Читать книгу The Smart Parents Guide to Breastfeeding - Jennifer Ritchie - Страница 5

There are lots of things that we can do while you are still pregnant. We can prepare for boosting milk supply based on your medical history or put a tool or two in your hospital bag just in case. Breastfeeding is physical and hormonal, so there is a checklist you can go through while you’re pregnant to see if you have any precursors for low milk supply.

1 Did you have trouble getting pregnant?

2 Do you have thyroid issues?

3 Do you have diabetes?

4 Do you have polycystic ovarian syndrome?

5 Did your breasts change size during pregnancy?

6 Have you had a breast surgery?

#5 is an important question: Did you experience breast changes during pregnancy. Sometimes you need to ask her significant other to answer that one. I’m not talking Dolly Parton changes, just slight changes in your bra cup size. About 1.5% of women do not have enough mammary tissue to make milk, so we must consider this as a possibility.

If you have any history of thyroid issues, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or you had problems getting pregnant, these are all precursors for low milk supply. Don’t worry, we can work on synthetically boosting your prolactin after the baby is born, but just knowing this information will help. You can refer to the section titled “Increasing Your Milk Supply.”

Look at Your Nipples

When I work with a pregnant mom, I do a breast exam to see if I can find any potential issues with the latch. If the nipples are flat or retract upon compression, we can plan for the use of a nipple shield. We go into detail about nipple shields in a later chapter. To see if your nipples retract upon compression, simply squeeze your areola from both sides and see what your nipple does. If it stays in place, you are in good shape. If it retracts back into the boob, you will want to be prepared for a possible latch issue. Don’t worry, you found out before any issues began, so that is an excellent start!

BASIC NIPPLE FLAT NIPPLE