I have been waiting to write part two for this but I have had a lot of requests to speed it up. I was hoping to share a good amount of details of the experience I went through but realize that I just need to at least get this information out there for other PCOs breastfeeding moms. I will come back later and share the experience part. Click here to see Part One. Soon to come is Part Three.
When I got pregnant, no one told me something very important: no one told me that because I have PCOs (polycystic ovarian disease) that I might not be able to breastfeed exclusively. Because of this, the first week of Mimi's life was a shock for us. Since then, I have been contacted by so many other moms that are experiencing the same thing. There is a strong lack of information (even among lactation consultants) about PCOs and breastfeeding. If you are unsure if you have low supply or not, click here to help you determine if you do or don't.
What I know now about breastfeeding with PCOs:
First, there is very little research done on breastfeeding if you have PCOs. It is estimated that 30% of women with PCOs will experience delayed or low supply issues. Another 30% will have oversupply. The rest... no issues with breastfeeding. At first, I was pretty confused why PCOs would cause low supply or oversupply? PCOs is a metabolic disease (not a hormone disease). Yet, our body is a complicated intricate design where one when thing is off balance - it throws other things in our body off balance. Because your body is a unified whole, a problem or dysfunction in one area causes dysfunction in other areas (1). In other words, if your metabolic system (pancreas, insulin, etc) is affected, then there will be a domino effect where your other systems will be effected as well. And that's how hormone disorders happen. What does this have to do with breastfeeding? Breastfeeding is controlled by hormones and if you have too much or too little of of certain ones: you can experience low supply or oversupply.
The second thing that can happen to women with PCOs is that they may have underdeveloped mammary glands. In those that do have low milk supply, the problem may be physical. The later the onset of PCOS, the better odds a woman has of being able to establish a milk supply. Women with early onset PCOS may have underdeveloped breast glands. In others, Marasco explains, the breasts may develop normally in puberty but fail to go through the required changes in pregnancy that make milk production possible. The breasts may also develop normally, but the milk simply never comes in (2).
The first thing to do: Pick up the book Making More Milk. There is a chapter in there specifically for PCOs mothers and this information led me to everything I am sharing here with you.
The second thing to do: Find a La League Leader or a lactation person who understands PCOs. Please keep in mind that there is very little information out there right now about PCOs and breastfeeding so they will mostly be able to help you with latching, pumping, etc. But they are also a good support to have. La Leche Leaders are free and will help you over the phone or email if there is not one in your town. I also suggest finding a local breastfeeding support group since a lot of these mothers have been through low supply, oversupply and so on. Often these groups will have a scale so you can weigh your baby before and after a feeding. This is a much more comfortable environment than a doctor's office. Please know that 1-2 ounces is a normal amount for a newborn to be taking in. Especially if they are nursing frequently. Often mothers will compare their output to a bottle of formula (4-8 ounces). I know I did myself.
Pumping: As soon as I brought Mimi home, I started pumping. Fortunately, we had decided a head of time not to have visitors otherwise I would not have been able to commit to this. Pumping to increase your milk supply is not a comfortable sport to be performed in front of an audience. Especially since it needs to be done every 2 hours. The few times we did have visitors, I would skip a pumping session and then fret about it later. Had I lowered my supply? I was so determined to bring my supply up that I set my alarm to wake up every 3-4 hours during the night. Since Mimi slept through the night the moment we brought her home, I had to get the machine to do the work for her. I strongly suggest you limit visitors to only those that you feel comfortable with. As for how often to pump, you can keep it simple by only pumping for a few minutes after nursing. Please also note that although this is helpful in increasing your supply - it's not required. Babies are much more efficient than a pump. I would only be able to pump about an ounce in 15 minutes but then my daughter would glean three ounces or more in less than five minutes. For more on pumping to increase your supply, click here.
