08/09/2023
What’s the difference? I’m here tell you, not all that much. It’s all milk and all your milk is good for your baby! “Hindmilk” is referring to the fattier milk that comes later in the feeding, where as “foremilk” is the milk baby gets early in the feed.
The fat content in your milk is constantly changing throughout the day and even day to day. Some moms have very little difference between their foremilk and hindmilk. While other moms may notice very watery foremilk and much thicker or “fattier” appearing hindmilk. Not to worry, all of this milk is completely fine to feed your baby.
Some reasons that your baby may be getting more foremilk: timing or scheduling of feeding sessions, limiting time at each breast, not nursing or emptying effectively, an oversupply of milk. If your baby is happy, healthy, and growing then there is no reason to be concerned about this.
2 things you can do to help balance your milk:
✅ feed more frequently (the shorter the time between feeds.. the fattier the milk)
✅ massage or shake (yes! I said shake) your breast prior to nursing or pumping. This helps physically move those fat molecules into your milk. Just like shaking chocolate milk before you drink it.☺️
Like I said, if baby is happy and growing there is no reason to worry about this. If you feel it may be causing an issue, reach out to an IBCLC so they can help guide you!
