Relactation means producing breast milk again after you’ve stopped nursing. And yes, it’s possible. In fact, you may be able to produce breast milk even if you’ve never breastfed before – this is called induced lactation. It takes time and commitment; you’ll need to pump as often as 8 to 12 times a day. But you may be able to produce enough breast milk to exclusively feed your baby. Or you may produce enough to provide your baby with the benefits of breast milk while supplementing with formula.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- What is relactation?
- Can breast milk come back after drying up?
- How long will relactation take?
- Is relactation safe?
- What are some of the reasons women try to relactate?
- What about induced lactation?
- Relactation tips
What is relactation?
Relactation means restarting breastfeeding after stopping. You may have stopped for weeks or months, or it may be years since you last breastfed. The process takes time and dedication, but it’s doable.
When you relactate, you may eventually produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed your baby. Or you may produce enough to nourish your baby with some breast milk while supplementing with formula. (Even small amounts of breast milk are beneficial!) Relactation also enables you to have a breastfeeding relationship with your baby.
To relactate, you need to take two steps to signal your body that it needs to produce milk:
- Nipple stimulation – about 8 to 12 times every 24 hours. Infant suckling is generally most successful, though relactation usually involves a combination of nursing, pumping and/or hand expressing. Nurse or pump on each breast at each session, at least 10 to 15 minutes on each side, including at night.
- Complete and frequent removal of the milk your breasts produce. If there is any milk left in your breast after nursing, remove it with hand expressing or pumping.
Can breast milk come back after drying up?
Yes, it’s possible to start over with breastfeeding after stopping. Even if you’re not able to exclusively breastfeed and need to provide your baby with supplemental formula, you may be able to produce some milk for them.
Relactation is easiest for women who recently stopped breastfeeding and for whom breastfeeding was initially well established in the weeks after delivery. It’s also most successful with babies who are less than 3 months old. But most women can relactate, even if they haven’t breastfeed for years – and even after menopause. (In fact, even if you’ve never breastfed, you may be able to induce lactation – see below.)
How long will relactation take?
Relactation can begin with the first drops of milk in as little as a few days, but it may take weeks or even months. It will depend on:
- How long it’s been since you stopped lactating previously (the shorter the gap the easier it is for your body to pick up again)
- The age of your baby (a younger baby will often breastfeed more easily than an older baby)
- The willingness of your baby to breastfeed (if your baby’s been bottle fed they may take some time to adjust)
- How much time you put into the process
- How much support you have (from family, friends, a lactation consultant, for example)
Here are some encouraging signs that your body is producing breast milk:
- Your breasts feel fuller and may leak milk.
- You’re able to express milk.
- Your baby gains weight while taking less supplement over time.
- Your baby’s stools are becoming softer (stools of breastfed baby are softer than those fed formula).
Is relactation safe?
Relactation is perfectly safe, but you’ll want to enlist the help of your baby’s doctor and/or a lactation consultant to make sure your baby is always receiving enough nourishment as you transition from formula to breast milk.
Babies generally need about 2.5 ounces of breast milk or formula daily per pound of body weight until they’re about 3 or 4 months old. And you can measure this if you’re bottle feeding your baby formula and/or breast milk. But things can get a little tricky when you’re also nursing and can’t measure how much breast milk your baby is getting. (You’ll gradually be replacing infant formula with breast milk and/or breastfeeding.)
Your doctor or lactation consultant can help you develop a schedule for transitioning to breast milk as your supply increases. During the process, they’ll make sure your baby is thriving by monitoring their weight gain, stool and urine output, and activity level (are they alert and avid nursers or are they lethargic?).
What are some of the reasons women try to relactate?
Some of the many reasons you may want to relactate include:
- Your baby was weaned early because of a medical procedure or illness.
- Breastfeeding wasn’t well established after birth, and you’d like to try again.
- You’d like to breastfeed a child you’ve adopted or who was born to a surrogate mother.
- You’d like to produce milk for a partner’s child. You may even want to share in the breastfeeding role by co-nursing the baby.
- Your baby isn’t tolerating formula.
- You want to breastfeed feed your baby during emergency situations, such as a time of natural disaster, formula shortage, or disease, such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
What about induced lactation?