Medication: I found out after Mimi was born that I should have stayed on the Metformin ER during my pregnancy. My midwife had told me to stop taking it. But studies are now showing that if PCOs women stay on the Metformin while pregnant, they will have better success with breastfeeding. Metformin supposedly helps with the maturation and formation of the milk ducts and glands especially with those that may have had PCOs from a young age. I started Metformin right away because I also found at that even starting it after birth can help as well. For me, 500mg of Metformin was enough. My supply increased by almost 50 percent as soon as I did this (went from a couple tablespoons to 1-2 ounces per feeding). It took another three months for my milk to come in 100%. Another option is Goat's Rue. Metformin use to actually be made from Goat Rue and they work the same. I talk more about Goat's Rue below.
What did metformin do for me? no one is really sure what metformin does. But my guess is a few things happened. When I started metformin, I think it helped the hormone signals in my body become uncrossed. Up to that point, my body did not seem to want to nurse. It was as though I had never had a baby. After that, I think it helped with further development of my mammary glands. Since I had my first ovarian cyst at age 18, I am pretty sure that was affected by PCOs at a young age. Keep in that mind that most women have their whole lives, plus nine months of pregnancy to develop their mammary glands for the day their baby is born. This is why I think it was an additional three months before my milk reached 100% capacity. Now, keep in mind - this is not a medical opinion only my guess based on the bit of research that is out there.
Supplements:
I spent several hundred dollars on supplements. And they all helped in some way. Here's the ones that helped the most...
More Milk Plus: This has fennugreek, blessed thistle and alfafa. I would guess that this increased my supply about 10%.
Goat's Rue: if you are unable to use Metformin, then use Goat's Rue. It has the same properties in a more natural form. This allowed me to take the minimum dosage of Metformin. At one point, I stopped taking metformin and just continued on with Goat's Rue.
Moringa: I don't know if this supplement increased my milk or not, but it did make feel great as it is high in iron and calcium. I recommend it highly as it won't upset baby's tummy.
Shatavari: My supply didn't really "come in" until I started this supplement. I discovered it when Mimi was 6 weeks old and that is when I started taking it. I was actually about to give up trying to increase my supply and I am so glad I tried this supplement! Within one day, my supply shot up and I experienced my first engorgement. I even had the hot flashes you get when your milk comes in. Within a few weeks I was able to completely stop supplementing. I used this method for weaning from formula. If you are limited in funds, I strongly recommend you take this supplement along with Goat's Rue or Metformin. They work well together to increase milk supply. I took the capsule form of shatavari and purchased it here. For Goat's Rue, I recommend taking More Milk Special Blend. It has other herbs such as fennugreek that is also helpful.
Additional herbs that might help: It is worthwhile to look into taking DIM Plus. It is made from cruciferous vegetables and works by removing excess hormones (especially estrogen) from your body. It is suggested you take this with Milk Thistle. I did not know about DIM Plus at this time but I think it is worth checking out and researching.
What didn't help me: I know I said I would share what helped, but I feel I should share what didn't help me as well. My midwife put me on Reglan because it has been said to increase milk supply. Reglan did squat for my milk supply and in the meantime made me very weepy and sleepy. For the first two weeks, I thought I was having postpartum blues but when I stopped taking it, I immediately felt like my old self. I really suggest women stay away from this medication. I don't even have a history of depression and it still affected me pretty negatively. For some reason a lot of doctors and lactation professionals are very eager to prescribe this even though it consistently isn't helping a lot of women. It's simply another example of the lack of information out there about PCOs and breastfeeding. I also tried Domperidone, but it was not as affective as Shatavari. I found out later that Domperidone and Shatavari actually work the same way. Shatavari is basically a herbal version of domperidone and was more helpful for me. It is strongly suggest that you do not take both at the same time.
It shouldn't be painful: Not only did we have low supply, but we also had latch issues which led to painful nursing sessions for us. It was sometimes confusing to determine what was causing what. If nursing is painful - there is something else going on along with the low supply. Low supply does not cause pain. Contact a lactation professional as soon as possible to determine what is happening. If they are not able to help you, fire them promptly and go to the next one on your list.
