Not Enough Breastmilk? How to Increase Supply When You are Exclusively Pumping

If your baby eats more than you produce, it can be stressful! Many breastfeeding experts will recommend things like staying in bed and doing nothing but nursing when there are issues with supply so that a breastfeeding mother can get plenty of nipple stimulation and rest at the same time.

While this is great advice, it won’t help women that are exclusively pumping. If you are making less than your baby is eating – or even if you just want the peace of mind of a freezer stash – here are eight ways that you can increase your milk supply as an exclusive pumper.

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1. Power Pumping

“Power pumping” or “cluster pumping” simulates cluster feeding. When a baby is cluster feeding, they are constantly on and off the breast, trying to get more milk.

Many newborns – whether nursed or fed from a bottle – will have fussy evenings where they are hard to soothe and eat a great deal on and off over the course of a few hours. Cluster feeding in babies that are nursed signals the mother’s body to make more milk and help you get more letdowns.

To mimic cluster feeding, hook yourself up to the pump (hands-free, of course) and pump on and off for an hour (start with 20 minutes on, then 10 minutes off/10 minutes on) while you watch TV or read something. Try to make it as fun and easy as you can by doing something that you enjoy while you pump, as relaxation should have a positive impact on your output.

2. Eat Oatmeal

Although there is no scientific research on this, enough women have noticed an increase in pumping output when they eat oatmeal that many lactation consultants recommend it as a way of increasing supply.

You can have a bowl of old-fashioned oats for breakfast, cook with oats (i.e., oatmeal cookies, overnight oats, pancakes, etc.), or try some lactation bars (these Oat Mama bars in particular are delicious – I really like the Peanut Butter Chocolate).

I did an unscientific experiment to see if oatmeal would increase my supply, and I found it did. I notice about an 1-2 oz increase in the amount I pump on days when I eat oatmeal or have a bar for breakfast.

3. Hydration!

There are also studies to back this one up, but I did a survey once on the methods that exclusive pumpers thought helped increase their supply, and staying hydrated was the #1 result.

It’s good for you and can’t hurt! Any hydrating fluid (such as Gatorade or coconut water) will work, it doesn’t have to be water.

Finally, if you find you do need to supplement with formula, here are some tips on how to do it while exclusively pumping.

4. Pump More Often or For Longer Periods of Time

It’s really important to pump enough in order to remove as much milk as possible from your breasts (which encourages your body to make more) and to provide nipple stimulation. You can try adding an extra pumping session or adding time to your existing sessions.

At first, the amount of milk you pump will probably stay the same, just spread out across the extra sessions/time. However, after a few days, you will hopefully notice an increase in output.

Make sure that you get the most out of your pumping sessions by doing breast compressions and setting your pump to the right speed.

I would caution, however, to be careful not to overdo it. Ideally, if you are exclusively pumping, you should spend two hours per day pumping. If you need to up that to get more milk, personally, I would not recommend going any higher than three hours per day. At some point, it’s just too much and will become exhausting. Plus, you have other things to do and a baby to care for and snuggle.

5. Replace Your Pumping Parts

Before you start ramping up your pumping sessions, consider replacing your your pump parts (here are the Pump in Style replacement membranes and here are the Spectra parts) – especially if you’ve been using them for over two months.

I have replaced my membranes on the Pump in Style and been shocked at the difference it made in output.

6. Take Fenugreek and Other Lactation-Promoting Herbs

Many women use lactation supplements or herbal galactogogues to increase supply, and I personally have had a lot of success with them.

(Important Note: There is always a risk to herbal treatments or medication, which is why I recommend trying the above options first. My supply went up quite a bit when I used fenugreek, and the limited studies that have been done have reported it works for some women – but other mothers have reported that it had the opposite effect on them.)

Fenugreek is probably the most popular of these, and some mothers see an increase in pumping output after 24-72 hours of starting it.

Blessed thistle is another herb that may help increase milk supply; some lactation experts recommend taking it with fenugreek for the best results.

A detailed overview of fenugreek is available here, but the short version is that you can buy it online or in the grocery store, and generally, you can start with 2 capsules 3 times per day, and wait to see if you start to smell like maple syrup. If you don’t, you may need to increase your dosage, with the upper cap being 4 capsules 3 times per day. (It’s a good idea to consult a doctor or lactation consultant first.)

Smelling like maple syrup is key – that means its working! Once your output has gone up, fenugreek can typically be discontinued and the increased supply will stay (as long as you keep removing the milk from your breasts).

Another option is “nursing teas.” These teas contain a mixture of herbs (like fenugreek, blessed thistle, and fennel seed) and are intended to be used continuously, because the dosage is much lower than herbs such as fenugreek in capsule form.

7. Medication Options – Try Domperidone or Reglan

There are two medications that are not intended for anything to do with lactation, but seem to increase milk supply as a side effect. These are Domperidone and Reglan, and they work by by blocking dopamine receptors, which results in an increase in prolactin levels.

These drugs will not work in women that already have normal prolactin levels. Both of these medications normally work within 3-4 days.

A few cautions about these drugs – Reglan is contraindicated in women with a history of depression, as one of its side effects is severe depression. Domperidone has fewer side effects, and is widely used in Canada and other countries.

In the United States, the FDA issued a much-criticized warning against it in 2004, which can make getting it complicated. You would need to get a prescription from your doctor and then get it filled at a compounding or international pharmacy.

8. Drink Beer

This one is a bit controversial. Some moms swear by it, but most experts say that it doesn’t help. These experts are focused on nursing infants, though – the concern is that nursing infants might take in less milk because the very small amount of alcohol relaxes them and they are less hungry, etc.

Fortunately, your breast pump doesn’t get tired when you’ve had a Guinness.

In any case, I think this one falls into the “worth a shot if you like beer” category.

Obviously, be careful not to overdo it while you’re breastfeeding. You can also drink non-alcoholic beer, or you can test the alcohol level of your milk with milkscreen.

Note: About a year after I wrote this post, I did a survey of exclusive pumpers that asked about the effectiveness of all of these strategies for increasing milk supply. I wrote up the results (along with additional detail about each of these methods) in an e-book, which you can find out more about here. Thanks for reading!

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