For anyone who knows me, they know I am incredibly passionate about breastfeeding. It’s almost a little scary how much I could sit and talk about breastfeeding with just about anyone. I mean, when you think about it, your body has the ability to feed and grow an ENTIRE human being! That’s pretty amazing! I’ve often said that if men birthed babies or even breastfed babies, it would be on TV every Sunday, sponsored by some big car company.

We as women are fascinating creatures and I think deep down we all know that. Yet, we are told at every twist and turn during pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, and postpartum to question this. Think about it: your body was built to create, grow, and feed a human being. Despite that, women are being scheduled for inductions at 37 weeks, and treated like someone who is “sick” the moment they arrive at the hospital. After delivery there is someone there to “teach” them how to breastfeed, when, if they were just given the time to do the Breast Crawl (something we’ll talk about in an upcoming blog), they could easily have a successful breastfeeding relationship. And don’t even get me started on friends and family during the postpartum period with their guidance, suggestions, and opinions.

Today we’re going to focus on one of the questions I get the most from breastfeeding mommas out there… and one that proves, once again, that women are given WAY TOO MUCH unnecessary information when it comes to breastfeeding their babies, fostering only doubt and anxiety.

“A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. This has never been so true as in the ongoing debate about foremilk and hindmilk and their impact on breastfeeding. The misunderstandings around these concepts have caused anxiety, upset and even led to breastfeeding problems and premature weaning.”

- Nancy Mohrbacher, Breastfeeding Made Simple

“How do I know if my baby is nursing long enough at each breast to get the important hindmilk?”

Ahhh… the good ole FOREMILK HINDMILK debate…

If you type the words foremilk and hindmilk into Google, the first predictive search that shows up is “foremilk hindmilk imbalance.”

It’s true.

Go ahead, try it!

I’ll wait…

Scary stuff, huh?

If you take the time to look at one of those myriad articles you will find it is no wonder that new moms are completely stressed out about breastfeeding. I mean, I would be too! Because we all want is what’s best for our babies, so we want ALL THE INFORMATION! But we have to stop looking outside of ourselves, our babies, and our maternal instinct for answers.

So, let’s talk about FOREMILK and HINDMILK.

Do they exist?

That’s a tricky question.

We have come to know both as something that shows up at a particular time during a nursing session. How many times have you been told my nurses, family, or well-meaning friends that you have to nurse for at least 15-20 minutes per breast to make sure your baby gets both? Yes, it is true that the milk that comes at the beginning of a nursing session typically has a higher water and sugar content, and that the milk that comes at the end of a nursing session has a higher fat content. However. there are exceptions to this rule. And more importantly, what we’re often forgetting is babies need BOTH.

Foremilk does come at the beginning of a breastfeeding session and is also power-packed with antibodies and glyconutrients (healthy sugars that kill cancer cells and feed the developing immune system). And as your baby begins to nurse, that milk gradually changes. It becomes more and more dense in healthy fat which feeds the cells of the rapidly developing brain and body of your baby.

So, we’re back to the question…

“How do I know if my baby is nursing long enough at each breast to get the important hindmilk?”

Well, here’s my answer to new mommas:

If you are emptying your breast, then your baby is getting both foremilk and hindmilk. And remember, foremilk doesn’t flow from your breast for a certain amount of time and then is abruptly switched over to hindmilk, so you can’t watch the clock to know when this happens. It’s fluid (literally), so at any time, depending on your supply, your nursing frequency, etc., your baby can be getting fore- or hindmilk.

Breastfeeding is a closed system, so it makes it hard to know what is happening and when there are changes in consistency. It’s one of the things a lot of breastfeeding moms struggle with when nursing.

“If I could only see how much he’s getting.”

“If I could only see if it’s thin milk or thick milk.”

This is something we can’t control. What we can control is HOW we choose to feed our baby.

Allowing your baby to feed on demand is the best way to ensure your baby gets both foremilk and hindmilk. There will be times when baby will nurse for just a few minutes, and this can be for what we refer to as a “snack” or for comfort, getting only foremilk. And there will be times when baby will nurse for close to 20 minutes and empty your breast, getting both fore- and hindmilk. There will also be times (new moms ALWAYS reach out with concern about this) when it seems like baby is nursing around the clock. Cluster feeding! And these times, depending on how close the feedings are (more often than 2-3 hours between feedings), your baby will be getting fattier (hindmilk) at the beginning of their feeding.

Your baby is the only one who knows what’s going on in this closed system and should drive the process.

My pumping moms know this because they can see how milk is ever-changing. From day to day, moment to moment, and for breastfeeding babies, swallow to swallow.

Just like the picture below… Look at how different those two bags of milk look! Taken only a few days apart.

Your milk’s ever-changing consistency is why I suggest the 3-bottle system for pumping moms.

The bottom line is this; if your baby is nursing 8-12 times a day, having the appropriate number of wet diapers, and is gaining weight, then the best thing you can do is stop worrying and enjoy the special time you have with your little one. Breastfeeding is such a beautiful relationship with precious memories and feelings that will last with you for a lifetime. Don’t try to micromanage it by keeping track of every feeding, duration, and nursing side. Just bring your baby to your breast when you see one of their early feeding cues and trust the one thing you gained the moment your baby was placed in your arms: your mother’s intuition.