Low milk supply

In breastfeeding women, low milk supply, also known as lactation insufficiency, insufficient milk syndrome, agalactia, agalactorrhea, hypogalactia or hypogalactorrhea, is the production of breast milk in daily volumes that do not fully meet the nutritional needs of her infant.

Breast milk supply augments in response to the baby's demand for milk, and decreases when milk is allowed to remain in the breasts.^[1] Low milk supply is usually caused by allowing milk to remain in the breasts for long periods of time, or insufficiently draining the breasts during feeds. It is usually preventable, unless caused by medical conditions that have been estimated to affect five to fifteen percent of women.^[2]

Several common misconceptions often lead mothers to believe they have insufficient milk when they are in fact producing enough.^[3] Actual low milk supply is likely if the baby is latching and swallowing well at the breast, is nevertheless not growing well or is showing signs of dehydration or malnutrition, and does not have a medical condition that would explain the lack of growth.^[4] The main method for increasing milk supply is improved breastfeeding practices and/or expressing milk through pumping or hand expression.^[5] The medication domperidone increases milk supply for some women.^[5] For mothers who cannot breastfeed exclusively, breastfeeding as much as possible, with supplementary formula feeding as necessary, offers many benefits over formula alone.^[6]