Why are my breasts leaking and spraying?
This is a natural, albeit often embarrassing, part of breastfeeding caused when your breasts become too full or when your letdown reflex kicks in unexpectedly (for instance, when another baby in the room starts to cry).
Leaking is often just a matter of having too much milk and that problem solves itself almost completely over the first six to ten weeks of breastfeeding.
Some women never leak, while others leak a little from one breast during almost every feeding.
But mornings - when your milk supply is the fullest - tend to be leaky for many women throughout nursing.
Rest assured, though, that the first weeks of nursing, as you're establishing the right milk supply for your baby, are be the leakiest, and the problem diminishes after that.
How can I control this problem?
There's no sure-fire way to avoid it.
Nursing or expressing before your breasts become too full does help.
If you're really experiencing far too much milk production in the early days of nursing, nurse often and experiment with different positions.
It won't really lower your production, but it will help you find a breastfeeding rhythm that's right for you and your baby.
You can't control your leakage and milk overflow, but you can plan for it.
If one breast always leaks when your baby is nursing on the other, be ready with a cloth or breast pad inside your nursing bra.
When you're out and about, either with or without baby, always carry an extra top or wear prints that may camouflage a milk stain.
If you feel a letdown at an inopportune time, cross your arms and hug yourself, pressing gently against your breasts. This should stop the flow.
Finally, do wear nursing pads inside your bra, but make sure you change them when they become damp so bacteria can't breed on your nipples.
Until you and your baby settle into a good supply and demand nursing relationship, just remember, your leaking breasts probably mean your body is just really enthusiastic about making milk for your baby.