While breastfeeding is a natural process, and virtually all pregnant women will produce plenty of breast milk, there are times when some women need to boost their breast milk supply. In some cases, medical conditions may limit supply. in others, past breast reduction surgery may lead to low breast milk production. Stress can also reduce breast milk supply, as well as chronic sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, inadequate water intake, and medication interactions. No matter what the reason, low breast milk supply can be a very difficult condition to deal with, and when you are working to breastfeed an infant or toddler, knowing take supplements that increase breast milk production is an important strategy in counteracting breast milk problems.
Instructions
Take Supplements that Increase Breast Milk Production
1. Eat oats. Eat oatmeal, bake and eat oatmeal cookies--be creative. eat at least one cup of oats every day, split into two or more eating sessions. Drink plenty of water when you eat the oats. Oats are a galactogogue (something that increases breastmilk production) and are very healthy for your digestive tract as well.
2. Take fenugreek capsules. Fenugreek is an herb that helps to boost breast milk production. It has a "maple effect"--women who take fenugreek in large enough doses to increase supply find that they exude a maple-syrup scent. Start with 1 capsule per day for a few days, increase to 3 capsules per day (1 capsule three times a day), and then go to 2 capsules, three times a day, for as long as you need your milk supply to be boosted. Drink eight to sixteen ounces of water with each batch of fenugreek pills.
3. Drink half a dark beer up to three nights a week. This may seem counterproductive, but many experts recommend drinking half (6 ounces) of a dark beer like Guinness, to help stimulate breast milk production. Nurse the baby right before his or her nighttime sleep, and then drink the beer. By the middle of the night feeding, you should experience increased milk production, and the impact of the alcohol on the baby is negligible as your body will have metabolized the alcohol and very little will be in the breast milk supply.
4. Drink Mother's Milk Tea. There are many versions of this tea on the market in grocery stores. Pick one and follow the directions.
5. Mix Brewer's yeast into your morning glass of orange juice. Start small, with no more than 1 tsp. Brewer's yeast can not only increase breast milk supply, it has the added benefit of being rich in B vitamins. These vitamins can help regulate your moods as you experience hormonal shifts from birth and breastfeeding.
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