Fenugreek for Milk Supply?

I would try a product called More Milk Plus. It's a liquid tincture made from fenugreek and some other herbs (all natural) and it's very effective and very easy to use and you won't have to drink tea all day long. You can find it at Whole Foods.

A close friend of mine needed to increase her milk supply so her natropath directed her to take frequent doses of fenugreek until she smelled like maple syrup. I think each body needs different amounts in order to get the effects. so my friend started out taking whatever it says on the bottle--i think two caplets three times a day and then increased it each day and i swear she did have the faintest odor of maple syup! Her supply increased and she was happy with the results. also, mastitis is from not getting the milk moving through the ducts so make sure you continue to BF your baby on BOTH sides every couple of hours. if he/she does not need both sides (my daughter didn't when she was that age) go ahead and pump the other side. I know it's a pain but if you don't empty your breasts out completely every so often you can get mastitis (and your bod gets the signal to produce less) I pumped and BF for the first few months to make sure my supply was well established and then stopped pumping when she had a big enough tummy to drink from both breasts. stick with it...even some breast milk is better than none at all! hope this helps!

Check out www.kellymom.com
It's an incredible site all about breastfeeding support!

Nurse as much as you possibly can!

I took 2 fenugreek a day and I also drank mothers milk tea one to two times a day. It really helped with my milk supply. Good luck to you

I took 3 fenugreek capsules and 3 blessed thistle capsules 3 times a day. Drink lots and lots of water! It works great, and was a lifesaver!!!!

When I started Fenugreek I had a hard time finding a proper dosage. Mine were 1500mg and said to take 3 daily. That amount alone didn't seem to make a difference (although my little one did start to gain) and I didn't have the maple syrup smell. I gradually started increasing until I found a place I was happy with. Now I have enough for my supply but if I was pumping to store I would take additional. I only am doing 4-6 a day right now. I ran out two days ago and I can see a difference already. I think you just have to experiment to find out whats best for your body and supply.

Be careful with megadoses of fenugreek. It has led to peanut allergies in babies on occasion.

Try the book "Mother Food" by Hilary Jacobson. It has foods/herbs to eat to increase supply and foods/herbs not to eat that decrease supply.

It was recommended to me by a lactation nurse. It is a nursing bible!

D.

I used this when I was working full-time and pumping at work (no formula) and it helped some. You do have to take a lot and it might make your milk smell a tad like maple syrup, but it does help a bit. Just hang in there, give it a try, and be sure to talk to a lactation consultant if you need help. Remember, breastmilk is produced on a supply/demand basis. If you keep pumping and nursing, your body should respond naturally and return to supplying what is needed!

I was told that 3 capsules 3 times a day (total of 9) is what is needed to notice a difference.

I took 2 to 3 capsules 3 times a day (so 6 or 9 per day). Available at GNC I think is where I got mine. Start with 9 a day and then cut back if it gets too much. It did work. However don't get lazy and slow down on the breastfeeding or pumping as it still requires the "demand" to help the breast produce the milk and keep the production up.

Also you may not need to keep taking it long term. Often once the sufficient supply is achieved many women can stop taking it as long as the demand remains.

Good luck

Take three capsules three times a day with food for a total of nine capsules a day. This worked wonders for my milk supply! I recently gave birth and had trouble with milk supply for the first and this really helped up my supply with my next two. Good luck!

http://kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

Hope it helps! I love this site. You should also try hand-expressing and/or pumping to get your supply up. The best thing, really, is to just hold baby, skin against skin, on your chest, and go on a "nursing vacation" if at all possible.

Hi A.,
Try reading this article by Dr. Jack Newman http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/24pdf.pdf

He is a medical professional researching and working with breastfeeding moms for years. http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

His research shows that you need to take fenugreek and blessed thistle (and he gives dosage amounts).
Good luck!