It's okay to do both: What no one told me before Mimi was born is that it would be okay to do both nursing and supplementing with formula. For some reason I seemed to think I could only be one or the other. And I find that a lot of other mother's think this too. Many moms with under supply go on to nurse only at times when it's mutually beneficial for both mom and baby. And for those with low supply - this is the relaxed approach you should take. For example, you might only nurse before naps, bedtime and at night. But then use a bottle at other feedings. This is perfectly okay. One thing to keep in mind is that as baby gets older, it will change each month. You might find one month you are only nursing three times a day then the next month you are nursing more or less. Your supply will go up and down. Remember and this is most important: once your supply goes down, it can go up just as easily. Many mothers seem to think that if their supply goes down, it stays down. That is simply not true. I've since discovered that my supply can go back up within a couple of days.
Other milk options: What no one told me in the hospital was that I had other options besides formula. I could have used donated breast milk. I also realize now that I could have mobilized many other mothers to happily donate their breast milk for us for a few weeks until we felt better about moving onto formula. This would have made a difference as it would have provided consistency for my daughter. Formula takes longer to digest vs. breast milk. Some mothers use goat's or coconut milk - but I strongly suggest you do your research on these. There are some concerns with using these as a supplement on a newborn. However, for an older baby such as my 10 month old daughter, they are nice healthy option to provide in a sippy cup.
More on formula: we used formula as our supplementation. But next time... we'll be using donor milk if I have low supply again. Why? First of all, it's not because formula is bad. That simply is not true. It's because formula created a lot of challenges for us with nursing. Breastmilk naturally digests in 1-2 hours and baby will be hungry again. On the other hand, formula takes 3-4 hours to break down and digest. This created an issue for us because nursing mothers need to be nursing all the time. Ideally every 2 hours or more. This is very tough to do if your baby is still full from his or her last formula feeding. And as a result, I found myself pumping a lot in between feedings to mimic the natural feeding patterns I would have gotten if we were exclusively nursing.
Another great source: If you haven't already... check out the website http://www.kellymom.com/. I loved this website during my struggle. I must have looked something up on there every day. It has information on everything from low supply, latch, weaning, starting solids and much more.
Rest: Getting plenty of rest and eating helped me. When my husband went back to work, I immediately struggled with getting enough food to eat. Because of this, I ate mostly meal bars and drank a lot of water. I also allowed myself to sleep with Mimi and refined the art of nursing in bed. An activity that quickly became my favorite past time with her. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby passed against your beating heart. Heavenly.
Do what the bears and monkeys do: there is a lot of debate on co-sleeping with babies vs. training to sleep by themselves in a crib. I look at this way: we are the only mammals in the animal kingdom that place our babies away from us for extended periods of time. This is not natural. Lots of research has shown that not sleeping with your baby will hinder your milk supply. In fact, the first thing I ask a mom that has contacted me about low milk supply (especially if she does not have PCOs) is this: are you sleeping with your baby? And 95% of the time, when they bring their babies to bed with them, all low milk supply issue is cured. This is even more crucial if you are away from your baby at work or for any other reason. Newborns are signalled to nurse when they smell mom. Moms are signalled to nurse when they smell baby. When a mother smells her baby continuously, her brains receives the signal to keep making milk for the next nursing session. Babywearing and even simply holding your baby's head close to your face all day long will help as well. Keep in mind that simply having the baby in the same room as you (in a bassinet or crib) is still considered co-sleeping.
Here are some thoughts on co-sleeping and breastfeeding that may help you: "Studies have shown that co-sleeping with a breastfeeding infant promotes bonding, regulates the mother and baby's sleep patterns, plays a role in helping the mother to become more responsive to her baby's cues, and gives both the mother and baby needed rest. The co-sleeping environment also assists mothers in the continuation of breastfeeding on demand, an important step in maintaining the mother's milk supply." James McKenna.
"For millions of years, the normal sleeping position of human infants has been on their backs nestled next to mother. Only in western cultures do we force babies to sleep alone, thinking they are more safe and independent placed in a crib with no contact. But history, and how most babies sleep in other cultures, suggests that the West is out of step with what is best physically and emotionally for our children." Merideth Small of "Our Babies, Ourselves."
