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Are you losing sleep wondering whether your milk has come in? If so, you’re not alone! One of the greatest concerns for any new mom who intends to breastfeed is whether she’s producing enough milk to feed a growing baby.
Fear not! It might seem like there’s not much milk yet, but your production will ramp up as your baby grows and gets better at feeding. Here’s what you can expect as your milk supply is established.
Believe it or not, you’ve been producing milk since before your baby was even born! Colostrum is the first milk your body makes. It develops in your breasts in mid-pregnancy (around 12–18 weeks) and is still produced in the first few days after birth.
A little colostrum goes a long way. Babies usually drink half an ounce of it, on average, in the first 24 hours. It’s high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies, and it has laxative-like properties that help pass meconium and fight jaundice.
After your baby is born, your changing hormones and baby’s sucking will increase blood flow to your breasts. The increased blood flow raises the volume of your breast milk, changing its composition twice during your baby’s first month.
First, the change from colostrum to transitional milk occurs 2–5 days after giving birth. Transitional milk is creamier in texture, higher in protein, and looks more like whole milk.
Then, around 10–14 days after birth, your milk will change again into what is known as mature milk. Mature milk is divided into foremilk (which comes out first) and hindmilk.
Foremilk is thinner and appears more like skim milk. You may even notice a bluish tint to it.
As the feeding continues, mature milk will become thicker and creamier in texture as the hindmilk is extracted. Hindmilk has a higher fat content than foremilk or transitional milk.
If you’ve had a child before, you may notice your milk comes in much sooner than the first time around. Interestingly, one study on the genes of mice found that this animal’s mammary glands may have a sort of “memory” that brings milk in quicker after subsequent births.
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For many women, engorgement of the breasts is a dead giveaway that their transitional milk has come in. When your milk volume increases, the increased blood flow to the breasts will make them swell and feel rock hard.
Keep in mind that the discomfort associated with this change is temporary. Applying hot packs to the chest region before feeds — and cool packs after them — can help make engorgement a little more comfortable.
Over time, as mature milk develops, your breasts will become softer again. You may be surprised by this change and think your supply has dropped, but don’t worry. This is completely normal.
A change in the appearance of the milk coming from the breast is another indicator that your milk has changed from colostrum to a more mature form.
Colostrum is called liquid gold for a reason! It tends to be more yellow in color. It’s also thicker and stickier than mature milk, and it’s packed with a higher density of nutrients. Transitional milk will appear white.
Your breastmilk adapts to your growing baby and will change in volume, consistency, and composition over your baby’s first few weeks of life. Keeping track of wet and stool diapers will help you know whether your milk supply is increasing appropriately.
In the first few days, as your supply is getting established, make sure to feed your baby on demand, around the clock. Because newborn babies have small stomachs with low capacity, you may notice your baby wants to eat more frequently in the early days.
Given that breastmilk production is tied to demand, it’s important to feed or pump often and make sure that the milk inside your breast is being removed. If you find that your supply is decreasing, there are things you can do to help increase your supply.
Over time, you may find that you’re able to produce more breastmilk than your baby requires. Pumping and storing the extra milk in either the refrigerator or freezer will come in handy if you become ill, have a babysitter, or return to work.
For breastfed babies, the World Health Organization recommends feeding on demand. Your little one will let you know when they’re done by releasing their latch or pushing away.
In the beginning, you can expect an exclusively breastfed baby to eat every 2 to 3 hours around the clock.
Brand new babies often fall asleep at the breast, which doesn’t always mean they’re done. You may need to wake them to fill their belly.
As your little one grows, you may experience periods of cluster feeding, during which your baby wants to eat more frequently. This isn’t necessarily a sign that your milk supply is decreasing, so don’t worry if your baby seems extra hungry!
As your child learns to sleep longer chunks at night, you’ll likely be able to get a little more distance between feeds during the overnight period. Still, you can expect to feed your baby 8–12 times per day for the first few months.
If you find that your milk supply is taking a little longer than expected, don’t stress! Your body may need a few extra days due to your unique birthing and postpartum circumstances.
A delay in mature milk production doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel or give up hope.
Some potential reasons for a delay in increased milk production include:
- premature birth
- delivering via cesarean section (C-section)
- certain medical conditions like diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- obesity
- an infection or illness that includes a fever
- prolonged bed rest throughout pregnancy
- a thyroid condition
- being unable to breastfeed during the first few hours following delivery
- severe stress
You can increase your milk volume by making sure that your baby has a good latch when they feed, feeding your baby frequently, and ensuring feeds are lasting for an appropriate length of time.
In the first few days after birth, it’s common for feedings to take awhile. It might be 20 minutes per breast. As babies learn to extract milk, feeding time will shorten substantially.
If you find that your milk production is delayed or are worried that you have risk factors for delayed milk production, you should talk with a lactation consultant. They can work with you to ensure your baby receives sufficient nutrition and provide suggestions to help speed the process along.
It’s stressful thinking about a delay in milk production, but there’s no need to fear! Within just a few days of giving birth, chances are you’ll feel your breasts begin to fill with milk.
In the meantime, be sure to get your snuggles in. Relaxed, skin-to-skin time gives your baby plenty of opportunities to breastfeed and tells your body to make more milk.
While establishing your milk supply, it’s OK to do some research into formula options. Being prepared may help you relax, which will mean good things for your milk production!
If worries about your supply are keeping you up at night, don’t be afraid to talk with your doctor or meet with a lactation consultant. Chances are, getting some help will be all you need to boost your milk supply naturally.
You can expect certain things during pregnancy: You may be queasy, your feet might swell, and you’ll have various aches, pains, and discomforts as your belly grows.
But other pregnancy experiences may take you by surprise. For example, did you know that you may leak breast milk during pregnancy?