A.,

Fenugreek worked great for me. I took 2 pills 3x/day. My Naturopath said you need a lot more than the package instructions. Also, Mother's Milk Tea in large quantities helps. Drink it like water! This should all work within 2-3 days.

I hope it works for you! I'm still nursing my 2 year old and I can't imagine not!

Take care,
T.

My son had a medical issue and thus was very challenged feeding. Long story short, in waiting to be able to feed him, I developed mastitis 3 separate times. The second time I used antibiotics although I did not want too. The third time I called upon my holistic friends and books for help. As a result, I would milk my breasts until all marble (clogged milk ducts) feelings were gone. Sometimes I did this after my son was full in order to get them clear. Very painful process! I found soaking in a warm tub helped. But the trick for getting my milk production back was a 1/2 glass of beer right after feeding. I would wait 2 hours until it was out of my system to feed him again. I did this twice a day for three days. After two weeks my full supply was back. I never developed mastitis again. If I felt it returning, I would do the beer thing again for a day. Fortunately, both breasts were never infected by the mastitis at the same time and so I had at least one good breast to use. I tasted Fenugreek and the Mother's Tea after the first mastitis incident and found both tasted bad to me. This made me question if it was the correct step for me. I then tried having my acupuncture points hit a few times to help, but without much success. A friend tried Fenugreek and it made her baby vomit after each feeding. It is not for everyone. Good luck!

Something that I'm using myself that you might be able to try that's natural and would also help out with your milk supply...plus give you and baby the nutrients you need, would be to take some all natural DHA pills. I did this while preg and the first week I noticed a difference. Give it a shot! :D

I liked the mothers milk tea better. Keep on breast feeding, giving a bottle will only decrease your supply. At this stage they go through a growth spurt and having your baby attached to you for hours to feed is a bummber...pick up a good book or magazine to pass the time.

It happened to me too. My milk supply got down because of yeast infection. Then my lactation consultant at Evergreen Hospital suggested me to take Fenugreek capsules. you can find the same at any health store with the strength of 580 or 610 mg. she told me to take 3 capsules 3 times a day i.e. 9 capsules every day. It may make you smell like maple syrup but it really helped me. You can expect to have an increase in your milk supply after 2-3 days of starting it. Plus I also ate a cup of oatmeal every morning. That helped me a lot. And the last resort would be to call your OB/GYN to prescribe you Reglan. but fenugreek is definitely the best try with no side effects.
Happy breastfeeding!!!

Just try the teas made for nursing with Fenugreek in them, you can get them at Life Source or probably Fred Meyer. I like Mother's Milk...

I would recommend nursing every 2-3 hours for the next 3 to 4 days and have lots of cuddle time to help increase your supply. I also ate oatmeal very morning and drank lots of water. I never tried Fenugreek but I would ask your lactation consultant for the correct dosage.

I bought fenugreek in bulk at the PCC and drank it as a tea, pretty much exclusively during the first few months of nursing. It's great, because it also ensure that you stay hydrated.
Here's my (old family) recipe: 1 TBL Fenugreek, 1 TBL Fennel Seeds, 1 TBL Caraway seeds to 4 cups of boiling water, let it steep for a few minutes.
If you don't like the taste you can reduce the water to 3 cups and substitute 1 cup apple juice once it is cooled down.
Realistically frequent nursing is much more important to rebuild your supply. If you can put in a "nursing vacation" with your baby and breastfeed hourly for 1-3 days. I used to do this on the weekends after returning to work every time my supply went down and it came right back!

My lactation consultant recommended that I take 6 capsules of Fenugreek and 4 capsules of Blessed Thistle a day - I took the capsules 2xs a day. That helped my milk supply but didn't help it enough. I ended up getting on Reglan to help with my supply even more. Reglan is a prescription medicine that definitely helped my milk supply but it also made me terribly anxious. I had to stop taking it because it was affecting my mental health. So, I would say try the herbs and I'm sure they will help. Good Luck!