Mothers who are young, who lack support from family or friends, or who have a bad experience breastfeeding a previous baby are particularly likely to lack confidence. Promotion of infant formula and giving free samples also makes mothers doubt the adequacy of their milk supply. These different conditions may lead a mother to give complementary feeds too early. A mother who dislikes breastfeeding, who is tired, or who rejects her baby may have difficulty in responding to him. She may not hold him close enough so he does not attach well, or she may feed him infrequently or for a short time.
Acute stress can temporarily reduce the flow of breastmilk, so that it appears to dry up .
There is however no evidence that chronic stress reduces the milk supply long term, and with support a mother can continue breastfeeding. Think about these if no common reason can be found, and if giving the mother the usual kinds of help and support is not successful, and her baby continues not to gain weight adequately. Continue to see the mother weekly until she has gained confidence and the baby is gaining weight satisfactorily. Breastfeeding is an intrinsically vulnerable process. Mothers anywhere in the world are in need of consistent and continuous support to successfully breastfeed their baby.