If you’re like many lactating parents, at some point, you may experience a drop in milk production. This can make nursing and pumping challenging, but don’t lose heart! Some nursing parents have successfully increased their milk supply through power pumping.
Also called cluster pumping, power pumping encourages your body to produce more breast milk by mimicking cluster feeding, wherein your baby has shorter feedings more frequently than usual. Because breastfeeding functions as a supply and demand system—meaning the more milk your body thinks your baby needs, the more it will make—both cluster feeding and power pumping signal to the body that there’s more demand, which can lead to a higher milk supply.
Who Should Try Power Pumping?
The power pumping technique is only recommended for lactating parents who need to increase their milk supply. If you’re already producing enough milk and you practice cluster pumping, you may develop an oversupply which can lead to breast engorgement and painful swelling. Also avoid this method if your baby is already in the habit of cluster feeding, which is generally more effective for increasing milk supply than power pumping.
Before Power Pumping, Consider Why Your Supply Has Dropped
Before you determine how to increase breast milk supply, you may want to investigate why your supply dropped in the first place. Although a decline in milk production is perfectly normal (especially 6-12 weeks after your baby is born, as your milk supply regulates to their needs), the issue might be simpler than you realize. Your breast pump may have a broken part, or perhaps your baby isn’t latching properly. Before trying power pumping, check in with your pump manufacturer or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant to make sure it’s the right solution for you.
How To Power Pump
After you determine that power pumping is the correct option for you, it’s time to figure out your power pumping schedule. While there are no strict rules regarding timing or duration, the idea is to replace one or two of your regular pumping sessions with a power pumping session. That can look like:
pump 20 minutes
rest 10 minutes
pump 10 minutes
rest 10 minutes
pump 10 minutes
The length of time and number of sessions you’ll need each day will depend on your body—while some lactating parents see results after a couple days of single one-hour sessions, others might need to power pump for two hours per day for a week to see an increase in supply. Be patient with yourself, and remember to take breaks during every power pumping session to avoid soreness and fatigue.
Helpful Tips
Because you will probably want to power pump for at least an hour at a time, electric pumps work best… simply because manual pumping for that length of time could tire out your hands! You might also consider double pumping: using both breasts for each power pumping session. Remember that we have a range of insurance-covered options to suit your needs! And finally, try to make power pumping as pleasant for yourself as possible. Set up a pumping station in your home, watch your favorite show or listen to an interesting podcast, and be kind to yourself. A decline in milk supply can be frustrating, but after 2-7 days of power pumping, you may see results. Hang in there, and remember that we’re always here to help.
Power pumping is often recommended to women that are trying to increase their milk supply. One advantage of power pumping is that it doesn’t require trying any new supplements or medications, and anyone can do it. Here is everything you need to know to try it out.
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What is power pumping? How can power pumping help me increase my milk supply?
Power pumping attempts to mimic cluster feeding, but with a breast pump. (This is why it’s also called “cluster pumping.”)
When a nursing baby cluster feeds, he stays at the breast, nursing on and off and trying to get more milk. Often, this happens in the early evenings – both because that’s when babies start to tank up for a longer stretch of sleep and because breastfeeding mothers tend to have lower milk supply at that time. It also happens when babies have a growth spurt, and they need more milk than they normally do.
Because breast milk works as a supply and demand system – meaning that the more milk your body thinks your baby needs, the more it will make – the baby staying at the breast signals the body that there is more demand, which often leads to a higher milk supply.
Power pumping breast milk is just your pump staying at the breast and trying to get more milk, instead of your baby. (Fortunately, your pump is likely to be less fussy than a hungry baby!)
How do I power pump to increase supply?
In order to power pump, you’ll want to sit down and pump on and off at an interval for about an hour. You can choose the interval that works for you – you can do 20 minutes first and then 10 minutes off and on, 12 minutes on and 8 off, 15 and 5, etc.
The amount of time doesn’t have to be exact – cluster feeding babies don’t nurse for exactly 15 minutes, take a 5 minute break, etc. All I would suggest is to get through your first letdown before you switch to resting, and if you’re pumping and in the middle of a letdown, I would keep pumping until it’s finished.
That’s pretty much all you have to do!
One power pumping session replaces one of your pumping sessions from your normal schedule, so you can just pump at your usual time, but for longer than you normally would and at intervals.
Note: If you’re power pumping and nothing is coming out, you should keep pumping! Your goal is to get another letdown, which will give you more milk.
How often should I power pump?
Once per day is great.
If you want to do twice and you can manage it, that’s fine, but make sure that you don’t pump so much that you get burned out and miserable. You are worth more to your baby than a few extra ounces of breast milk.
Is there a best time of day to do it?
Any time that you can dedicate an hour to pumping is fine.
Many women power pump in the early evening after putting their baby to bed, both because it’s easier to do it while baby is sleep and because babies often cluster feed around that time.
Can I power pump with a manual pump?
Yes. To use a manual pump when you cluster pump, you could pump each side for 12 minutes, and then switch back and forth on each side for 8 minutes. So instead of resting completely, each side takes a turn to rest.
As an example, you could do:
- Left side – 12 minutes
- Right side – 12 minutes
- Left side – 8 minutes
- Right side – 8 minutes
- Left side – 8 minutes
- Right side – 8 minutes
- Left side – 8 minutes
- Right side – 8 minutes
(If your hand gets tired, you can obviously take a few minutes to completely rest in between sides, too.)
How can I make power pumping easier?
Do something that you enjoy while you power pump! Pick a time when you can sit and relax a little bit (just, you know … with your breast pump). Watch a show you love, read a book, spend time looking at cat gifs, whatever makes you happy.
Make sure that you have a pumping station set up with everything you need, since you’ll be there awhile. Also, a hands-free bra is key – no one wants to spend an hour holding flanges up to their breasts.
If possible, don’t try to take care of a baby and power pump at the same time. I would try to save power pumping for when your baby is sleeping or you have help.
What are typical power pumping results? Does power pumping work?
It takes a few days for your body’s supply to respond to the increased demand from your breast pump. Try to power pump for at least four days in a row (up to a week of “power pumping boot camp”) and then evaluate how it’s going.
I did an extremely non-scientific poll on Instagram, and about 62% of women who responded said that it helped them.
Good luck! If you’ve tried power pumping, please feel free to share your experience in the comments!
Stressed about establishing or increasing your milk supply while exclusively pumping? Always worried there is something else you should be trying? Check out my milk supply guide here (use code SUPPLY for 10% off)!
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