Does everyone get breast milk

Roni - posted on 01/31/2013

Laurie,
You are welcome and I hope you find some answers. That is a long time to go not feeling well and I wish you the best! I have been randomly posting on breast feeding sites for several years trying to get the news out because when I searched the internet right after my son's birth I could never find answers to what might be wrong with me.

Sara - posted on 01/30/2013

With my first baby I didn't leak and my breast didn't change at all, the doctor even said my nipples were short and I may have issues. Needless to say my milk came right on schedule and I breastfed for 7months. I am currently pregnant with my second child (2 years later) and I actually still leak... never stopped lol. So don't worry too much. There is no way to tell if you will have milk issues until the day arrives. Not to mention the leaking prior to baby will be colostrum not yet milk.

Laurie - posted on 01/30/2013

Roni Sorensen,
You cannot even imagine how helpful you are to me at this moment! Although I had my first child in 1993, I bled out very badly and almost had a transfusion from a partially retained placenta, and had barely any breast milk to feed my daughter. No one ever told me why! Your post is the FIRST answer I've ever had as to why, and even why I couldn't have supported my second child's life without supplementing him w/ formula. Now, after all these years, I've fought depression, weight gain, hypothyroidism, AND almost died from cardiomyopathy. I read about Sheehan's Syndrome and they mention heart disease. No one could answer me as to why I had the heart issues I've had since I had no pathology for it. THANK YOU for posting! I am going to have my PCP check into my adrenals for some answers! Also, I don't feel like I "failed" my babies when I was trying to nurse them. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! :)

Roni - posted on 01/25/2013

I know I am late to this discussion but wanted to share my story in case a new mom might be looking like I did years ago. I did not produce breast milk at all after my son's birth. It was due to a severe drop in blood pressure during labor (typically due to bleeding out but in my case the epidural caused the drop in blood pressure) that resulted in not enough blood going to the posterior pituitary. The pituitary is responsible for releasing prolactin, a hormone that allows breast milk to be produced. Since my pituary was damaged no prolactin and therefore no breast milk. I was diagnosed two (really awful) years after my son's birth with Sheehan's syndrome. If you make no breast milk and feel really lousy go see an endocrinologist and ask for your pituitary hormones to be checked asap. I wish I would have found this information when I was looking years ago and was devastated by my inability to produce break milk and no one ( nurses, le leche, ect) thought to tell me it could be prolactin deficiency!

Michele - posted on 04/21/2010

I'll be honest with you, with my 1st pregnancy...I don't think I did. I didn't leak at all.....ever....even after I had my daughter in 2004...so I don't think I got breast milk. I don't know that I have it this time either.

Jane - posted on 04/19/2010

i didn't leak until after the baby was born. it takes a few days for your milk to really, really come in. the first few days the baby lives off of its fat. when the baby nurses in those first days it's helping your milk to come in and learning how to feed.
keep some breast pads handy. i found the Gerber ones to be nice and slim but they don't let any milk get thru to your clothes.

Christina - posted on 04/19/2010

I was producing colostrum that we found to express while playing with my nipples prior to my due date. After your baby is born is when you will have your milk come in -- around 3-4 days after your delivery.

My bra size did not changed my whole pregnancy (they filled out just a small bit) and has not changed as my milk has started to come in (I delivered my little one on 4/12).

So, no, you don't necessarily have to leak prior to delivery, nor do your breasts have to change in size.

Niki - posted on 04/19/2010

before the birth i think its fairly uncommon to get milk actually! its usually about 3 days after the birth that the milk comes in. a lot of woman get some colostrum towards the end of pregnency which helps to keep the nipples moisturised - for me i could squeeze out a drop or two in the shower, but i never leaked. as for breast growth, i wouldnt worry about that - everyones different.
every woman is capable of producing breastmilk for their baby, however some woman do struggle with it for a number of reasons like poor nutrition, dehydration, hormonal imbalances or stress - but these issues can all be helped greatly with natural medicines - herb, vitamins, homeopathics etc, if you do struggle after the birth go to see a naturopath, herbalist or homeopath before you give up.

Soleil - posted on 04/17/2010

Milk doesn't come in until after birth. What some women (not all) get during pregnancy is colostrum. If you don't get enough milk, don't stress, your baby will eat and be strong with formula or breast milk.

Katie - posted on 04/17/2010

Yes everyone gets breast milk. Some women leak before birth but for the most part you experience more leakage problems when you give birth and your milk comes in completely because right now your body is producing colostrum for your baby. I personally didn't have any leakage til after I gave birth and even than my milk didn't completely come in til like 4 days later.

