Hello Holli!
Yes, there are a number of very safe, very effective herbs to assist with lactation.
For instance- fenugreek, nettle, vitex, goat's rue, nettle, etc.
Do not worry about 'estrogen in herbs'. Its not that simple, and herbs are more complex then that. Actually, herbs balance hormones, and are not hormones themselves.
Wish Garden makes a nice goat's rue formula, and Vitanica makes a nice formulation for lactation.
Anne
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Anne Salazar-Dunbar, Master Herbalist
Herbal/Nutritional Consultations in San Diego
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Eat oatmeal everyday. It's great for milk prouction.
My doctor recommended Fenugreek. It is available at Mothers or Henrys. She said to take up to 4 pills twice daily, but I only take 1 in the morning. I took it with my daughter and it worked perfectly to increase my supply. I now have twins and am taking it again and have been happy with the results. The only downfall would be the smell. It smells like maple syrup, which I don't mind at all. My doctor said I could sweat and smell the syrup but I have not experienced that at all. Good Luck!!
Holli,
My herbalist recommended Mother's milk tea. It contains fenugreek and a bunch of other herbs, but it worked for me. I went through the same thing with my supply dwindling because my breasts just did not respond as well to the pumping. Whether I pumped for 5 minutes or 45 minutes, I was only ever able to pull off about 2-3 oz per session. At work I pumped during my morning and afternoon breaks as well as right after lunch and then right as I got home (baby usually wasn't hungry right away).
Try the mother's milk, which has a nice flavor. You can find it at most organic or health food stores. I also found it once at Ralph's but I think that was a fluke.
Good luck!
Try Mother's Milk Tea. You can find it at Henry's.
Hi Holli. I, too, am a working Mom. As soon as I returned to work, at 4 months after both of my girls' births, my supply started to decrease. According to my midwife and through my readings, this will happen because you are away from the baby. You don't smell your baby boy, and you don't hear him cry, both of which encourages your body to make mile and more if needed. We went to Whole Foods Market and found Mother's Milk Tea. It looks like all the other Moms have given this to you as recommendation. I would agree. It helped keep my supply (together with regular pumping at work) up to 7-8 months. Nothing is going to replace your being with your baby 24-7, but this will help prolong it. I took this tea even before I gave birth and took it at least twice a day afterwards. It's natural and it won't hurt your baby. Good luck and congratulations!
WATER, WATER, WATER. Be sure you are drinking a lot of water. You need a lot to continue your milk supply. You can't get too much water!!!!
Michele
Back 8 years ago when I had low milk supply, my IBCLC suggested the following: Fennugreek, Blessed Thistle, Mother's Milk Tea. None of these things will hurt to take and should help your supply...good luck! Stick with it, you can do it!
Holli,
I'd recommend that you join the yahoo group "PumpMoms" I've been a member through pumping for 2 kids and the help and support has been really good. Most women who have to pump a significant amount end up with supply issues at one point or another. What works for one woman doesn't necessarily work for another which is why it is so helpful to have a group forum.
I never used herbs because my first child was colicy and some of the herbs can make that worse. My second child is allergic to dairy and soy and had reflux and I just didn't want to risk it. So I increased my supply by pumping a whole lot. 4 times a day every day during the week (once first thing in the morning, 2 times at work and then again before bed) and twice each day on the weekends (morning and night) in addition to nursing on demand when I was home. The single best breastfeeding resource I've seen is www.kellymom.com If you search "low milk supply" you'll see plenty of info on the topic in general as well as the herbs and even medications that are commonly used to boost supply.
I pumped until both of my kids were 16 months old and I used no formula. It is possible but it can be a lot of work.
Good luck!
Tera
I have been producing enough milk to satisfy my LO when suddenly I decreased in my supply when baby was three months old. I tried different remedies tried to formula feed but nothing worked and baby wasn’t ready to take any supplement. Then a friend suggested healthy nursing tea. I started this tea and within a few days I started producing the same quantity as before.
Thank you all for your advice. I looked into my options and decided to take the fenugreek herb. I tried the beer thing, but I can’t stand the taste. I thought about buying the barely hop cap. but I don’t have to. My milk is back full force!!! I had a weekend of skin to skin contact, drank tons of water, took 3 caps 3 x a day of fenugreek, nursed like crazy, ate oatmeal and loved on my little baby boy. It was great. I guess I will never know if one thing alone helped- but together they did.
I am back up to getting 8oz at a pumping session at work. When the supply was low last week I was only getting 2oz at a session. I am so happy!! Thanks and GOD BLESS.