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Our newborn baby is 6 days old and has always been breastfed. Yesterday, my wife breastfed a 3-month-old baby of our friends. Her mother was at the hospital, so my wife breastfed the baby.

Now my wife has less milk and my newborn stays hungry.

Should I be worried?

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    That's not really how milk production works. Typically, more feeding increases production, not decreases it. Is she sick?
    – Septagon
    Jun 13, 2014 at 20:37
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    How old is your baby? Did your wife get all the colostrum out for your baby? I mean, this might be something you'd want to talk to your doctor about regardless of the answer to the colostrum question, but if your baby didn't get the colostrum AND isn't getting milk now, I'd be on the phone and/or in the waiting room about... right now o'clock.
    – corsiKa
    Jun 14, 2014 at 2:32
  • Our newborn was 5 days old. And was breastfeeded all thease 5 days. Now he is 7 days old
    – mir.moezi
    Jun 14, 2014 at 5:34
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    The more she feeds, the more milk she will make. She should be fine. There are many things she can do to make more milk as well, for example, taking Blessed Thistle herb supplements, drink one beer (not more), drink some certain teas. Google will give you a much better list.
    – Bobo
    Jun 16, 2014 at 21:57
  • This is an old question but please don't drink alcohol (@Bobo) when breastfeeding. It will get in the milk. Eating enough and drinking enough liquid are important to keep milk production up.
    – Ivana
    Jan 28, 2020 at 15:43

2 Answers 2

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You shouldn't have anything to worry about, since milk production increases to keep up with demand. This is why it's possible for a woman to feed, say, twins. When the baby is no longer breastfeeding, the breasts stop producing milk.

The only problems you might encounter would be extremely short-term, unless your wife has supply issues. If this is the case, a lactation consultant can be of help. (Visits with one are covered by many insurance plans.)

Strategies to ensure a healthy supply include pumping while away from the baby/babies, and massaging to express milk. For more information: Maximizing Milk Production with Hands On Pumping

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The amount of milk breasts produce depends on the demand. If demand increases, then so does production. Just give it a day or two in which you regularly let the child(ren) suck, and the amount produced will increase.

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