If you’re going to adopt a baby or become a parent via surrogacy, you can still produce some breast milk for the baby. If you’ve nursed a baby before, the process may be a bit easier, but even if you’ve never nursed in the past, you can still produce at least some breast milk for your baby. Remember, however much milk you can produce will benefit your baby, even if you’re not able to exclusively breastfeed.
Your body produces hormones during pregnancy (estrogen and progesterone) and shortly after delivery (prolactin) that help your body produce milk. But with support, you can also produce milk, even if you’ve never been pregnant. In fact, you don’t need to have ovaries or a uterus to produce breast milk, because these hormones are produced by your pituitary gland, at the base of your brain.
Some women who know they’ll be adopting or becoming surrogate parents will take medication to help mimic pregnancy and/or other medication to later stimulate milk production at the same time they start pumping. There are a couple of methods using different medications and different timelines. Milk production takes an average of 4 weeks after you start pumping.
All of these medications have side effects – and they’re not all appropriate for all women. Your doctor can help develop the best plan for you. Be sure to ask about the pros and cons when considering the prescription.
You may be able to produce breast milk without taking medication simply by putting your baby to the breast. You’re less likely to produce significant amounts of breast milk this way, though, and the process may take even longer.
Relactation tips
Here are some tips for relactation success:
- Nurse often. The more often and longer your baby nurses, the more milk your body will produce. Feed your baby responsively, on demand, and continue feedings through the night. Your body produces more prolactin (a hormone that helps lactation) at night than during the day, so those overnight feedings really do count extra. Comfort feed your baby rather than offering a pacifier.
- Make sure your baby has a good latch. Their chin should touch your breast, and their mouth should be wide open, with the lower lip turned out (more of your areola should be visible above than below the baby’s mouth).
- Eat well and stay hydrated.
- Keep your baby close when possible. Skin-to-skin contact can help you both relax and may help your baby latch and nurse more effectively.
- Nurse your baby when they’re hungry but not so upset that they have trouble settling in to nurse.
- Nurse your baby before giving them their supplemental feeding.
- Invest in a supplemental nursing system (SNS). This isn’t mandatory, but it’s a good way for you to give your baby supplemental formula or breast milk while stimulating your breasts to produce milk. The formula or milk travels along thin tubes that are taped along your breasts to the ends of your nipples. Your baby receives the supplemental liquid, along with any breast milk you produce, when they suck. The flow can be adjusted so that the baby receives the formula after stimulating the breast with sucking.
- Give your baby their supplemental feeding from a cup or supplementer (SNS) rather than a bottle. This way they’ll associate suckling with the breast.
- Encourage milk production and letdown by doing breast massage while nursing.
- Try switch nursing (alternating breasts – nurse a few minutes on one breast before switching to the other, back and forth).
- Try cluster pumping once a day for a few days. This means pumping for an hour with a few short breaks. (You might pump for 20 minutes, wait 10 minutes, pump for 10 minutes, wait 10 minutes, pump for 10 minutes.) Try cluster pumping whenever you think you produce the most milk. Babies sometimes cluster feed when they’re having a growth spurt, to increase milk supply in a hurry. Maintain your regular nursing schedule as well. (If it’s difficult for you to come up with an hour for pumping, you can break the cluster pumping into two 30-minute sessions.)
- Try galactagogues (foods or beverages that reportedly increase milk supply). There’s no solid evidence that these work, but it won’t hurt to try. Foods recommended as galactagogues include oats, barley, garlic, seaweed, millet, papaya, pumpkin, sesame seeds, and almonds. There’s some evidence that certain herbs may help with milk production. Work with a knowledgeable healthcare provider or herbalist, though, because herbs can be potent (or even harmful), and they’re not well regulated.
- If your baby is less than about 6 months old, don’t give them other foods and drinks unless they need formula for supplementation.
- Empty your breasts completely to encourage production and to avoid plugged ducts and infections. Hand express or pump for a few minutes after nursing your baby.
- Check with your healthcare provider about any medications you’re taking, as some (such as estrogen-containing contraceptives and some diuretics) can reduce milk production. Your provider may be able to help you find an alternative treatment.
Even moms who have been breastfeeding all along sometimes experience problems with low milk supply. Many of the tips for increasing your milk supply may be helpful for you during relactation, too.
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