Teresa - posted on 04/16/2010

i didnt get mine in untill 3 days after i had my daughter and my goodness it was painful my breasts got sooo full i had to get on a breast pump just so my lil one could attatch to the nipple. everybodies different i would stress to much

Krystal - posted on 04/16/2010

i leaked alot of colostrum about 4-5 weeks before i had my son, but i didnt have much milk (i dried up in 2 days of my milk coming through) and my son wouldnt latch on and i had a bad infection which turned my milk bad and the meds i was taking wasnt suitable for the baby anyway. but some mothers do leak milk before, it all depends on the mothers breasts and the mothers body, and different shaped breast do affect the milk supply, if your breast are very small like an A cub or below then they can have trouble because there might not be enough milk ducks to make the milk, also if you make too much breast milk and have very large breasts it can make it harder for the baby to suck on. i am now 9 weeks pregnant with our second baby, so i will try again to breastfeed but if it doesnt work then im not goin to beat myself up about it like i did with my son because i know the baby will still be gettin all the nutritions from the formula to thrive and grow. my son is 11 months old now and is very very healthy and has been formula fed since day 1. but i would like to try again for my own sake, because i do really want to breastfeed at least 1 baby just to see what its like. but to the answer of your question no everyone does not produce enough breastmilk or even any breast milk at all but most do, but the more you worry about it the more you will stress and thats not good for you or the baby so please dont worry and just enjoy the time left that you have being pregnant. talk to your midwife if you want to breastfeed, the nurses in the hospital should give you support and help to latch on properly. but untill then dont worry about it either way your baby will be getting fed and grow to be healthy weather its breast milk or formula milk. i hope you and your baby have a safe delivery, good luck and best wishes. :)

Denise - posted on 04/16/2010

Usually your breast milk doesn''t even come in until 2-3 days after you have the baby. You will have colostrum first....which is a thick yellowish liquid that your baby will eat until your milk comes in. Don't worry! Everyone is different! i'm 37 weeks and I'm not leaking either! With my first i was already leaking a little colostrum and this time around nothing yet...but I know it will come! Rest at ease.

Allison - posted on 04/16/2010

I don't know anyone who leaked while pregnant, and mine never got bigger or leaked at all. It took me 5 days after the birth before my milk came in (but I had severe post-partum complications). Only 3% of women actually don't make enough breastmilk IF they exclusively breastfeed (and have the proper encouragement!) - that means almost everyone does make enough for their baby :) We wouldn't have survived as a species otherwise!



Later, keep in mind that it also can take up to 2 months after the birth for your supply to regulate (not too much, not too little) to meet your baby's needs. Supplementing formula will cause your supply to decrease, too, so keep that in mind - your body will only make how much your baby demands! So for some people it requires a bit of patience to get breastfeeding established :) For me, though, once my milk came in on Day 5 it only took about 1 day to get the hang of it, and it was just great from then on. It's not that way for everyone - My mother, for example, struggled for 2 months before my brother would nurse well. But then they had a great nursing relationship after that, so even if it's hard at first I would say hang in there and it gets WAY easier later on, and is so worth it! There is a lot of mis-information out there, so if you ever have questions, La Leche League is a GREAT resource http://www.llli.org/nb.html. Good luck!!!

Rebecca - posted on 04/15/2010

I myself leaked colostrum a few months before my first baby was due, but none of my other mums group friends did. They didn't get anything until after the baby was born. One of my friends was very unlucky though.Not everyone can produce milk and she is one of them. She wasn't able to breast feed because her body just didn't produce the milk. She had 4 midwives squeezing her boobs to try and get something out and got nothing! It was hard for her to start with but we made her see as long as her daughter was getting fed thats all that mattered.

I wouldn't stress about it too much our bodies work in mysterious ways and you may find after you have your baby your milk will come in and have no issues. At the end of the day as long as your baby is getting nutrients either from breast or bottle if thats how things go, then that's the most important thing!

Goodluck!

Kerri - posted on 04/15/2010

with my first three i didn't have any leaking or enlarged breasts untill i had them and my milk came through. im currently 35 weeks with number 4 and started leaking slightly 2 days ago but nothing to really shout about. i think as with all pregnancies it's different for all so i really wouldn't worry about it.

D - posted on 04/15/2010

It takes usually 3 days after birth for you to get your milk. You may find a tiny bit before, but probably not usually. The colostrum is all the baby needs for the first few days before your milk comes. But when it does, beware! Your boobs will get very large and very full/hard. It can take up to 6 weeks for them to calm down and give you what you and your baby need. If this is your first baby and you decide to breastfeed, don't give up in the first couple weeks. Seek out help or advice from a lactation consultant. Don't think you need to know everything because you are a mom, don't be afraid to ask for help. Once everything is working and you and baby "get it", it is so awesome. Best of luck.

Katy - posted on 04/15/2010

I would say yes (could be wrong) but the quantity differs for all women. With my first I could not breast feed because I did not produce enough milk to feed my daughter.