Fenugreek for Boosting Milk Supply?

Hi there.. I had a low supply of milk after my son's birth so my lactation consultant at the hospital recomended 3 capsules of fenugreek 3 times a day for two weeks. She said if my milk would be able to get a boost that would do it. I t did increase my supply but not as much as I needed. I then spoke with a woman from La leche league and she suggested "More milk Plus" by Motherlove. You can get it from their website, www.motherlove.com as well as from some health food stores. Look at their retailers link to find it. I tried the "More Milk Plus" capsules. Two capsules 3 times a day and it doubled my milk output. Apparently the capsules arent as potent so I just went to luckyvitamin.com and ordered the More Milk special blend liquid and apparently it will do wonders. Go to the website and read about their blends. I never had any side effects from the fenugreek except the maple syrup like smell to pee and sweat, which really isnt a bad side effect. The Motherlove website also has all the different side effects and allergy listings as well. So good luc kadn I HIGHLY recommend the Fenugreek or More Milk Plus which is also a fenugreek supplement.

try More Milk Plus by Motherlove....

I had an extremely low milk supply partially due to a medical condition that constricts my blood vessels/circulation. I tried everything under the sun so I'll give you my list of what I tried and what did and did not work.

Hospital Grade Medela Pump (rented): Worked much better/faster than the Pump In Style Medela did. I discontinued use after 3 weeks because it was too costly to rent.

Fenugreek: 12 caps per day (3 caps four times per day) in combination with 3 caps of Blessed Thistle (1 cap three times per day) worked best as far as Fenugreek was concerned. FG can be used alone however yields the best results in combo w/ BT. This dosage was recommended by my daughter's M.D. who's also a lactation educator. Loved my maple fragrance, I smelled like pancakes!

Domperidom: By far yielded the best results. Went from 2oz. of milk to 4oz. in 2-3 days. The caveat is that this is a medical drug that is not approved in the U.S. although it is readily thoughout the UK and Canada. This drug produces milk as a side effect and is often used by apdoptive mothers. I did a LOT of research on this drug, consulted doctors, pharmacists, and lactation specialists and then felt comfortable enough to use it. I got it with a presciption (from daughter's M.D.) through a compounding pharmacy. It cost me $89 for 100 pills and I took 3 pills per day. One typically can go off this med in 8-12 weeks (I think) w/ success. It was too costly for me so I discontinued use.

Mother's Milk Tea: Cheap fix but FG and BT caps work better and cost less considering how often you have to drink the tea.

Beer (w/ hops, w/o hops, alcoholic, non-alch): Didn't do a thing for me.

7 up: Someone suggested...I tried...no results.

It was really painful fo me to BF most of the time. Even still at 4 months due to my medical condition; although the meds I took for this condition, while BFing, dilated my veins to increase blood flow thus easing the pain to some degree.

I became a slave to my pump and so obsessed w/ producing milk that I kinda lost myself during the process. I eventually gave up at 5.5 months but I did try everything I could that seemed reasonably safe.

BTW, I also supplemented w/ formula the entire time I breastfed because I simply could not produce enough milk. I think if I could have continued w/ both the Domperidome and the hosp. grade pump I would have seen better results. HTH

Hi there, Kimberley! I nursed 3 daughters; two for 3 years and my last one for 4 years! (she did not want to end our nursing relationship) I went to a La Leche League meeting in my area and they mentioned Fenugreek to me. Many moms at the meeting told me they too had used it to boost their milk supply; except it gave them a lot of gas (flatulence). I tried it for three weeks, and you know what?...it did give me gas and did'nt really boost my milk supply that much. I went to the La Leche League Prez and asked her what I could do for days when my supply is low and she told me this: "Drink extra liquids before and after each nursing and REST, REST, REST!!! She told me that when you are physically tired, your milk production suffers. She said, "forget about having a spick and span clean house--take a nap when the baby does; in fact, lie down and nurse and you both will go to sleep."

I was skeptical of such down home advice but it WORKED!!! In two days I had so much milk that my husband had to rent me an electric breast pump so I could put the excess in the freezer to thaw for those times my mother in law would babysit for us. Try it Kimberley and see if this works for you. I know we want to be SuperMoms and have a clean house...a great body right after delivery...and a super abundant milk supply--well, something has to give and my husband really preferred that our babies gained well, were happy and smiling than if I had everything in the house looking perfect. My husband, Chuck, said to me; "honey, I'd rather have dust under the bed and you on it, not too tired to be with me, than the other way around."