My last thought on co-sleeping: I was able to exclusively nurse my daughter from the age of three months until she started solids at 6 months old. I know now that it was not a coincidence that it happened at the same time I made the decision to bring her to bed full-time with me. Here is a great article on safely co-sleeping and what you need to know.
Enjoy! Nursing should be enjoyable for both of you. For a mom struggling with low supply - the word enjoy doesn't always feel easy to act on. When I reached the point where I decided to stop pushing exclusive nursing and instead go to enjoyable nursing with my daughter: everything changed.
If you stop: One thing I've learned from this experience is that every breastfeeding mother's experience is vastly different from the next. Don't ever compare your experience to another mom's. Don't ever feel guilty. Don't ever wonder if you did the best thing for your child. YOU are the best thing for your child. Always.
When I got pregnant, no one told me something very important: no one told me that because I have PCOs (polycystic ovarian disease) that I might not be able to breastfeed exclusively. Because of this, the first week of Mimi's life was a shock for us. Since then, I have been contacted by so many other moms that are experiencing the same thing. There is a strong lack of information (even among lactation consultants) about PCOs and breastfeeding. If you are unsure if you have low supply or not, click here to help you determine if you do or don't.
What I know now about breastfeeding with PCOs:
First, there is very little research done on breastfeeding if you have PCOs. It is estimated that 30% of women with PCOs will experience delayed or low supply issues. Another 30% will have oversupply. The rest... no issues with breastfeeding. At first, I was pretty confused why PCOs would cause low supply or oversupply? PCOs is a metabolic disease (not a hormone disease). Yet, our body is a complicated intricate design where one when thing is off balance - it throws other things in our body off balance. Because your body is a unified whole, a problem or dysfunction in one area causes dysfunction in other areas (1). In other words, if your metabolic system (pancreas, insulin, etc) is affected, then there will be a domino effect where your other systems will be effected as well. And that's how hormone disorders happen. What does this have to do with breastfeeding? Breastfeeding is controlled by hormones and if you have too much or too little of of certain ones: you can experience low supply or oversupply.
The second thing that can happen to women with PCOs is that they may have underdeveloped mammary glands. In those that do have low milk supply, the problem may be physical. The later the onset of PCOS, the better odds a woman has of being able to establish a milk supply. Women with early onset PCOS may have underdeveloped breast glands. In others, Marasco explains, the breasts may develop normally in puberty but fail to go through the required changes in pregnancy that make milk production possible. The breasts may also develop normally, but the milk simply never comes in (2).
The first thing to do: Pick up the book Making More Milk. There is a chapter in there specifically for PCOs mothers and this information led me to everything I am sharing here with you.
The second thing to do: Find a La League Leader or a lactation person who understands PCOs. Please keep in mind that there is very little information out there right now about PCOs and breastfeeding so they will mostly be able to help you with latching, pumping, etc. But they are also a good support to have. La Leche Leaders are free and will help you over the phone or email if there is not one in your town. I also suggest finding a local breastfeeding support group since a lot of these mothers have been through low supply, oversupply and so on. Often these groups will have a scale so you can weigh your baby before and after a feeding. This is a much more comfortable environment than a doctor's office. Please know that 1-2 ounces is a normal amount for a newborn to be taking in. Especially if they are nursing frequently. Often mothers will compare their output to a bottle of formula (4-8 ounces). I know I did myself.
Pumping: As soon as I brought Mimi home, I started pumping. Fortunately, we had decided a head of time not to have visitors otherwise I would not have been able to commit to this. Pumping to increase your milk supply is not a comfortable sport to be performed in front of an audience. Especially since it needs to be done every 2 hours. The few times we did have visitors, I would skip a pumping session and then fret about it later. Had I lowered my supply? I was so determined to bring my supply up that I set my alarm to wake up every 3-4 hours during the night. Since Mimi slept through the night the moment we brought her home, I had to get the machine to do the work for her. I strongly suggest you limit visitors to only those that you feel comfortable with. As for how often to pump, you can keep it simple by only pumping for a few minutes after nursing. Please also note that although this is helpful in increasing your supply - it's not required. Babies are much more efficient than a pump. I would only be able to pump about an ounce in 15 minutes but then my daughter would glean three ounces or more in less than five minutes. For more on pumping to increase your supply, click here.
