4 Tips to support your milk supply

Many years ago, before giving birth to my first daughter, Zoe, I immersed myself in childbirth books. I tried to prepare for everything I could. But still, there was one surprise I didn’t see coming: Zoe wouldn’t latch.

I spent the next 11 months exclusively pumping her milk supply. And like other new moms who rely on the pump, I became acutely aware of my milk production. When I wasn’t producing enough, it really affected me emotionally. And the stress (surely) wasn’t helping my production.

That’s why I wrote this article: to hopefully help new moms who are now navigating their own journeys with breastfeeding and milk supply. Supporting breastmilk production is a holistic endeavor. It includes getting enough calories, protein, folate, and other vitamins and minerals. One lesser-known factor that may also help? Getting enough sodium.

Thousands of new moms have shared with us how hydrating with electrolytes has helped them nurse their little ones. Anecdotal, I know, but these reports are also supported by science that suggests sodium is a key component in breast milk.

Being a new mom is challenging enough without having to worry about producing enough milk. That’s why I’m grateful to share this knowledge with moms today. I’ll start with the basics of milk production and nutrition, and then cover 4 tips to support your milk supply.

How Milk Production Works

The changes that occur in a woman’s body around childbirth are absolutely fascinating. For instance, unlike most other organs, the breasts wait to fully develop until pregnancy and childbirth.

During pregnancy, the mammary glands (which produce milk) significantly expand, preparing a woman to provide for her baby. There are two stages of milk production, or lactogenesis, signaled by three hormones: progesterone, prolactin, and placental lactogen.

Stage 1 occurs around mid-pregnancy, and is characterized by high levels of progesterone. Toward the end of pregnancy and soon after childbirth, women begin to secrete small amounts of milk, including colostrum — an antibody-rich form of milk that helps develop the infant’s gut and immune system. In stage 2, progesterone decreases rapidly and prolactin levels increase. A few days after childbirth, milk production tends to increase significantly — but may be delayed or lessened for women having their first child or those who had a C-section.

Now, what about diet and nutrition while nursing?

Nutrition While Nursing

Producing breast milk raises your nutrition requirements. After all, you’re now feeding two people, so you need more calories than you normally would. How much? One scientific review suggests consuming about 500 extra calories daily is a good starting point, but your mileage may vary based on your height, weight, age, activity levels, and other factors.

Protein needs also rise while breastfeeding. Based on the research, one suggestion that may make sense is to start with 20 extra grams of protein daily and see how you’re feeling and functioning. Again, some folks may need a bit more, so be ready to experiment. 

An approach that can work well for folks (nursing or otherwise) is a Paleo-style diet. The Paleo way of eating prioritizes protein, which can help bump your intake, and vegetables like leafy greens, which contain plenty of folate — a B vitamin essential for fetal development.

You’ll likely want to make sure you’re still getting enough carbohydrates, too — our bodies release insulin in response to carb intake, and insulin is an important hormone for growth. But if you enjoy a lower-carb diet, you can play around with it and see what works while postpartum — some moms navigate breastfeeding while eating low-carb diets without any issue.

While breastfeeding, in addition to protein and calories, nursing moms likely need more:

• Vitamin A and Vitamin D
• Vitamins B2, B3, B6, B12
• Selenium
• Zinc

Taking prenatal and postnatal vitamins can help cover these bases. For an in-depth guide on prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal nutrition, I recommend checking out Chris Kresser’s The Healthy Baby Code.

It’s time now to highlight an underappreciated mineral: sodium.

The Importance of Sodium In Breast Milk

The science suggests that sodium (an essential mineral) is important to watch during both pregnancy and breastfeeding.

To begin with breastfeeding, one study had premature babies consume one of two diets between the 4th–14th days of their lives. The first diet contained a regular amount of sodium, and the second diet had extra sodium supplemented.

Ten to thirteen years later, as adolescents, researchers studied how well these kids’ brains developed. They tested motor function, IQ, memory and learning, language and executive skills, and behavior. The children who supplemented sodium performed better in all categories.

