Breastfeeding - Herbs to Increase Your Milk Supply

Some women have difficultly maintaining a good milk supply. I know I've had that problem a few times depending on what's going on in my life. There are various things that can cause a decrease in supply such as the flu, stress, diet, surgery and other factors. Typically a low milk is supply is only temporary and there are things you can do to get your milk supply back. Encouraging your baby to nurse as often as possible is one thing that can certainly help because the sucking will trigger the body to step it up a notch within 24-48 hours. When breastfeeding it is also beneficial to drink 8 to 10 glasses of purified water each day in addition to eating a healthy diet.

When my first born son was 7 months old I had to undergo emergency surgery to have my gallbladder removed. I was in the hospital for a few days and thankfully while I was there I was able to pump my milk, however due to the heavy medications I had to discard all of it for the first few days. When I was released, I was advised to be on a Jell-O and liquid diet for at least 2 days. This diet caused my milk supply to diminish, and I was upset because I wanted to continue nursing my son for at least a year or longer. Thankfully I was able to regain my milk supply with just a little bit of patience and herbs. Each day my milk supply increased until I was back to producing enough for my baby.

Herbal Teas

Herbal teas are wonderful, but be sure that you're taking the right herbs. Certain herbs will increase your milk supply while others are meant to diminish it. A book to help you find the right herbs is called The Nursing Mother's Herbal by Sheila Humphrey.

You can buy individual herbal teas or you can buy one made specifically for breastfeeding mothers. I love Organic Mothers Milk Tea made my Traditional Medicinals. This herbal tea helps to promote healthy lactation, and its 100% Organic. This tea is power packed with some of the best herbs for nursing mothers. It is caffeine free, and contains 16 individual tea bags in one box. You can buy it for around $4.00 a box at most local health food stores such as Whole foods, or Wild Oats, but you can also buy it on line at:

http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/?id=30&pid=79

The herbs contained in this tea are:

Organic bitter fennel fruit 875 mg

Organic aniseed fruit 350 mg

Proprietary Blend of Organic caraway fruit and Organic nettle herb

Herbal Supplements

You can also take herbal supplements to increase your milk supply. I will list some of the best most potent herbal supplements you can take.

Fenugreek

Fenugreek is one of my personal favorites because it works quickly. It also has a sweet taste and it has been used for thousands of years.

Fennel Seed

Fennel seed has many uses and one of those uses is to increase milk supply. It can also be used to help with colic by easing gas.

Blessed Thistle

This is a wonderful herb that increases milk supply and also aids in digestion.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Consult your doctor or health care provider before starting anything new. If you're taking any medications be sure to consult your doctor for possible interactions that your medications may have with certain herbs.