Breastfeeding and Fenugreek

That depends on a lot of things. How old is your baby? Is your baby gaining? Why do you think you need the supplement? Those are the 3 biggest questions I would ask if I were counseling a mama (I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel). Any time you have a breastfeeding question, please feel free to use us as a resource! Our website is http://www.nursingmothers.org, and there are a couple other really good websites like drjacknewman.com and kellymom.com.

I also wanted to add that babies and toddlers ALWAYS benefit from mom's breastmilk!! It's always changing with the age of the baby, so it's always nutritionally appropriate. Your milk will also have antibodies beneficial to baby as long as you nurse, and recent research has shown that your milk will actually increase in antibodies when your child is around age 2, so those benefits are continuous.

I don't think it is ever too soon. Just start today.

I would not recommend it until after your milk has come in. It is safe to you at any time. Here is a link with more info on fenugreek.
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

HI Momma-
Always check with your doctor first, but as far as I know you can start using it once you have your baby. the other mommas are right- your milk does have to come in, first. =)

AND I recommend the tablets. My sister went to a lactation consultant, but her baby would not latch at home. He would only do it with the lactation specialist sitting there next to my sister. She was really worried (and really engorged!) so she started pumping (because she wanted her baby to have breast milk), but because he had not been able to nurse properly the milk wasn't coming in regularly. With the fenugreek supplements (the tea can give you loose bowels- and it is not as strong and doesn't taste all that great) her milk came in and when she was ready to quit pumping she had a 3 week supply to ween him on, on top of her slowing supply. You do smell a little sweeter, and the milk is a little stickier, but unless you are allergic or have some really bad reaction (this is why you should check with your doctor), I think it is a good and natural way to increase your supply.
Hope this helps!

why do you want to use it? I would get to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and/or la leche league...
also www.kellymom.com is an excellent breastfeeding resource

You can use fenugreek as soon as you need to . Its an herbal supplement , & won't harm your baby at all .

right away. I had low supply when my youngest was 7 months (btw, they only benefit nutritionally from mothers milk until they can eat solids and get their nutrients that way=approx 1 year) so I ordered fenugreek online. When it arrived the bottle said "not for use by prgnant or nursing Moms". I asked on here, and my doc, and everyone agreed that it is safe to use throughout pregnancy and nursing age.

Are you using it to help increase your milk supply? If you're already nursing you can use it anytime but be aware. Myself and a few other woman had bad reactions to it. I had severe cramping and IBS in the middle of the night from it. My baby had a bad reaction as well. I think most women are fine so try it out if you need to. It also causes you to smell funny llke maple syrup almost. After a couple days, smell your armpits and they will smell like maple syrup...I know it sounds funny but it's true. If you are using it to increase your supply then I would recommend using "Mothers Milk Tea", it worked better than anything else I tried. You could try the tincture "More Milk" without fenugreek or "More Milk Plus" with fenugreek. The Tea and many of those supplements have fenugreek in them just not as much. The tea doesn't bother me or baby. You can buy it at Whole Foods or any vitamin/supplement type store. I would also recommend maybe talking to a lactation consultant, they can be very helpful and informative. Good luck!