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Every time Maria Sarris of Kingston, Ont., went to feed her infant daughter the milk would flow so quickly, and there would be so much of it, that Gabriela would choke, splutter, come off the breast and wail. ?Nursing in front of other moms was really hard. People would say ?Is she OK" Is she really fussy today"? And I was like, ?every feed is a fussy feed.??
Sarris?s abundance of milk is known as oversupply, which is when you make significantly more milk than your baby needs, explains Halifax lactation consultant Cassie Kent. It often rears its head when the baby is between two weeks and three months old. True oversupply isn?t common­?often women think they have too much milk, but it?s more of an issue with how often they?re breastfeeding or the latch­?but it does happen.
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Figuring out what?s causing the spluttering and fussing takes a bit of detective work, and a lactation consultant can help. An overactive letdown?that firehose effect that happens when the milk comes down so forcefully, can be a sign of too much milk, but it could also be a sign of waiting too long between feeds, or a bad latch, potentially because of tongue-tie. ?The more milk is stored up in the breast...