When Your Cup Runneth Over….
That perhaps pesky reality of leaking at let down or in between nursings can be, well, a little pesky.
But it’s all a normal part of the wonderful way you are feeding your baby.
In this third installment of ‘5 Ways Your Breasts Change After Pregnancy,’ by Nancy Phillips, she discusses this leaking condition. Be encouraged as you read on! You are sustaining your baby on your own from your own body. What an amazing miracle! From “Today’s Parent,” June 21, 2022
For about six weeks after each of my children were born I slept on layers of towels to absorb the milk leaking from my breasts. Annette Magled, however, only leaked milk with the first of her two daughters. "For the first seven months, whenever Alexandra nursed, my other breast leaked," she says. She wore cloth nursing pads in her bra to absorb the milk. Fjeld explains that "some women never leak, whereas others are soaked all the time." Both extremes, and everything in between, are normal. Even mothers who leak profusely usually find that it tapers off by about six weeks postpartum. For a few women though, it can continue, and may last as long as they are breastfeeding.
Leaking can actually have a purpose other than creating extra laundry. It can help balance a mother's milk supply, says Fjeld. Women who have an abundance of milk often experience strong let-downs that can overwhelm the baby. If you experience too much milk coming too fast, try expressing a little milk before feeds to make breastfeeding more manageable for both you and your baby. (For some women, a hot shower or leaning over a hot steamy sink will often stimulate leaking before nursing.) It's important to know, says Fjeld, that not leaking doesn't mean your milk supply is inadequate.
Another concern some mothers have is that they don't feel their milk let down. A "letdown" occurs when milk made in the breasts is released into the milk ducts, making it available for the baby. Some women experience let-down when their baby starts to nurse. Others find that just hearing their baby cry or thinking about the baby is enough to stimulate this reflex. Fjeld says that a let-down can be "a tingly or warm feeling' in the breasts, but she finds that 'the majority of women don't feel it at all." Mothers should not worry if they do or do not feel their milk letting down. Either way, it's no indication of how much milk the baby is getting.
Leaking, and other breastfeeding concerns, usually settle down by the time baby is six weeks old. By then most mothers feel comfortable breastfeeding and their milk supply is well-regulated, says Fjeld. "After six weeks the breasts are soft and may be smaller," she explains. "That's normal. Mothers may lose the sensation of fullness and heaviness, unless they miss a feeding or two," says Fjeld. At this point some mothers may worry that their milk supply is decreasing, but as long as the baby "is nursing on a regular basis and is gaining weight," says Fjeld, there is nothing to worry about.
My friends and I often discuss what has happened to our bodies because of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Patricia says, "Watching my body change throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding has given me a new sense of purpose. These changes are part of the best thing I have ever done - having my daughter."
