Breastfeeding moms sometimes need a little help boosting their milk production to meet the demands of a rapidly growing baby. While there has been little scientific research on foods that boost milk production, there are some foods that nursing mothers the world over have tried with some reported success. You should always talk to your doctor before changing your diet while nursing a baby and remember that physical stimulation through frequent breastfeeding is likely to do more to boost supply than adding anything new to your daily meal plan.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a healthy food that nursing moms can include in their diet without experiencing any unwanted side effects. The jury is still out on whether oatmeal actually boosts milk supply, but many lactation consultants and experienced mothers recommend a daily bowl of oatmeal for nursing mothers. Potential mechanisms that might be behind oatmeal's reputation as a milk-boosting food include its high iron content, which might reduce the risk of anemia in new mothers, and its cholesterol-lowering effect.
Nonalcoholic Beer
Since the early 1900s, beer has been promoted as a galactagogue, a substance that increases milk supply. A 2000 review in the journal "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology" found no studies specifically looking at whether drinking beer improves milk supply, but did find evidence that polysaccharides in beer stimulate prolactin production. Prolactin is a hormone necessary for milk production. A 1993 study in the journal "Developmental Psychobiology" found that alcohol in beer caused nursing babies to take in less milk, but this effect was not present when nonalcoholic beer was used. Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages during breastfeeding is not generally recommended, but a glass of nonalcoholic beer is likely to be safe and might be effective for some mothers.
Herbal Tea
Herbal teas typically include the herb fenugreek, which was shown in one small study to increase milk production in ten women over the course of two weeks. Women drink the tea three or more times a day for a few weeks until adequate milk production has been established. Other herbs in milk-boosting teas include blessed thistle, alfalfa, nettle and marshmallow. These teas are not intended for long-term use and should be discontinued once the mother is producing enough milk.
Considerations
Foods that increase milk supply don't work alone. Nursing your baby frequently for long periods of time does more to establish, maintain and improve milk supply than any food or herb. Try putting the baby to the breast every 1 to 2 hours for a 24- to 48-hour period. Even if the baby is not getting much milk at each feed, the sucking action stimulates milk production in the mother's breast.
References
- Kellymom.com: Oatmeal for Increasing Milk Supply; Kelly Bonyata; Oct 2005
- "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology"; Beer and Breastfeeding; B Koletzko, F. Lehner; 2000
- "Developmental Psychobiology"; Beer, Breastfeeding and Folklore; J.A. Mennella, G.K. Beauchamp; Dec 1993
- Breastfeeding.com: Increase Your Milk Supply With Mother's Milk Tea; Cheryl Taylor
- Kellymom.com; Fenugreek Seed for Increasing Milk Supply; Kelly Bonyata; March 2010
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