Breast feeding should be a time of immense physical closeness for mother and baby. However, there are times when stress and anxiety seem to inhibit production of breast milk.

New mothers undergo enormous physical and emotional changes after the birth of their baby. Not only have their bodies undergone a traumatic ordeal giving birth, they now have responsibility for this tiny, helpless infant, dependent upon them for their every need, most importantly, milk.



Breast feeding a newborn is a skill to be learned by mother and baby together. For a first time mother, it can be a worrying experience. You're anxious whether you are doing it the right way or whether you're producing enough milk. A few days after the birth you may experience painful engorgement or cracked nipples, which can lead to further worry when the next feed is due.

As a mother who has breastfed three children, I'm all too familiar with the panic that ensues when you feel you aren't providing enough milk. Breast feeding anywhere outside of the comfort of my own home would render me so tense, my milk supply would all but close down. Indeed, studies have shown that anxiety or tension can reduce the effects of the "let-down" reflex and milk doesn't flow as well in response to the sucking from the baby.

Dr. Trevor Powell, author of Stress Free Living, (DK Publishing, Inc. 2000), says parents "can expect to have less sleep, less money, less time for going out and relaxing, extra work and less sleep." With information like this, it is surprising new mothers' milk supplies don't dry up all completely.

Fortunately, most mothers who persevere do find it an enjoyable and rewarding experience. There will, however, be occasions when breast milk production appears to slow down. Often it's caused by a particularly stressful situation. For example, if you're in a rest room at work, frantically trying to express enough milk for your baby's feed. You have only 5 minutes left and you've extracted a measly 1.5 ounces of milk. This type of panic caused by time constraints is not conducive to helping milk flow.

According to Martha Sears, R.N. and William Sears, M.D. authors of The Breastfeeding Book (Little, Brown & Co., 2000), "You can deliver enough milk to your baby even under the most stressful conditions..."

They point out that chronic stress can have the opposite effect by reducing milk supply. Furthermore, they explain that chronic stress "throws off the biochemical equilibrium of your body, explaining why some women notice a reduction in their milk supply following a family crisis..."

Learning how to deal with stressful situations and in particular, how to avoid them will help make the breast feeding experience much easier. Looking at further studies, it's reassuring to learn that the act of breast feeding should leave us less stressed.

New research by scientists from Warwick University, England, has shown that the act of the baby's suckling causes a response from the mother's brain cells, triggering a greater release of oxytocin the "feel-good" hormone which women produce to stimulate breast milk. This creates a positive feed-back loop whereby the more oxytocin is created, the faster it's produced.

Oxytocin actually inhibits the release of stress hormones, so try not to be discouraged if your milk flow slows down occasionally.

If you feel you need to increase the amount of milk you're producing, you may find some of the following suggestions from Dr Penelope Leach, author of Baby & Child, (Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd, 2003) beneficial.

• Try devoting two weeks concentrating on boosting your milk supply, feeding at every opportunity, not missing any feeds and always expressing anything left over after baby has finished. This way you should find you're able to produce more milk.

• Rest especially at the end of day, leave the housework.
• Make sure you're comfortable with everything you might need close by so you don't need to get up in the middle of feeding.
• Express milk left over from early in the day when you may have more than baby needs. By emptying breasts, they will produce more milk for next feed.
• Drink more. Baby takes more than half a pint of fluid.
• Take time to eat properly. A healthy diet will ensure your milk quality is fine.
• Try to keep to schedule: Breasts need the stimulation of sucking in order to produce milk. If your baby misses a feed, try expressing milk instead. Breasts work by supply and demand.
• Minimize top ups with formula milk. If you miss a breast feed your breasts receive a signal that too much milk has been made and will produce less.

Above all, remember your body is designed to produce enough milk. With breast feeding, you are providing your baby with the best start in life. What more could you or your baby want?