[eleven]

Hi All,

I'm having trouble with my supply and the LC has suggested taking Domperidone to increase my supply. I'm really not keen but starting to feel desperate about it. My baby is 18 days old now and I'm not producing anywhere near enough to satisfy him. He was over 5kg at birth and then spent 10 days in special care for respiratory and digestion issues. I wasn't allowed to touch him for 5 days but started hand expressing and then pumping by the 4th day. He had a feeding tube and the nursery gave him what little I had expressed but he was basically formula fed.
I'm pumping every 2 hours now and 4 hours at night but getting only 20-50mls at a time. (combined from both breasts).
Our bub is supposed to eat 120mls every 3 hrs ( based on birth weight) but he's not getting anything close to it. He's a sleepy baby and eats a maximum of 100mls (ebm or formula) every 3 hrs. I try to keep him awake but whether it's breast or bottle he falls asleep by about 50 mls.
I'm starting to feel very teary about not being able to provide for my child. All I've ever wanted was to be a mum and this whole experience has been totally different to what I imagined...
Don't get me wrong- I'm totally in love with my baby but stressed and worried that I'm not able to give him what he needs.
Has anyone tried Domperidone ? Were there side effects? Did it work for you?

Thanks...

[Winterdanceparty]

The baby can get more milk out than a pump can, so please try to not worry too much. If you breastfeed your bub about every 2 hours around the clock, your supply will increase. The more milk you get out, the more you make and suckling the breast by your baby is better than a pump. Some mums are able to increase their supply with Domperidone, but feeding more frequently is really the solution.
Was the lactation consultant an International Board Lactation Consultant, because these women are the best and have been trained very thoroughly, unlike some others who have not had the training. How many times in the 24 hour period are you breastfeeding your baby, because many babies at this age are having 17 feeds, with the average being 11 feeds.

[Winterdanceparty]

I just re-read your post and it looks like your are feeding your baby every 3 hours. Could you feed him every 2 hours around the clock and see how you go. Your body starts to make more milk, while you are feeding him what you have.

[eleven]

Hi, thanks for your replies... I've tried feeding every 2 hrs but he won't stay awake. The formula makes him want to sleep for 4 hours!

[lucky 2]

I get the point that he is sleepy, still try to offer the breast as much as possible but I know there are limits, ie he falls asleep and doesn't drink! So no point having him on the breast when he is asleep, that wont boost supply!
How about increasing the expressions (ie 2-3 hourly/after feeds), are you expressing each breast at least twice, ie switching from side to side when the flow slows?
Are you using a hospital grade electric pump? These are the most suitable for your needs.
When baby is feeding are you stripping him off, using touch and breast squeezes to help stimulate him to drink more before falling asleep? This can help.
Using domperidone is considered when you are doing everything you can to boost supply and it's not working.
I've put in a link to the RWH website (Melb) about supply and domperidone, I hope it answers some of your questions.
Could you call up your LC for a chat about it if you are nervous.
Ideally it's best to do whatever you can to boost supply now rather than keeping it dragging along with no improvements.
All the best.
http://www.thewomens.org.au/Domperidonefor...reastmilksupply
http://www.thewomens.org.au/Lowmilksupply

[axiomae]

No side effects when I was taking it - found it a godsend, honestly. Helped me continue breastfeeding when my supply was so low DD was basically all on formula. With expressing, frequent feeding etc I only need a few formula top ups a day. Well worth it

[sakura73]

Oh OP, that feeling of not being able to nourish your child is so heartbreaking, I know. Remember there is no shame in comp feeding: every bit of breast milk helps and it doesn't matter if he gets some breast milk and some formula.

I took the domperidone eagerly after I realised at 2 weeks that DS was going backwards in weight because my supply was low. I felt like a failure having to give formula, and cried many many tears. I was fortunate to have access to a great lactation consultant who helped me increase my supply.

As a PP said, the baby can get more out than a pump, but you sound like you definitely need to up your supply if you are only getting 50mls. I was the same: could get very little out with a pump. My baby was also sleepy, because he was actually undernourished and lacked energy.

I was told to give him the breast, then 30ml formula, then the breast again, so that he got his nourishment overall but was encouraged to get as much as possible from the breast. A bottle requires a different sucking action from the breast, so you need to make sure he learns to suck both ways. See a lactation consultant for sure. After my supply was up I stopped supplementing every feed and only supplemented a few times and then, finally, once a day.

So - to the drugs. I took 2 pills 3 times a day, plus 3 fenugreek tablets 3 times a day (available most cheaply from Chemist Warehouse). Within a couple of weeks I had gone from being able to express 20ml to being able to express more than 100 ml at a time (I only have one functioning breast). So I really really urge you to get the prescription. Don't get them give you 1-3 tablets a day, you really need the 6 to make a difference. I did not really notice any side effects from the domperidone. The fenugreek makes your wee smell sweet and your sweat a bit onion-y. Small price to pay!

Even with the drugs I still never had quite enough and ended up giving one bottle of formula (Bellamys) a day just before bed. That way I knew he was getting enough food but all but one of his feeds was from me.

One great thing about comp feeding is that your baby learns to take a bottle early, so you will be glad later on when you are able to express milk for him and leave him with his dad or other family. I could never have believed I would ever look back on the early weeks and be grateful DS needed formula supplementing, but I am glad now because he was able to transition easily to expressed breast milk once I went back to work.

Best of luck to you. It is hard work but for me it was really worth it. Please feel free to PM me or ask other questions. I am definitely a domperidone fan!

[chrisl]

I used it with my first child and it worked and there were no side effects. It was prescribed by a paed, I took the medical advice over the 'well meaning' advice about round the clock feeding. Baby gained weight quickly, I weened her completely off formula (I had to give her formula as well as BF because my supply was so low). She's now a healthy six year old.

[ZCE]

Domperidone is the only thing that kept my DD in breast milk for the first 7 months of her life (mastititis killed my supply at 7 months).

DD lost 12% of her birth weight by day 3 as she was a sleepy baby and a terrible feeder. By 4 weeks i'd given up feeding from the breast as she'd fall asleep or feed for an hour only to down a full bottle of expressed milk because she was starving and hadn't taken much out. I was feeding for 40 - 60 minutes, giving a expressed milk top up after, then possibly a formula top up if it wasn't enough then i'd have to sit and express.

My supply was ridiculously low so by 4 weeks i was solely expressing and bottle feeding and on domperidone. It allowed me to make enough to only supplement with 1 bottle of formula a day.

[lucky 2]

Don't get them give you 1-3 tablets a day, you really need the 6 to make a difference.

I can't remember the details but I think the dosage recommendations are changing, lowering, if I remember correctly there was a notification about domperidone.
So you can't do more than take medical advice about the dosages of domperidone, which should be based on current knowledge.
I'm trying to find the source of that information, can't find it yet.