Planning to Breastfeed? Get More Zzzzzz in the 3rd Trimester for More Milk
I know I know it’s like a cruel joke…and maybe you’re reading this at 4am waiting for the sun to come up and now feeling even more frustrated.
Sleep in the 3rd trimester can be so hard to come by and all of this research is probably contributing to your pregnancy insomnia. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle - chronic sleep deprivation is associated with more complications and pain in labor…which is probably adding to your anxiety about labor and now scientists are linking breastfeeding issues with 3rd trimester sleep. The new study points to a delay in your mature milk being produced (that’s the milk that comes after the few days of that priceless colostrum your baby gets).
So how will you know if you have a problem and what can you do about it?
Before Labor
Sleeping well or not join a breastfeeding group in your 3rd trimester and start building your support tribe.
Some small studies suggest medication routinely given after labor can delay milk production (especially medications that contain ergo). Talk to your midwife/OB about alternatives.
Try these strategies for maximizing sleep during the 3rd trimester.
After Labor
Baby’s first milk is colostrum and is packed full of nutrients - keep baby skin to skin as much as possible in those first few days.
You’ll know baby is getting enough milk if he is peeing and pooping (and that poop is changing color with each day).
Your baby may lose some weight in the first few days especially if you had IV fluids (those babies are extra juicy but they pee it all out in the first day or so).
This delay in your mature milk coming in can also be a result of a long labor especially if your baby was then born by an unplanned cesarean. Ask for help from staff and ask to see the lactation consultant.
Have the number of a breastfeeding educator/counselor in your phone. Staff aren’t always well informed in the latest research on breastfeeding.
Consider hiring a postpartum doula to visit you at home and help get you off to a great start.
Use your breastfeeding meditations in the GentleBirth app while you nurse your baby to reduce stress and increase your milk supply.
Hope you can find a way to get some restorative sleep tonight! Our GentleBirth moms swear by the Sleep Sanctuary and Fear Release to help them sleep (between bathroom breaks).
What helped you get more sleep in the last few weeks of pregnancy?
Casey, T., Sun, H., Burgess, H., Crodian, J., Dowden, S., Cummings, S., Plaut, K., Haas, D., Zhang, L., & Ahmed, A. (2019). Delayed Lactogenesis II is Associated With Lower Sleep Efficiency and Greater Variation in Nightly Sleep Duration in the Third Trimester. Journal of Human Lactation, 35(4), 713-724.