Medication: I found out after Mimi was born that I should have stayed on the Metformin ER during my pregnancy. My midwife had told me to stop taking it. But studies are now showing that if PCOs women stay on the Metformin while pregnant, they will have better success with breastfeeding. Metformin supposedly helps with the maturation and formation of the milk ducts and glands especially with those that may have had PCOs from a young age. I started Metformin right away because I also found at that even starting it after birth can help as well. For me, 500mg of Metformin was enough. My supply increased by almost 50 percent as soon as I did this (went from a couple tablespoons to 1-2 ounces per feeding). It took another three months for my milk to come in 100%. Another option is Goat's Rue. Metformin use to actually be made from Goat Rue and they work the same. I talk more about Goat's Rue below.
What did metformin do for me? no one is really sure what metformin does. But my guess is a few things happened. When I started metformin, I think it helped the hormone signals in my body become uncrossed. Up to that point, my body did not seem to want to nurse. It was as though I had never had a baby. After that, I think it helped with further development of my mammary glands. Since I had my first ovarian cyst at age 18, I am pretty sure that was affected by PCOs at a young age. Keep in that mind that most women have their whole lives, plus nine months of pregnancy to develop their mammary glands for the day their baby is born. This is why I think it was an additional three months before my milk reached 100% capacity. Now, keep in mind - this is not a medical opinion only my guess based on the bit of research that is out there.
Supplements:
I spent several hundred dollars on supplements. And they all helped in some way. Here's the ones that helped the most...
More Milk Plus: This has fennugreek, blessed thistle and alfafa. I would guess that this increased my supply about 10%.
Goat's Rue: if you are unable to use Metformin, then use Goat's Rue. It has the same properties in a more natural form. This allowed me to take the minimum dosage of Metformin. At one point, I stopped taking metformin and just continued on with Goat's Rue.
Moringa: I don't know if this supplement increased my milk or not, but it did make feel great as it is high in iron and calcium. I recommend it highly as it won't upset baby's tummy.
Shatavari: My supply didn't really "come in" until I started this supplement. I discovered it when Mimi was 6 weeks old and that is when I started taking it. I was actually about to give up trying to increase my supply and I am so glad I tried this supplement! Within one day, my supply shot up and I experienced my first engorgement. I even had the hot flashes you get when your milk comes in. Within a few weeks I was able to completely stop supplementing. I used this method for weaning from formula. If you are limited in funds, I strongly recommend you take this supplement along with Goat's Rue or Metformin. They work well together to increase milk supply. I took the capsule form of shatavari and purchased it here. For Goat's Rue, I recommend taking More Milk Special Blend. It has other herbs such as fennugreek that is also helpful.
Additional herbs that might help: It is worthwhile to look into taking DIM Plus. It is made from cruciferous vegetables and works by removing excess hormones (especially estrogen) from your body. It is suggested you take this with Milk Thistle. I did not know about DIM Plus at this time but I think it is worth checking out and researching.
What didn't help me: I know I said I would share what helped, but I feel I should share what didn't help me as well. My midwife put me on Reglan because it has been said to increase milk supply. Reglan did squat for my milk supply and in the meantime made me very weepy and sleepy. For the first two weeks, I thought I was having postpartum blues but when I stopped taking it, I immediately felt like my old self. I really suggest women stay away from this medication. I don't even have a history of depression and it still affected me pretty negatively. For some reason a lot of doctors and lactation professionals are very eager to prescribe this even though it consistently isn't helping a lot of women. It's simply another example of the lack of information out there about PCOs and breastfeeding. I also tried Domperidone, but it was not as affective as Shatavari. I found out later that Domperidone and Shatavari actually work the same way. Shatavari is basically a herbal version of domperidone and was more helpful for me. It is strongly suggest that you do not take both at the same time.
