Overproduction of Human Milk: Can Anything Be Done?

First published November 2017
Updated March 2026

In a world where social media is popular, it may seem as though many direct breastfeeding or pumping parents are making bottles and bottles of milk. Is more milk really better though? The answer is “no.”

Overproduction of human milk, also called hyperlactation syndrome, occurs when a pumping or breastfeeding parent makes significantly more milk than their own baby needs, often 2-3 times more. This can lead to difficulties and/or challenges for both the parent and the infant.

For providing parents, this can lead to breast pain, discomfort, engorgement, or clogged ducts from breasts being overly full, especially if a meeting runs late, they get stuck in traffic, or if their baby sleeps a little longer than usual. These parents are also at an increased risk of developing mastitis, which is painful breast tissue inflammation or infection, that may require antibiotics to treat. Overproduction can also lead to frequent leaking of milk from the breasts even when a parent is not feeding or pumping. Although this is not physically painful, it can be uncomfortable.

For babies, overproduction can lead to breastfeeding difficulties, including coughing, choking, and unlatching due to milk coming out of the breast too quickly. Babies may also bite down to try to stop or slow milk flow, which causes nipple pain for the parent as well. Overproduction can also lead to reflux from drinking too quickly and sometimes too much. Finally, digestive issues, such as gas and green stools can occur when a baby drinks too much foremilk, which is high in lactose, and not enough hindmilk, which is high in fat.

What should you do if you are an overproducer?

If you are breastfeeding, treatment may include pumping a small amount of milk before latching your baby, holding your baby in a different position while breastfeeding and/or block feeding, which is breastfeeding from one breast only for 3-4 hours before switching to the other breast.

If you are pumping, treatment may include decreasing the number of times you pump each day and/or decreasing the amount of time you pump each session.

If your baby is coughing or choking at the breast or if you have painful breasts with a fever, please contact a healthcare provider and certified lactation consultant immediately. Certified lactation consultants are also experts at creating a plan to best fit your needs.

Whether you are breastfeeding or pumping milk for your baby to bottle feed, the goal should be to decrease your supply just enough to be comfortable while still having enough to feed your baby.

Finally, any parent with an oversupply is encouraged to consider donating to a Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) facility. These facilities provide milk to medically fragile and extremely premature infants, and we are truly grateful for its availability.