The fountain in the picture is in the city of Nuremberg (Germany) and depicts the six Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Courage, Temperance, and Patience, crowned by the figure of Justice. All 6 statues have “milk” in the form of water coming out of their breasts and spraying out.

Most women are worried about having too little breast milk, so this amount of milk is almost everyone’s dream: a free flow of milk sprays! Many mothers may wish for this, but when it happens, it can be really uncomfortable for the baby and the mother.

When breast milk sprays out, babies often have great difficulties coordinating sucking, breathing, and swallowing. They feel very uncomfortable and often seem to choke on the excessive amount of milk. This causes them to suckle uncomfortably or to pull away from the breast and cry desperately because of so much milk. It is not at all comfortable to have milk pouring down yourself continuously and to have to swallow and swallow to avoid choking.

Breast milk oversupply

Breast milk oversupply tends to happen and is common in the first months of the baby’s life, in mothers with oversupply, or when the mother is tandem breastfeeding. It usually improves and tends to disappear. The most important thing is to take measures if the baby is very uncomfortable because if you don’t do anything, the baby could refuse the breast completely because this situation is uncomfortable for them.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to prevent so much milk production from being an inconvenience. Here are some tips so, if this happens to you, you can find the one that works best for you:

• Let the milk come out: when the baby starts to suckle the breast, it sends a signal to the mother’s brain, and the milk ejection is triggered. This is the moment when breast milk starts to come out in a jet, and if you put your baby away during that moment, you just have to wait for the milk to stop flowing out.
• Pump or manually express: before putting your baby onto your breast, you can try to encourage milk let-down and, as in the previous point, let your milk flow out. Although it may seem counterproductive to pump because it may seem like you will produce more milk, limited stimulation at the beginning of the feed does not increase milk supply.
• Block with your hand: Place one hand flat on the top of your breast and press towards your ribs. This movement seems to stop breast milk from coming out and make it easier for your baby to swallow.
• Positioning: gravity can be a good ally. If you lean back and place your baby on top of you, breast milk will not come out as strongly, and it will be easier for your baby to swallow milk.

If the situation does not improve with all these measures and you think it may be affecting your breastfeeding, talk to your midwife, healthcare professional, or IBCLC lactation consultant so they can assess the situation and recommend contraceptives or sage herbal tea, which can slightly reduce milk supply.