Should You Be Breastfeeding And Sleeping On Your Stomach? – 5 Important Tips for Comfort

Breastfeeding is an important aspect of motherhood, and it is crucial to prepare for it during pregnancy one of the debates going on is breastfeeding and sleeping on your stomach. Breast milk provides numerous health benefits for the baby, and it is also a convenient and cost-effective way to feed your child.

As a breastfeeding mother, there are several steps you can take to ensure that you have a strong milk supply. However, many other factors can affect your milk supply, and as a new or first-time mom, you have control over these factors.

In this article, we will discuss some of the things you should avoid while breastfeeding and why they can impact your milk supply. By being conscious of these factors, you can ensure that your baby is getting the nutrition they need.

Should You Be Breastfeeding And Sleeping On Your Stomach?

As a new mother, you might be eager to resume your pre-pregnancy habits, such as sleeping on your stomach. However, if you plan to breastfeed your baby, it’s important to be aware of certain practices that can affect your milk supply and health.

Sleeping on your stomach is not recommended while breastfeeding because it can lead to clogged milk ducts and the development of mastitis, a painful inflammation of the breast tissue. This can have negative impacts on both you and your baby’s health.

Although it may be tempting to resume your old sleeping habits, it is important to prioritize your breastfeeding routine for the benefit of both you and your baby. In the following sections, we will discuss other things you should avoid while breastfeeding to ensure a healthy milk supply and overall well-being.

Negative Effects Of Sleeping On Your Stomach While Breastfeeding

While it is not forbidden to sleep on your stomach, it is strongly advised against when breastfeeding. When you lie on your stomach, you place unnecessary pressure on your breasts. This pressure compresses the breast and can block the milk flow from the milk ducts connected to your nipple, leading to clogged milk ducts.

When milk ducts are clogged, it becomes difficult for your baby to suckle, and your breast remains full of milk. The longer the milk stays in your breast, the more likely you are to develop breast engorgement, a condition in which your breasts become excessively full, painful, and hard.

Severe breast engorgement can lead to mastitis, which is an infection resulting from the inflammation of breast tissue. If left untreated, mastitis can worsen and lead to an abscess.

If you notice any of these symptoms, such as a lump, redness, or warmth in the breast, it is important to seek medical attention immediately. While mild cases of mastitis can be treated at home with frequent pumping of the breast, more severe cases may require antibiotics. Therefore, it is best to avoid sleeping on your stomach while breastfeeding to prevent such complications.

Alternative Sleeping Positions For Breastfeeding Moms

I have emphasized the dangers of sleeping on your stomach when breastfeeding, which can harm your milk supply and lead to clogged milk ducts. Instead, you should explore alternative sleeping positions for at least the first 3 months after giving birth.

During pregnancy, lying on your back was not advisable, but now you can comfortably lie on your back or choose your side. These are the best sleeping positions for a breastfeeding mom, and there are several options to try.

Here are some helpful sleeping positions to consider until you can comfortably sleep on your stomach again:

1. Side Lying

This is one of the easiest positions and possibly one of the most comfortable to sleep in.

If your breast is on the bigger side, when breastfeeding, it will be a lot bigger. This sleeping position will help you and be very comfortable for you. This sleeping position is also good for you if you have had a cesarean delivery. The side-lying position will help reduce the chance of having clogged milk ducts.

2. Reclining

To avoid severe engorgement, you can sleep in a reclining chair. The reclining position can help reduce the possibility of you rolling onto your stomach later in your sleep.

The elevated pillows can also help with the sensitive and tender nature of the breast at that early stage of breastfeeding.

3. Laid-back Position

You can adopt the laid-back position to avoid milk getting stuck in your breast. If you choose to feed your baby from this position, it will be of great benefit to your baby because your baby will drink more milk in this position.

You can keep your back upright or tilt your back. Research shows that lying on your back can be beneficial to you as a mother.

This position can also be of great benefit to you if you had a cesarean section. You will have uninterrupted sleep even when breastfeeding. 

4. Lying on your back

This position can be uncomfortable, but what’s a little discomfort if you can avoid greater pain? It is good for those who don’t want to have to adjust their sleeping position.

It is also good for you if you have a twin, or your sleep gets frequently interrupted. To ease discomfort, use pillows to support certain areas of your body, like your neck or your knee. 

How To Treat Severe Engorgement At Home

To treat your engorgement, start by avoiding wearing a bra. This is because a bra may compress your breasts and make your swelling worse.

Here are different ways you can treat your engorgement. Please note that whatever treatment you choose, it is important to repeat the process every two- or three hours day and night until your engorgement subsides and your milk is freely flowing again.

Do not do anything or eat anything that will increase your milk supply and worsen your engorgement. 

1. Cold treatment

If your breast engorgement makes your breasts feel very hard and full, it’s possible that it’s not just milk that’s blocked in it and making it swell. When your breast is engorged, your breast tissue expands and becomes painful. It is important to reduce the swelling so that milk flow can resume.