This study was on premature babies, so it’s unclear if all babies can benefit from more sodium or just premature babies. We need more data, but the study does suggest sodium could matter a lot for development.

Breast milk is naturally high in sodium, especially during phase 1 lactogenesis (during which milk takes the form of colostrum). And other research suggests that when electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and chloride are low in breast milk, it may impair the child’s development.

To be clear, getting adequate electrolytes is only one factor that supports healthy maturation. Babies also need many other nutritional factors, sleep, attention, and a stimulating learning environment to develop in the brain and body.  

That’s the research we have so far on sodium’s impact on development — let’s look now at sodium’s role in breast milk supply.

Does Sodium Increase Milk Supply?

Animals and anecdotes suggest sodium may boost milk supply, but I’d love to see some human studies on this topic. 

In animals, cows fed more salt produce more milk. It’s an old trick used by dairy farmers.

While we don’t have similar studies on humans, we’ve heard thousands of reports from moms who’ve seen remarkable increases in their milk supply when drinking electrolytes. One of these new moms is Kelsey Albers, and she’s been kind enough to share her story about sodium and milk supply.

After her daughter was born, Kelsey began to eat a low-carb diet to lose her baby weight. Low-carb diets, if you didn’t know, make you pee out significantly more sodium.

To Kelsey’s surprise, her daughter completely refused the bottle. Since breastfeeding was the only option, Kelsey knew she needed to keep her supply up in the midst of eating a low-carb diet. After doing some research, she started making electrolyte homebrews, and eventually she switched to LMNT. The electrolytes not only supported her own supply, but over the next six months Kelsey donated over 1,000 ounces of breastmilk to a friend in need, too. 

4 Tips to Support Your Milk Supply

I put together a list of steps new moms can take to naturally increase milk production. If you’re a new mom — or know a new mom — I think you’ll find this helpful.

#1: Nurse more frequently

When the breasts are full of milk, milk production slows. Nursing more frequently can speed it up. In other words, new milk production depends on how much milk sits in the breasts at any given time. Why? Because breast milk contains a protein called feedback inhibitor of lactation. This protein does as its name suggests: it inhibits lactation.

Less milk in the breasts means less of this milk supply inhibition, and more milk produced. To add to that, when the breasts are empty or being emptied, the hormones prolactin and oxytocin stimulate more milk production. So the more frequently you nurse or pump, the greater your overall milk supply.

If your baby doesn’t want to nurse as often as you’d like, you can consider alternating between breastfeeding and pumping — or use the pump exclusively, if you experience problems latching like Zoe and I did.

#2: Empty the breasts fully

Building on the science of nursing more frequently, emptying the breasts fully sends a stronger signal to the mammary glands to produce more milk. A few things that can help: make sure the baby is feeding properly, try compression or massage, and offer both breasts at each nursing. If the baby finishes and you still have milk left, you may want to pump out the rest.

#3: Get enough sodium

Experiment with your sodium intake while nursing. Note how you feel and how your milk production is coming along, then adjust as needed. 

Keep in mind that you lose a significant amount of sodium in your sweat, that needs to be replaced. Low-carb diets also raise sodium needs.

How can you tell you’re getting enough? You’ll feel the difference. You might also check out our sodium calculator to estimate your baseline sodium needs, separate from the factor of breastfeeding. 

#4: Get proper nutrition

As you’ll recall, pregnancy and nursing raise a woman’s requirements for calories, protein, and many vitamins and minerals. A wise approach is to combine a whole foods diet with prenatal or postnatal vitamins to check your boxes. 

While you nurse, listen to your body and keep an eye on your milk supply. If you're having issues, you may want to explore nutritional factors like calorie, protein, or sodium intake more deeply. Start with an intuitive approach, and consider a nutrition tracker like Cronometer to go a level deeper. And don’t be afraid to speak with a trusted healthcare provider, too.

I wish I had these resources and knowledge when I was nursing Zoe. That’s why I’m sharing — to help new moms and their babies be their healthiest selves!