Home Forums Breastfeeding Breastfeeding Not enough calories in my breastmilk

Hi everyone,

I just want to let everyone know that the reason the email bounces is that my laptop crashed just as I arrived in Washington for the ASRM meeting. I ended up having to drive to an all night WallMart in nearby Virginia where I was able to pick up a rather inexpensive replacement laptop. But I had no access to any of my emails. Finally Lalle was able to get through and alert me to this post. Here is my reply:

The baby is back to birth weightand a little beyond which is what we like to see by this time. Supplementing with breastmilk is gemerally preferable to supplementing with artificial infant milk. Adding 2 oz of formula in a 24 hour period would be equivalent to just adding a breastfeed which is what we recommended.

Based on past experience with other adoptive mothers who have tested their milk which showed there is virtually no difference between their milk and that of an average post partum mother, it's doubtful the problem is caloric content of the breastmilk. However, without actually testing your milk we can't prove it. But if your doctor is concerned, the milk can be sent to a lab for testing as to protein and fat content.

In the meantime, please feed as often as possible. Use breast compression to assist milk flow and contact a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) to come and do a home visit and show you how to supplement with your own breastmilk at the breast with the supplemeter which is the best way to do it because bottles are the fastest way off the breast. There are things we can do before we run to the bottle which carries health risks of it's own. But we do need to keep an eye on baby's weight. The priority is to feed your baby. The two ounces proposed of formula is equivalent to just one extra breastfeed. It's not our policy to formula-feed unless absolutely necessary. But your doctor may have other reasons for recommending this that we're not aware of.

Kindly discuss this with your doctor and please keep us posted on your progress.

Best, Lenore

It is unlikely that your baby is getting a foremilk imbalance. Foremilk has more calories than hindmilk - one of the main ways you know the baby is getting an imbalance is that they gain a lot of weight very quickly. So since your baby is gaining a small/moderate amount, I'm guessing it's not an imbalance.

If it were me, I wouldn't add formula. Your plan sounds like a good one - feed often skintoskin and pump afterwards. You can offer the baby the pumped milk, as well, after a feeding, if you think it's needed. The baby's not losing weight - you're doing great!