When you are breast-feeding, it can be difficult to determine whether your baby is getting enough milk. If you have concerns about milk supply, you might have received advice to add instant oatmeal to your daily diet as a way to boost your production. While little scientific evidence exists regarding using oatmeal as a way to improve milk production, anecdotal evidence suggests that it might be useful for a nursing mother when used along with other techniques.
Breast-feeding Nutrition and Oats
A breast-feeding woman needs a healthy diet to help her build and maintain her milk supply. As long as a breast-feeding mother feeds her baby on cue, gets sufficient calories and consumes a healthy, balanced diet, she will generally produce sufficient milk for her infant, according to La Leche League International. Oats are a healthy whole grain and can be a good contribution to an overall balanced diet that helps boost and maintain milk supply. Oats are also high in iron, which could help women who are suffering from low iron levels that might be contributing to milk production difficulties.
Oatmeal as a Galactagogue
Oats have been used as a galactagogue, something to increase milk supply, for generations. No peer-reviewed scientific studies have been done, as of 2011, to confirm or refute the idea that oats or oatmeal increase milk supply. However, according to Kelly Bonyata, an international board-certified lactation consultant, many lactation consultants recommend oatmeal for this use and women have reported an increased volume when pumping their milk after consuming oatmeal.
Instant Oatmeal vs. Whole Oats
Instant oatmeal is comparable to other forms of oatmeal or oats with regard to both nutrition and the potential for increasing milk production. The only difference between the types is that instant oatmeal has been processed to cause it to cook in a shorter amount of time. Plain instant oatmeal is still a whole grain and still retains all of the same nutrients in whole oats. However, flavored instant oatmeal with artificial colorings and flavorings or added sugar can add unhealthy components to your diet that you might want to avoid.
Considerations
If you are concerned about your milk supply, talk to a doctor or lactation consultant before trying to increase supply on your own. Establishing a proper latch and feeding your baby frequently are typically sufficient to improve your milk production, even without changing your diet at all. Likewise, insufficient stimulation to the breast can keep milk supply low even when you are consuming instant oatmeal daily. Adding oatmeal to the diet as a way to boost milk supply should only be done as part of an overall strategy that includes putting the baby to the breast at appropriate intervals.
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