Useful Herbs for Breastfeeding

Herbs for increasing Milk Supply

It is quite possible that herbal remedies help increase milk supply. There are several drugs which obviously do increase milk supply, and of course it is reasonable to assume that some plants and herbs might contain similar pharmacologic agents. Almost every culture has some sort of herb or plant or potion to increase milk supply. Some may work as placebos, which is fine, some may have an active ingredient. Some will have active ingredients which will not increase the milk supply but have other effects. Note that even herbs can have side effects, even serious ones. Natural source drugs are still drugs, and there is no such thing as a 100% safe drug. Luckily, as with most drugs, the baby will get only a tiny percentage of the mother's dose. The baby is thus extremely unlikely to have any side effects at all from the herbs. Some herbal treatments that seem to increase the milk supply are:

Fenugreek: 3 capsules 3 times a day (not to be taken during pregnancy as it may cause a miscarriage)

Blessed Thistle: 3 capsules 3 times a day or 20 drops of the tincture 3 times a day

The tincture container states that blessed thistle should not be taken by nursing mothers, presumably because of the tiny amount of alcohol the mother would get. Don't worry about this. Teas also work, but to take enough to make a difference, you will be drinking tea all day and night.

Other herbal treatments which have been used to increase milk supply are:

Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus) - stimulates milk production; especially in combination with red raspberry leaves

Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) - use cream or ointment externally on sore nipples between feedings

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) - calming; useful in colic; both mother and baby can benefit from tea; helps with teething pain

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) - stimulates milk flow; relieves colic and gas

Goat's Rue (Galega officinalis) - stimulates milk production

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) - calming; relieves gas pains

Also any herb in Useful Herbs for Pregnancy listed as nourishing or rich in minerals.

Please consult physician or midwife before self-prescribing any natural remedies.

"We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life, but we can decide what happens in us - how we take it, what we do with it - and that is what really counts in the end. How we take the raw stuff of life and make it into a thing of worth and beauty - that is the test of living."
- Joseph Fort Newton

Psalm 139:13-16 You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.