It shouldn't be painful: Not only did we have low supply, but we also had latch issues which led to painful nursing sessions for us. It was sometimes confusing to determine what was causing what. If nursing is painful - there is something else going on along with the low supply. Low supply does not cause pain. Contact a lactation professional as soon as possible to determine what is happening. If they are not able to help you, fire them promptly and go to the next one on your list.
It's okay to do both: What no one told me before Mimi was born is that it would be okay to do both nursing and supplementing with formula. For some reason I seemed to think I could only be one or the other. And I find that a lot of other mother's think this too. Many moms with under supply go on to nurse only at times when it's mutually beneficial for both mom and baby. And for those with low supply - this is the relaxed approach you should take. For example, you might only nurse before naps, bedtime and at night. But then use a bottle at other feedings. This is perfectly okay. One thing to keep in mind is that as baby gets older, it will change each month. You might find one month you are only nursing three times a day then the next month you are nursing more or less. Your supply will go up and down. Remember and this is most important: once your supply goes down, it can go up just as easily. Many mothers seem to think that if their supply goes down, it stays down. That is simply not true. I've since discovered that my supply can go back up within a couple of days.
Other milk options: What no one told me in the hospital was that I had other options besides formula. I could have used donated breast milk. I also realize now that I could have mobilized many other mothers to happily donate their breast milk for us for a few weeks until we felt better about moving onto formula. This would have made a difference as it would have provided consistency for my daughter. Formula takes longer to digest vs. breast milk. Some mothers use goat's or coconut milk - but I strongly suggest you do your research on these. There are some concerns with using these as a supplement on a newborn. However, for an older baby such as my 10 month old daughter, they are nice healthy option to provide in a sippy cup.
More on formula: we used formula as our supplementation. But next time... we'll be using donor milk if I have low supply again. Why? First of all, it's not because formula is bad. That simply is not true. It's because formula created a lot of challenges for us with nursing. Breastmilk naturally digests in 1-2 hours and baby will be hungry again. On the other hand, formula takes 3-4 hours to break down and digest. This created an issue for us because nursing mothers need to be nursing all the time. Ideally every 2 hours or more. This is very tough to do if your baby is still full from his or her last formula feeding. And as a result, I found myself pumping a lot in between feedings to mimic the natural feeding patterns I would have gotten if we were exclusively nursing.
Another great source: If you haven't already... check out the website http://www.kellymom.com/. I loved this website during my struggle. I must have looked something up on there every day. It has information on everything from low supply, latch, weaning, starting solids and much more.
Rest: Getting plenty of rest and eating helped me. When my husband went back to work, I immediately struggled with getting enough food to eat. Because of this, I ate mostly meal bars and drank a lot of water. I also allowed myself to sleep with Mimi and refined the art of nursing in bed. An activity that quickly became my favorite past time with her. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby passed against your beating heart. Heavenly.Do what the bears and monkeys do: there is a lot of debate on co-sleeping with babies vs. training to sleep by themselves in a crib. I look at this way: we are the only mammals in the animal kingdom that place our babies away from us for extended periods of time. This is not natural. Lots of research has shown that not sleeping with your baby will hinder your milk supply. In fact, the first thing I ask a mom that has contacted me about low milk supply (especially if she does not have PCOs) is this: are you sleeping with your baby? And 95% of the time, when they bring their babies to bed with them, all low milk supply issue is cured. This is even more crucial if you are away from your baby at work or for any other reason. Newborns are signalled to nurse when they smell mom. Moms are signalled to nurse when they smell baby. When a mother smells her baby continuously, her brains receives the signal to keep making milk for the next nursing session. Babywearing and even simply holding your baby's head close to your face all day long will help as well. Keep in mind that simply having the baby in the same room as you (in a bassinet or crib) is still considered co-sleeping.
Here are some thoughts on co-sleeping and breastfeeding that may help you: "Studies have shown that co-sleeping with a breastfeeding infant promotes bonding, regulates the mother and baby's sleep patterns, plays a role in helping the mother to become more responsive to her baby's cues, and gives both the mother and baby needed rest. The co-sleeping environment also assists mothers in the continuation of breastfeeding on demand, an important step in maintaining the mother's milk supply." James McKenna.
