Stash away the silks for a while, and opt for darker colors (better for camouflaging milk marks) until the leaking stops. Avoid trying to pump breast milk to prevent the problem. You'll probably just make the situation worse by stimulating your breasts to make even more milk, which means more leaks. Be patient.
Your breasts may leak when they become so full of milk that they overflow. (Leaking is common in women who have an overabundant milk supply). Or you might leak when your letdown reflex – which releases the milk – kicks in.
Freeze and store your expressed milk for later use. Apply pressure to your nipples. When you feel the tingling sensation of the let-down reflex begin, put pressure on your nipples to help stop the milk from flowing. Wear clothing that can help hide leaks.
Why are my breasts leaking milk? Some nursing mothers experience milk leaking from their breasts between feedings. This can happen when your nipples rub against a bed sheet, bath towel, or clothing, or when you hear a baby cry. This is a normal sign of a let-down reflex (a strong flow of milk).
Try not to touch or massage your breasts. If you are very uncomfortable, you can gently massage your breasts for a few minutes to let some milk out, but only until your breasts soften. Do not pump or empty your breasts directly.
Pump or hand express only ½ to 1 oz at a time
Express or pump just enough to relieve discomfort. Pumping too much may encourage your body to make more milk instead of drying it up.
Wearing a breastfeeding or nursing bra at night is down to individual choice. If a sleep bra is used for light support at night and to keep breast pads in place, it should fit very loosely so as not to cut into any breast tissue and ideally be made of cotton.
Aim to spend 15 to 20 minutes hooked up to the pump to net a good amount of breast milk (some women will need 30 minutes or more with the pump, especially in the early days). Pump until the milk starts slowing down and your breasts feel well-drained. Be sure to clean the breast flanges after every use.
Some women feel this let-down reflex as a tingling or a warmth. Other women don't feel their let down at all. Even if you don't feel your let down, you will see a change in baby's swallowing patterns and hear your baby swallowing.
Signs and Symptoms of Overactive Letdown
You may notice milk spraying from your nipple once your baby unlatches. If your newborn chokes on the breast milk because of an overactive letdown, they may not want to latch back onto your nipple and can become frustrated and hungry.
It happens when your breasts are particularly full of milk or when something makes your body think that breastfeeding has happened, activating your “letdown reflex”. It can also be an emotional response – some women report their breasts leaking when they hear their baby crying.
Breastfeeding: The Let-Down Reflex
Let-down happens as milk is released into milk ducts in your breast. This usually happens when your baby sucks on your breast. You may even have a let-down when your baby or someone else's baby cries, or for no reason at all.
Signs of forceful letdown
Feedings feel like a struggle. Your baby may cough, choke, splutter, or gulp quickly at the breast, especially with each letdown. Baby may clamp down at the nipple to try to stop or slow the rapid flow of milk. This may cause sore, creased, pinched nipples.
Lean forward and gently shake your breasts. Use your hand to gently massage the breast. Moisten your pump flange/shield before placing on your breast to create a better seal. Breast flanges come in various sizes and need to comfortably fit your nipple to properly drain the breast.
However, if you are following the schedule and no milk is coming, keep going. This is an essential step in signaling to your body to create more milk. While some breastfeeding parents see a difference in just a day or two, you may find it takes several days or a week to see a significant increase in breast milk supply.
Ultimately, if your baby has reached its birth weight and you're pumping enough milk during the day, it's okay to sleep eight hours without pumping at night. Keep in mind there is an adjustment period for your body as it begins to acclimate to the decrease in overnight milk removal.
Another option, if you're worried about your breasts leaking overnight, is to wear a nursing tank top with a built-in shelf bra to hold your nursing pads in place. For example, Japanese Weekend maternity camisoles are soft, comfortable and stretch well to accommodate breast fluctuations, especially during the night.
While most won't sleep through the night for 8 hours or longer until after about 6 months, longer stretches of sleep can be both a blessing and a challenge! If you're like many moms, you may want to jump for joy at one less overnight feeding and a little more uninterrupted sleep.
Especially if your baby is younger your husband may be able to suck a lot harder. The founder of The Confused Mom had her husband unclog her milk duct by lining up his chin, with the clog and sucking. You can also use the dangle feeding position above to allow gravity to help him suck it out.
Your breasts will likely become engorged.
Three to four days after delivery, your breasts may grow to a size you previously couldn't have imagined. They may also become almost rock-hard. This is engorgement.
So even if you kept pumping or nursing around the clock, milk would still flow out as it's produced. This means that you do not need to wait a certain amount of time after nursing or pumping for your breast milk to replenish. When you're a lactating mother, it's always replenishing.
“Some women find that when you're not nursing and your metabolism changes, they keep weight more persistently or they gain. Others don't. We all have our own experiences,” she says. If you do start to pick up pounds after weaning, don't panic.