
- Fever
- Extended bed rest during pregnancy
- Thyroid problems
- Excessive bleeding after birth
If women experienced any of these conditions, they run the risk of their breast milk not coming in, in the days after birth. But for most women, per publication, milk will come in within seven to 14 days and should be plentiful enough to satiate newborns’ needs.
What To Do If Not Planning To Breastfeed
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For those women who choose not to breastfeed, the process of getting milk to dry up can be painful. As such, new mothers need remedies for their breast discomfort until the production of breast milk begins to subside.
According to Drugs.comthe best way to care for the breasts if not breastfeeding include:
- Wear a bra with lots of support
- Put ice packs on breasts
- Find out from healthcare professionals about OTC medications that can be taken
Because the body is primed to make breast milk it may be a week or more until the aches and pains of full and heavy breasts subside. And when this finally happens, new moms will be breathing a sigh of relief.
Source: Healthline, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Medela, RMC Health System, Drugs.com