Before having my daughter, I was sure I wanted to exclusively breastfeed for at least six months, so much so that I didn’t even buy any bottles thinking, “That’s for formula feeding.” However, when my baby was five days old we had to rush her to the ER because of severe jaundice and she had to be kept under the lights for 24 hours. I was told that it was because I had low milk supply, and she was starving. That made sense to me later, since at night she would only sleep for half an hour at a time and constantly be latched for hours and then cry!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t given any information about pumping, and was asked to not latch the baby since she had lost a lot of weight. I started pumping after coming home, but a lack of knowledge about how to use the pump, how often, flange sizing, etc., made it much worse and I would only get drops. After collecting for an entire day, I got one ounce!

I kept pumping and comfort nursing at times. I was too afraid to latch the baby for long because of the weight loss, even when she was doing better. I worked with multiple lactation consultants, got my daughter’s lip and tongue ties revised, worked with La Leche leaders, ate a ton of oatmeal, took so many supplements and used oxytocin nasal spray. But nothing helped drastically.

When my baby turned 2.5 months old, an IBCLC I saw suggested that I start latching her before feeds, then topping up with bottles. However, that backfired as she got upset when I tried to latch her when she was hungry and stopped nursing completely. She will be a year old in a few days. I still pump a couple of times a day sometimes hoping this works out for us.

How old was your baby when you realized you had low milk supply? What concerns led you to learn this?

Five days old. Jaundice and a 14 percent weight loss alerted me to my low milk supply.

What were some of your goals when you first started your breastfeeding journey? How did these goals shift throughout the time you were lactating?

My goal was to exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months, maybe up to a year (or if not exclusively then combo feed up to a year) After realizing I had low milk supply, I aimed to provide at least half breast milk and half formula. Then that changed to at least one bottle of breast milk as long as I can.

What advice were you given, if any, to increase your supply? By whom?

I was advised to eat oatmeal by the nutritionist I was working with for GDM (which I later found out was a possible risk factor for low milk supply). The same advice was given by a lot of moms in online support groups, as well as eating lactation cookies, supplements, brewer’s yeast etc. Also, “Pump, pump, pump and you’ll make enough milk” was something I heard way too many times.

Did you feel supported by your medical providers? Why or why not?

Only one medical provider was kind of supportive. She did run some tests when I asked for them. The others just dismissed it and one of them said that babies grow on goat milk and turn out fine and I should not overthink it.

What is one thing that you wish someone would have told you when you began your low milk supply journey?

That I should latch the baby on as much as possible when she was not as hungry and top off with a bottle, and not chase numbers or ounces in the bottle.

Is there any support from people other than medical providers (e.g. lactation consultants, family, friends, peers) that you wish you had gotten during your low supply journey?

I wish I had some help around in the house. It was just me and my husband because of COVID; we couldn’t have my mom fly over to us.

Did you feel prepared for the possibility of low milk supply? Why or why not?

No! I never even thought that I could possibly have low milk supply. It just never occurred to me, nor was it mentioned in any breastfeeding classes I took.

What is one thing that you would like all medical and lactation professionals to know about chronic low milk supply?

To please run the tests so that mothers can at least know what needs to be worked on rather than trying to figure it out themselves for months.

In one sentence, why does low milk supply matter to you?

Because I wanted to feed my baby and nurse my baby.