"For millions of years, the normal sleeping position of human infants has been on their backs nestled next to mother. Only in western cultures do we force babies to sleep alone, thinking they are more safe and independent placed in a crib with no contact. But history, and how most babies sleep in other cultures, suggests that the West is out of step with what is best physically and emotionally for our children." Merideth Small of "Our Babies, Ourselves."
My last thought on co-sleeping: I was able to exclusively nurse my daughter from the age of three months until she started solids at 6 months old. I know now that it was not a coincidence that it happened at the same time I made the decision to bring her to bed full-time with me. Here is a great article on safely co-sleeping and what you need to know.
Enjoy! Nursing should be enjoyable for both of you. For a mom struggling with low supply - the word enjoy doesn't always feel easy to act on. When I reached the point where I decided to stop pushing exclusive nursing and instead go to enjoyable nursing with my daughter: everything changed.
If you stop: One thing I've learned from this experience is that every breastfeeding mother's experience is vastly different from the next. Don't ever compare your experience to another mom's. Don't ever feel guilty. Don't ever wonder if you did the best thing for your child. YOU are the best thing for your child. Always.
Please, please contact me if you need further support. I really feel that the stars aligned to help me out through this period and I want to be of help to other mothers. If you leave a comment here with your email, I will get it and contact you as soon as possible. I know how important support is during a time like this. If you are lactation professional and would like to offer help to PCOs mothers, please send me your information so that I can either pass it on or post it here. Thank you!
Love to all mothers out there! Feel free to post your own experience below....
Thank you for a wonderful post. My daughter is now 11 years old, but I had low milk supply and had to begin supplimenting with formula. It was devastating to me. I don't know why I didn't produce milk, but it still to this day makes me sad that I couldn't feed my daughter. The doctor told me it doesn't matter how she gets fed as long as she gets fed, and that helped. I continued to nurse just because we both enjoyed it, but she got her nourishment from the bottle. Sorry for sharing so much, but this is a topic that is very emotional to me to this day and I think always will be.
ReplyDeleteFantastic and encouraging post ^_^ Thanks for this. I had over supply so I never realized with PCO (which I have) could come breast feeding issues. My heart goes out to you and I am so proud and impressed at how determined you were and how willing to help others you are now. Much love ^_^
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't have PCO's - I all for any encouragement for nursing Mom's. I appreciate that you did your research and did not give up. Thank you for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteWith my first I had low supply issues and I got so frustrated I hated breastfeeding and refused to try with my second. I really wish I would have though. I did however feel comfortable pumping, and the 2nd time around I had over supply issues. I was pumping nearly 50 oz a day. It was excruciating! I'd have to pump constantly and for almost 45 mins, and that still wouldn't completely dry me up. When I tried to get my supply to a more reasonable level I would get clogged ducts constantly. I'm talking about 8 per breast each day! It was so incredably painful. I finally gave up after about 1 1/2 months of this. Luckily I had a decent freezer supply. But my son did so much better on fresh breast milk. He has reflux and every formula we've used since then we've had problems with. He never had problems on Breast milk. Early on I had one day where I thought...maybe I should try breastfeeding today. But then I remembered all the pain and frustration with the first and didn't try. I would much rather have dealt with the pain then my poor son in pain. But it's hard to tell that to a tired and uncomfortable mom. Maybe next time will be better. Thank you for your story.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are way past the breast feeding stage, but I had no idea PCO could contribute to low supply. That explains a lot!
ReplyDeletejust got some Shatavari this week per your info and Goats rue. I have Blessed Thistle and Fenguek. I have been trying for 2.5 months and only get 8 oz a day. I wish I could truly feed my daughter. Thank you for the encouragement.
