Has anyone here used Reglan to induce lactation? I was unable to provide enough milk for my now 6mo old son...and requested to be put on Reglan at the advice of my Lactation Consultant. I now notice that I barely produce enough milk (can only pump ~4oz each session) if I stop taking the Reglan. Wondering if its safe to stay on for the next 6mo until I am able to wean?
Edit --> More details on the situation:
I was unlucky in the BM world and did not have my milk come in until I was about 3 wks postpartum -- I attribute what milk supply I have to using a Supplemental Nurser (commonly used by adoptive parents) and herbal supplements --I have tried taking Blessed Thistle/Fenugreek (for about 4-5 months I took 3 pills/3x day and still noticed a decline in production. I have not had any side effects from the Reglan. I am a Registered Dietitian and have been focusing on eating enough calories, the right fats, and galactogogues (oatmeal namely) each day while drinking 30ml/kg of body weight of water daily. I pump while I am away at work 1x in the mid am and 1x mid afternoon -- I need to pump 12-16 ounces/day to keep up with baby and currently only can pump ~8 off Reglan. I nurse baby right when I get home, mid evening and before bed each day as well as 1 early morning and 1 time before leaving for work. On days off I pump after his morning nursing session and after 1 afternoon nursing session (time and schedule permitting). Baby has just started to eat cereal/single fruits and has been taking about 1.5 -2 ounces less of EBM during the day.
Any help would be great!
So far...Ive checked out the web links provided (Thanks!!) and called my OB/GYN to see what his opinion is on the continuation of Reglan until we reach our BF goal. Thanks for your help!
Hi A.,
I used Reglan for nearly all 13 months that I nursed. I too, did not produce enough milk so my ob/gyn prescribed it. I did not have any side effects or problems. Good luck to you - I know how hard it is when this happen - but hang in there, I managed to go 13 months and provide enough milk by staying on Reglan.
B.
It's now not recommended for more than a few weeks because moms were having some depression-like symptoms with it. Not just sad, but pretty severe reactions. You might want to read Making More Milk by Diana West and Lisa Marasco. Check out their website at www.lowmilksupply.org. Another good website is www.mobimotherhood.org
Hope it helps. Feel free to email me for more info.
S.
A. ~
I'm an OB nurse...I just looked up reglan and it says never take for longer than 3 months.
Are you pumping and feeding? or actually latching the baby to feed? The baby is the most efficient pump...so latching will provide more milk than the pump. The electric pump is 2nd best, then the hand pump, then hand expressing. If you are soley pumping...pump every 2 hours, even through the night...it's supply & demand. So if you are demanding more by pumping alot, then you should supply more.
I have heard of the fenugreek (not sure I spelled it right) to help with lactation. It's pretty commonly used.
Breast feeding does NOT cause cavities...not sure where that one came from...bottle feeding can cause cavities if the baby is put to bed with the bottle because they fall asleep with the bottle in their mouth, the milk sits in their mouth, on the gums & teeth, and causes cavities.
Hope that helps some!
D.
Hi A.,
Congrats on making it this far! Most lactation books will say not to stay on Reglan longer than 2 weeks as it can induce depression. Definitely check with your OB and see what he/she has to say. When my daughter was under a year I would alternate between fenugreek/blessed thistle and reglan. I found the reglan made me really sleepy so I didn't like to take it. Have you tried the herbs? Good luck to you, you've done a great job!
C.
The best thing to increase your milk supply is to nurse often and through the night.
A breast pump does not acuratly reflect your milk supply. I exclusivly BF all 3 of my girls and they were very satisfied at the end of a feeding gained weight and had plenty of diapers but when I tried to pump I could not have a let down. It did not matter how frequently I pumped I would only get a couple of ounces.
blessings, K.
actually breast feeding can cause cavities in the future.
have you tried fenugreek?? I found it really increased milk production. the best things to increase production is nurse often ... and drink water.
I would definately ask a dr.. you need a medical answer and the advice you get here is simply advice..
Reglan will make it's way into the breast milk, I would be uncomfortable taking that drug knowing it can have neurological side efects, especially knowing there are other alternatives. It ususally is only given for a short period of time to treat gi symptoms because of the side effects. Since it isn't working anyways, try the other suggestions. If you live near Canada, you might want to try to talk to a lactation consultant there. There is a gi motility drug called domperidone, which has as a side effect of increasing prolactin. This drug does not have the same side effects as reglan and is safer for long term use, and it is approved for the use of increasing milk production. But it is not used/made in the US. You have lots of suggestions to your post, I ho eyou try them.
yes i have 2 times. the first child was fine the last child had a reactrion i would use feenugreek its safer.
