The 3-month breastfeeding crisis: What it is, and how to get through it

Often, when breastfed babies are around three months old, something changes. Sometimes called a "breastfeeding crisis", the symptoms can vary. But they can include an infant suddenly crying or fussing at the breast, refusing to latch, or popping on and off.

Because this behaviour often comes with other shifts – such as breasts feeling softer and less "full", or leaking less often, than they did before – many mothers think that they're no longer making enough milk.

That's rarely what's going on, say lactation specialists. And beginning to offer formula milk at that stage (or trying other tricks, like "stretching out" the time between feeds) can undermine supply and cut a breastfeeding journey short.

So what are the signs of the three-month breastfeeding crisis, what causes it – and if you want to keep breastfeeding, what can you do instead?

Signs you're in a three-month breastfeeding crisis – and why it's happening

First, lactation specialists say, it's not something that happens right at three months – and it doesn't happen for all babies. If it happens, it generally occurs when babies are around three to four months old. And it can last for a day or two, or for a month.

Around that time frame, changes happen in the mother's body. If mothers once felt the milk ejection reflex – the little tingle at the start of a feed when milk begins to be released – that feeling often fades around the three-month mark. Mothers also sometimes stop leaking between feeds.

Most of all, says Emma Pickett, an international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) based in the UK, breasts can start to feel less "full".

"When we get to three months, it's really common for people's supply to regulate and to have that feeling of softness, and for the breast to not feel engorged and full, even if you're going a while between feeds. And for a lot of parents, that's super scary," she says. "They don't have that feeling of heaviness, and they assume that it means supply reduction."

But that's not what it means, she says: instead, it's a natural change that occurs as the body becomes better able to regulate its milk production.

For the same reason, mothers who pump may also see that they suddenly produce less milk than they used to, says Olivia Hinge, a UK-based international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and midwife.

"People around three months have a go and suddenly think, 'Oh my goodness. I used to be able to pump 120mL at the drop of a hat, and now I've got 20mL. And that's normal – our supply regulates itself," she says. "Our body doesn't know, early on, whether we've got one baby, two babies, three babies. The more we request, the more we're given, in simplistic terms.

"So in those early weeks, you can pump a lot, whereas later on, your body [thinks], 'I know exactly what your baby needs. I know how your baby is growing." That customisation of your milk production to your specific baby – and the fact that the body often responds more effectively to a baby's suckling, rather than a pump – both can mean that women start pumping less.

Some mothers might also get their periods back around the same time. While this can also make them think that their body is no longer producing enough milk, that is untrue. There is no link between a mother's menstrual cycle returning and her ability to make breastmilk.

Whether or not the mother's breasts or body have changed, something else often does at this stage: the baby themselves.

"Babies change," says Pickett. "Babies get much faster on the breast, so babies who may have fed for 40 minutes suddenly feed for eight minutes."

That can make families feel like the baby is no longer getting "enough" milk. But that's not usually what's going on – instead, babies have just gotten a lot better at feeding. "They're much more efficient. They get the milk that they want quicker, more easily, so they're not spending hours at the breast," says Hinge.

They also go through developmental changes around the same time that make them more aware of the world around them… and more interested in it, she says. "You put them to the breast, as you did before, and they're like, I don't want that. I'm not going to just suck that, thanks. I'm going to look around at what's going on in the world. And it's this changing child who you used to be able to just shove in your breasts and they would suck – and now they're like, I don't want that."

Babies also start breastfeeding far more frequently at certain times – sometimes called "cluster feeding" – to try to stimulate more milk production, points out Helen Ball, director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre, UK and a researcher who studies infant lactation. This is often just ahead of, or while they are having, a growth spurt. And growth spurts can be typical around the three-month mark.

Societal expectations also can play a role, experts note. Some people believe that, by the three-month mark, their baby should be sleeping a certain number of hours without a feed overnight. This is untrue. But if a baby wakes more often, parents sometimes think it's because they're hungry – and not getting enough milk at the breast.

When milk production could be a problem

Still, for some women, there are a couple of reasons why supply could be reducing, specialists say.

One reason is that, by this 12-week mark, many babies have been encouraged to start "sleeping through the night". But, points out Helen Ball, director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre and a researcher who studies infant lactation and sleep, feeding a newborn is even "more important at night – because you produce more prolactin at night". In some cases, cutting those night feeds may undermine milk production.

For pumping mothers, especially, another cause can be reducing the number of pumping sessions over time. The less often milk is removed from the breast, the less milk breasts begin to make.

And in some cases, attempts to lose weight gained during pregnancy – particularly through extreme methods, such as a crash diet – could impact supply.

But usually, lactation experts say, a dip in milk production isn't what's behind the three-month breastfeeding crisis. And even if it is (or could be), they advise the same next steps.

What to do during the three-month breastfeeding crisis

First, they say, don't panic. And remember that most of the "signs" we think are telling us we are losing our supply actually don't mean that. 

"The baby, one whole morning, is very grumpy, doesn't want to feed, is hitting you, all the rest of it – you think 'Oh my God, what's wrong?' And you just escalate into, 'My milk supply's gone. I'm going to give a bottle,'" says Hinge. "And you've done all this within an eight-hour period. Whereas what we actually need to be able to do is be like, 'It's okay. Let's have a look at what the whole picture is,'" she says.

"And I think it's trying not to give a bottle as an emergency solution, because this isn't an emergency. A baby who's gaining weight well and is clinically well, meeting milestones – this is not an emergency. This is maybe, 'I should drop by a health visitor or a paediatrician, get my baby weighed, be reassured."

If you are concerned about your supply, continuing to feed your baby responsively – according to your baby's cues, rather than a schedule – is important. If you are pumping, continue to do so frequently, rather than dropping sessions. And remember that "the vast majority of people who are worried about milk production have a cause that is fixable," says Pickett. "Most of the people that will come to me who have milk production issues, it's connected to positioning and attachment – the baby's just not attached properly. There's something going on with latching. Once that's been corrected, production goes back to what we would hope."

If you are concerned about your milk production, speak to an IBCLC. But, Hinge emphasises, the three-month breastfeeding crisis probably has nothing to do with your breastmilk – it's the changes both your body, and your baby, are going through.

"Your breastfeeding has turned on its head, and it's very, very normal – but it really can undermine your confidence in your ability to make enough milk," says Hinge.

At UNICEF, we know that breastfeeding can be challenging. And we believe that, with support, breastfeeding can be possible. This is why we advocate for institutions, societies and systems to provide more support so that women who want to breastfeed to be able to breastfeed – for example, by increasing investment in programs that support breastfeeding, implementing policies such as paid maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks, and offering breastfeeding counselling as part of routine health coverage.