I would advise you to try cold treatment first before doing anything else. Use an ice cube in a wrapped ice bag and cover your breast with the wrapped ice cube bag. You can ask someone to assist you.

Do not place the ice cube directly on your breast.

Repeat the process till the engorgement is reduced. 

2. Heat treatment

You can try heat treatment. It can help to loosen a tight full breast. The breast heat treatment can be more effective if you take a warm shower and soak the breast in warm water. Make the shower warm enough so that steam rises.

If heat is helpful to you, then you can also try using a disposable diaper. Wet the inside with warm water and wrap it around your breast. Remove the diaper when it gets cold, and repeat the treatment till your engorgement is resolved. 

3. Milk removal

You can choose to remove milk from your engorged breasts by pumping after the heat or cold treatment has reduced the hardening of your breasts. When the engorgement is still mild, breastfeeding is the fastest way to empty your breasts to avoid any severe cases of engorgement.

How To Make Night-Time Breastfeeding Easy

To make your nighttime breastfeeding easy, start by not lying on your stomach. Lying on your stomach might not work well for you because it can trigger milk letdown and cause discomfort.

Get a good bra that will support your breasts when you are sleeping. This will help to reduce the discomfort from your breast milk and also absorb the leaking. Get a soft cotton bra.

Use moisture-wicking bamboo sheets for extra comfort

This will help with sweating, leaking and all kinds of changes your body might be going through. You will go through some hormonal transitions postpartum, so having sheets that don’t leave you wet and too hot is key for your comfort. 

1. Adopt night-time feeding

Be consistent with night-time breastfeeding. It is very important if you want your body to produce more milk. Night-time feeding will help your body produce more prolactin, which will increase your milk supply. The more your body produces milk, and your baby empties it, the more chances you have to prevent milk stagnation that can cause clogged milk ducts. 

2. Make your environment conducive

How the environment is will go a long way to making breastfeeding comfortable for you at night.

You don’t want your baby to think it’s morning, so keep your room as dark and quiet as possible, so it’s easier for your baby to fall back to sleep.

You can use a night light or flashlight in a low-brightness setting.

3. Don’t always check time

This can make you impatient with your baby. If you start keeping track of how long your baby has sucked, you will get bored, and it will ruin how you feel.

4. Keep things close

It will be easier for you when you wake up at night to have everything you will need close to you. It will be inconvenient to go up and down with your baby in the middle of the night.

5. Stay close to your baby

Allow your baby to sleep in the same room as you. Until your baby is at least a year old, sleeping in the same room as your baby will help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. This will also save you the stress of walking from one room to another.

You can consider sharing your bed with your baby when older than six months, but be conscious and take some safety measures. It will not be healthy for you to smoke in the room. Your baby is still young, and you may not know how well your baby will tolerate inhaling smoke.

This action will limit the risks to newborns while they are sleeping. It also saves a lot of energy and time for mothers.

6. Wear nightgowns you can easily open

You don’t want to start taking your entire outfit off just to breastfeed, especially in cold weather, so wearing a nightgown that can be easily opened to access your breast would be more convenient.

If you choose to wear a bra, wear a bra that is not too tight. When your bra compresses your breast, it leads to clogged milk ducts as well. 

How To Boost Milk Supply For Breastfeeding

1. Breastfeeding

When you notice that you have either laid on your breast or worn a bra too tight and it has affected your milk supply, continue to breastfeed, as this will help you build your supply. Effective, frequent breastfeeding can help to stimulate your milk supply.

Try to end each breastfeeding session well so your baby will have a positive memory of breastfeeding. You shouldn’t feed just one side of your breast to your baby.

Move your baby from one side to the other. This won’t just help your baby enjoy the feeding process; it will also help to increase the volume of the milk supply. 

2. Pumping

When you pump your breasts regularly, you send your body a message to increase the supply of milk. Use a hospital-grade double electric breast pump. It will help increase your milk supply. 

3. Galactagogue use

You can try using Galactagogue. A galactagogue is a substance known to increase a mother’s milk supply in conjunction with breastfeeding and pumping. The herbal supplement fenugreek is a popular galactagogue. The usual dose is three capsules taken with food three times a day.

Fenugreek is also available as a tea: To avoid a low blood sugar reaction, capsules should be taken with food.

Last Words

It cannot be stressed enough that the position you sleep in can have a significant impact on the production of breast milk. Sleeping on your stomach puts undue pressure on your breasts, which can lead to bigger problems such as clogged milk ducts and even mastitis. It’s important to avoid subjecting yourself to such pain and discomfort.

Instead, it’s recommended that you choose more suitable sleeping positions such as reclining, side-lying, or lying flat on your back. Anything but sleeping on your stomach. By avoiding this position, you’ll not only save yourself from the pain of a blocked milk supply but also help your baby feed well and efficiently.

If you’ve already made the mistake of sleeping on your stomach and have noticed a low supply of breast milk, it’s important to take action right away. Try methods to increase your milk supply, or if the situation has progressed to clogged milk ducts, seek treatment as soon as possible.