Our International Board Certified Lactation Consultant is Marlene Giel, a RN here in Aruba at The Horacio Oduber Hospital. She's been a L&D Nurse since 1995 and did her specialization in Obstetrics&Gynecology. She Graduated in 2002 from the Erasmus Medische Centrum Rotterdam. Always having had a passion for breastfeeding, she took on a new title that of Certified Lactation Consultant since beginning her studies in 2006. She is in the course of completing absolute certification for IBCLC.
Question: I've been nursing my son for many weeks now and breastfeeding is finally becoming enjoyable. But now, all of a sudden, my breasts don't feel full anymore, what's going on? Is my milk drying up?Answer: Many mothers are concerned about milk supply after the early weeks because they notice that the breasts are feeling soft or empty. It is normal for your breasts to feel mostly soft after the first weeks. At some point around 6 weeks, your milk supply will begin to regulate and your breasts will begin to feel less full, soft or even empty. You may stop leaking, you may stop feeling let-down or feel it less. This doesn't mean that the milk supply has dropped, but this mean that your body has figured out how much milk is being removed from the breasts and is no longer making too much. This change may come gradually or sometimes rather sudden. Many people are not aware that these breast changes are normal because so many mothers stop breastfeeding early on and never see this change or they mistakenly interpret this change as a sign that the milk supply has dried up and wean because of this change.
Why the change? The prolactin level that is high in the early weeks gradually decreases. Mom's body will adjust the milk production to the baby's needs.
Send in your questions to llama_lovah@hotmail.com or Wendy Martijn on Facebook, or post them in the comments on this blog, and have yours answered by our IBCLC in next week's "Ask an IBCLC"
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