My expressed milk has virtually no fat.

[@llli*hippehpanda]

I didn't think anything of the fact that my breastmilk has very little fat until I was reading around and someone else was talking about being worried they had too much fat and it seems that everyone else has at least an inch of cream/fat separate out their stored milk, mine is more of a thin film, like a decimeter thick.
I always make sure to completely empty each breast when I pump and usually end up with 6-8oz bottles. It takes around thirty to forty minutes to empty both and the color of my milk shifts noticeably from a clearer watery to a full white, but the next morning when I go into the fridge to get the milk it has barely any fat separated.
I know that there isn't anything I can eat to improve this, but other than pumping until empty is there anything else I can do to up my fat content?
Do I really need to? I mean is high fat that important?

[@llli*jenna562]

are you exclusively pumping or does baby nurse as well? Certain times your milk may have more fat and you just may pump more foremilk. Also how are baby's stools? Green and frothy or normal? I personally would Not borrow worry on this unless you notice that baby has an issue with weight gain, or poop.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Do you have oversupply?

[@llli*mommal]

I like Jenna's expression: don't borrow trouble on this issue unless baby is having a problem.

[@llli*hippehpanda]

He nurses as well, but he is also receiving formula during the afternoon. I know that most people here are against supplementation but it has been working very well for us.
His poops are normal, but pretty irregular. He has a bowel movement about once a day, sometimes every other day. He has plenty of wet diapers every day, and he is in the 94th percentile.

I think I may be a little more worried than I would be otherwise because mother has always told me about how she couldn't breastfeed me when I was born. Her milk was too thin and I couldn't put on any weight so I've always worried I would have the same problem. I don't have oversupply I don't think, but my workdays vary from 5 to 9 hour shifts and I can't always pump in the middle of the long shifts could that be causing a problem? Other than my discomfort of course.

[@llli*jenna562]

Mama, I don't think you have a problem! Your baby sounds healthy. I have a sneaking suspicion that your mom was dealt some poor information about nursing and that she would have been successful with the correct help. Try to pump for every missed feeding but don't worry about your milk quality, your baby is doing great.

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

The idea that some women's milk is inferior, doesn't have enough fat, or is too "thin" is really a myth. That said, if you pump when your breasts are very full, the milk will have a little less fat. But that's normal, and there's nothing "wrong" about it. I don't think you have a problem at all!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

If you mix your bottles, it helps balance out the fats.

I have a bad OS, and when I started pumping for my fourth baby, who couldn't nurse, I noticed this. Very little cream layer. But it was secondary to having a lot of milk. The other thing I noticed is if I pumped more often, I got more fat.

And I know they say you can't increase milk fat. But I would swear I noticed more cream when I drank coconut milk

However, from what you write, I bet all is well. I only worried about it because cleft babies usually have weight issues and are FTT, and our doctors were riding me hard over his weight.

[@llli*mommal]

Your mom got bad advice. It's typical, it's sad, and it's why 2 entire generations of human beings were not breastfed. My grandma was a 19 year-old first time mother when she was told that her milk was inadequate, so she didn't nurse her first baby for more than a few days and didn't nurse any of the 8 babies who followed. Yet somehow all of her 5 daughters nursed successfully, including one who nursed twins and another who nursed triplets.

If you are going extremely long intervals between pumps, you will have a higher proportion of watery milk, and a lower percentage of cream. If you can pump during the workday you will be glad you did!