ReplyDeletethank you for this wonderful post. i am getting depressed on my low milk supply. i was not aware that having pcos can affect our supply. i am not exclusively breastfeeding my 3month old baby, but i am still happy that i am able to give her some milk. i hope (and i know i will)to increase my supply in the next few months, even if i need to go back to work already. i will have to feed my daughter expressed breast milk, but that still is better than formula right? :)
ReplyDeleteI also have PCOS and am EBF. I'm in the other 30% - I have an enormous oversupply. When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I noticed dried white stuff on my nipples. When I was 24 weeks pregnant, I leaked for the first time and completely soaked through a t-shirt and sweatshirt before I noticed. I have had to wear a bra 24/7 ever since. My son is now 6 months old.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine the frustration that comes with a low supply, but there are drawbacks to an oversupply. I *have* to nurse or pump every few hours or it hurts. It physically hurts to the point of making me cry if I cannot empty the breast. I have had to work hard to minimize my supply while not stopping it completely. I have had severe mastitis twice in four months. And my let down was so strong that I couldn't nurse on breast until my son was 8 weeks old. Prior to that I had to pump... every 2-3 hours, 24/7 for 8 weeks.
I had my son Tuesday night and left the hospital Saturday. When I left, I was pumping just shy of 1 oz every 2 hours... per side! The nurses said they had never seen such a thing. By two weeks, I was pumping 5 oz per side every 3 hours. By 4 weeks it was 8-10 oz per side every 3 hours.
I was producing in one pumping session what my son needed all day.
I felt tied to my pump, tied to my house, tied to my baby. I couldn't go to dinner and a movie because I needed to pump. My shopping trips were limited to one, maybe two stores, because I had to pump. One time I even pumped in the bathroom of the ballpark during a baseball game. I couldn't make it that long.
I never realized there was a connection between breastfeeding issues and PCOS. This is definitely something I will look further into.
Hi there. I just found your blog and am thankful for another PCOS resource! The lesson here should be that God makes us all differently for different reasons and it is wise to consult a few different professionals (Reproductive Endo, MDs, NP's, midwife, LC, etc.) before diagnosing your low supply. I recently attended an infertility workshop in my city and the DO reinforced what my OB said: don't take Met beyond 12 weeks. The baby relies on mom's excess sugars to grow beyond the 1st trimester. The risk of miscarriage (caused my hormones) is nil beyond the first trimester because the pregnancy "takes over" in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. I was told to hold off the Met during nursing as well, for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI go both ways on low supply. My mother didn't have PCOS (you could set your watch to her cycles!), and she had NO supply. I've struggled with PCOS since puberty, cycle 3-4 times a year and I've successfully nursed 3 fat babies (for over a year each) without need for supplementing or extended periods of Metformin. All four of my pregnancies (I had a late miscarriage) proved different results when I began nursing, too. I had lower supply with my first daughter - just didn't need to eat as much as her first born brother. Funny, their appetites are exactly the same today!
Just playing devil's advocate, here :). Don't rush to judge your low supply with your first or second born. You may find better supply after subsequent pregnancies. Prayers to all!
Could you please mention what was the shatavari dosage that you took in order to increase supply ?
ReplyDeleteHi Kristin, thanks for your response! I wanted to let you know that I also have regular monthly cycles. But I still have PCOS. A regular cycle doesn't mean anything in regard to whether or not you have PCOs. In my case (as in the case of 10% or more PCOs cases), I have a period every month. A normal 30 day cycle. I was finally told that while my ovaries were not releasing my eggs, my uterus was working independently and still shedding it's lining. The signals in my brain were not lined up. It primed the egg but instead of releasing it, help onto and thus after many cycles - a cyst was created. This happened to me almost once a year for many years. Because I was simply having a period every month, I was told by many doctors I couldn't possibly have PCOs. Very frustrating. When it comes to PCOs, many doctors still know very little or have a hard time staying up to date.
ReplyDeleteSome doctors are now recommending taking metformin beyong 12 weeks and studies are showing that there have been no risks. The recommendations were more made "just in case" and for good reasons. There are no concrete answers when it comes to low supply or PCOs. Studies reveal new findings all the time.
Thank YOu! I love your blog! Thank you for more options on supplements to take. I have been struggling to bring my milk in. Kellie
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