Leaking milk during pregnancy — or finding dried breast milk on your nipples — is a strange but perfectly typical part of pregnancy. This happens because your breasts begin to produce colostrum as your body prepares for nursing.
Colostrum is a form of milk that is more nutrient-dense than mature breast milk. It also contains a variety of antibodies, including an important one called immunoglobulin A (IgA). IgA helps protect baby from infection and develop their immune system.
Toward the end of pregnancy, some of this colostrum may leak out of the nipples.
Here’s what to know about leaking breast milk during pregnancy — why it happens, when it happens, and what to do if it happens to you.
Leaking breast milk during pregnancy isn’t something that’s talked about often. You usually think of milk leaking as an event that happens after your baby is born.
But the changes that your breasts go through during pregnancy mean that your body starts making milk even before baby arrives. Starting at the mid-point in pregnancy, your body produces colostrum, according to 2021 research.
Colostrum is considered your baby’s first milk because it ensures that your little one will get that milk as soon as they start suckling after birth. It makes sense to plan ahead, right?
So the short answer is: Yes, milk can and does often leak during pregnancy. Not every expectant parent leaks milk during pregnancy, but many do.
This doesn’t mean that milk leaks all over the place and is plentiful at this point. But many people will find little whitish or yellowish drops of colostrum on their nipples, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) explains. Often, this milk is dried and crusted on your nipples or the inside of your bra or shirt.
Soon after — or sometimes even before — you get your positive pregnancy test result, you may notice changes in your breasts. In fact, breast changes are often the first indication that you are pregnant.
Usually, by the 5th or 6th week of pregnancy, your breasts begin to feel heavy, sore, and tender to the touch. Your nipples may darken and you may notice tiny little bumps on your areolas, called Montgomery’s glands.
All these changes have to do with the fact that your breasts are getting ready to become milk-making factories.
Hormones like estrogen and progesterone lead to changes inside your breasts, too. Milk glands and ducts start to form and multiply.
Between the 12th and 16th week, alveolar cells in your breasts start to produce colostrum. Usually, though, any leaking of colostrum doesn’t happen until sometime in the third trimester of pregnancy, according to 2021 research.
During pregnancy, your body is doing everything it can to prepare for the upcoming birth of your baby. As your second trimester ends and your third trimester begins, your breasts are ready to feed your baby in case they arrive earlier than expected.
The colostrum your body is producing will be “on tap” as soon as your little one is born. At times, it may leak even before baby makes their appearance.
It’s not clear why some people leak more colostrum than others. You may leak colostrum but not notice it until you see yellowish stains on your nipples or find dried up specks of colostrum on your nipples. Usually, there isn’t a large amount of liquid.
It’s important to note that leaking colostrum during pregnancy doesn’t mean that you will have too much milk once your baby is born. And not leaking milk during pregnancy doesn’t mean you will have less milk when baby arrives.
All bodies are different, and some people just seem to leak more milk than others — during pregnancy and after.
As mentioned, if you do find yourself leaking milk during pregnancy, you are seeing colostrum. This sticky, yellowish-orangish substance is the first milk that your baby will drink, and it will be ready as soon as they are born. Colostrum is small in amount but full of nutrition and immune-boosting goodness for your baby.
Colostrum has some special features that distinguish it from the mature milk that baby will receive a few days after birth when your milk “comes in.” For example, colostrum:
- is higher in protein and lower in fat and carbohydrates than mature milk
- shields your baby from infection, in part because of increased amounts of secretory IgA
- protects your baby’s gut and helps establish a healthy microbiome
When you are producing colostrum, your breasts will not be especially full yet. That’s completely typical. As long as you nurse frequently (8 to 12 times per day is best), your baby will get all they need.
About 3 to 5 days after giving birth, you will notice that your breasts feel fuller. This means your body is transitioning to more mature milk, which will be whiter in color and much more abundant.
If you notice some leaking milk during pregnancy, don’t panic. It may catch you off guard, especially if you weren’t aware of this as a common phenomenon in pregnancy, but it’s typical and happens frequently.
Still, you may have concerns about what’s happening. You may worry that you have too much leaking milk or not enough. Again, the amount you leak — or whether you leak at all — does not relate to what your milk supply will be like after your baby is born. Every person is different when it comes to leaking milk during pregnancy.
If you have any questions or concerns about what is happening, contact your OB-GYN, midwife, or a lactation consultant.
Breast milk leakage during pregnancy may include yellow, orange, or whitish milk. This milk may leak on its own or when you roll or squeeze your areola.
You may find stains or dried up flakes on your clothing or bra. You may also find flakes on your nipples. All of that is par for the course during pregnancy.
However, you should speak to your healthcare professional about certain breast changes. If you notice blood leaking from your breasts or staining your clothing, alert your doctor or midwife.
In rare instances, you may show signs of breast cancer during pregnancy, according to 2020 research. According to ACOG, symptoms may include:
- warmth, reddening, and dimpled skin
- blistering of the breast skin (ulcers)
- ongoing crusting or scaling of the nipple skin (not to be confused with crusted milk, which can be cleaned off)
- changes in nipple shape
Still, most changes in the breast — including size increases, soreness, darkening of areolas, and milk leakage — are expected during pregnancy and not a cause for alarm.
Finding breast milk on your nipples or on your bra or clothes during pregnancy can certainly come as a surprise. You may worry that something is wrong with your pregnancy or with your body.
These are natural concerns, but leaking milk during pregnancy is very common. It’s a promising sign that your body is getting ready to produce breast milk for baby!
If you have any further questions about leaking milk during pregnancy or any other changes your body is going through to prepare for birth and breastfeeding or chestfeeding, don’t hesitate to reach out to your doctor or midwife.