God bless you, Kimberley. Don't forget to take your vitamins (especially an extra rich B-Complex) and REST! You are going to be fine, hon. Write me and let me know what happens. My thoughts will be with you. Martha

i took fenugreek along with blessed thistle. i was told that BT balances the side affects of fenugreek, and i didn't experience any. my milk definitely increased and i was able to satisfy my lil boy that was a greedy feeder. i took one with every meal and sometimes with a snack. i was able to pump & store milk and still BF.

good luck!

Hi! I never used Fenugreek, but I had some problems with supply, until I realized I wasn't drinking enough water. I need to drink about a gallon of staight water a day, in addition to what I would normally drink, like milk and tea and such. Good luck.
R.

I took some and it works for me. also I recomend to seat in front of a heater and let your baby breastfeed.
Breastfeeding is like this more he drinks more you produce
Keep yourself healthy and drink a lot liquids too.

I tried Fenugreek as well, but found out that I only have two to three milk ducts per breast and one was severed due to an operation. It wasn't enough for my 9 lb. 6 oz. baby boy. But, it sure made my breasts larger! :-)

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/fenugreek.shtml

This site talks about fenugreek being totally safe. I was basically a cow when I breastfed, haha, so I had no problem supplying milk. I hear that sometimes you just can't. Are you consuming plenty of water and fluids? That was all the help I needed. Anyway, I would try it, and look up any contraindications, just in case. Hope this helps!

At one time I took 9 (3, 3 times per day) and I think it helped me (I always had enough milk while using it!). The only side effect was that I always smelled like sweet maple syrup!

Another great way to increase your milk supply is to pump AFTER feedings. You may not get much but it will send a message to your body to make more!

I used fenugreek along with pumping 3 x a day to boost my supply .I also drank lots of water. The only side effect I got from the fenugreek was a maple syrup smell in my sweat and urine. I think it works but if you dont want to try it ...pump ,pump,and pump and you will see an increase. I also think moms always think they dont have enough milk but they do as long as baby is growing ok.

I used Fenugreek after my twins were born, They were in the NICU for such a long time and my milk was having trouble coming in not being around them 24/7. I think it worked pretty good. Using it with constant pumping/nursing to insure the supplies growth really helped.I didnt have any side effects beside medicine smelling urine, but same happends when you take your vitamins :-P Also you might try Mother's Milk tea. You can get it at most whole food or health store. I did not try that but have had friends who have.Good Luck!!!

Yes, I have used Fenugreek. I also have an 8 month old and my supply lessened (a lot!) at around 6 months. Same with my first two. I take 2-3 Fenugreek capsules 3 times a day and haven't had any problems. It definitely increased my milk, but it does make sweat and urine smell like maple syrup. That can be bad or good! :) Hope it works out for you!

i have a great book called the wise woman's herbal by susan s. weed. a classic from the 70's but still widely used today. it suggested i used red clover and borage. they both seemed to really help. also drink lot's of water, and eat congee. (rice porridge) i've also heard oatmeal works!

my daughter's pediatrician recommended i use it because i had such a low milk supply... it's all natural.. there are no sideeffects as far as i know...

it's been a while for me...my youngest is almost 6...but I used brewer's yeast to boost my supply. No side effects at all.

I tried it but didn't notice any side effects. However, I would highlighly recommend Mother's Milk Tea. You can drink cold like ice tea or warm through out the day for better results. You can get it the GNC store.

I have used it upon Dr.s orders once I had to go out of state for 5 days without my 9 month old. I didn't have any side affects that I could remember, but she also suggested I use something called Mothers Milk which is an organic Tea that you can find at Henry's Marketplace. I didn't like the taste of it because it has Anise in it which is the taste of black licorice, but between the 2 of them, it definitely kept my milk supply going until I got back.

Hope that helps.

I used Fenugreek at my OB's suggestion and it worked great. I did not experience any side effects other than me, my milk and my baby smelled like maple syrup. It is great for increasing your milk supply. I took it for about 3 months when I went back to work. Good luck.

There is also a tea that has Fenugreek in it.. It's called Mothers Milk. You can buy it at GNC, or CVS.

I used Healthy Nursing Tea by secrets of tea. It`s worked with me great.

Someone alreay suggested this but i want to back it up... Mothers Milk by traditional medicinal is what i use and it works really well!

i have heard that as well. i had no noticeable increase with using it but it can't hurt either. i have also heard that beer is great - the hops or something - from a doctor, so not just a rumor =)

Hi K.,
I used Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle when I went back to work when each of my sons were six months old. I also used Mother's Milk Tea but less frequently. I don't remember any Maple Syrup smell, but it did help my milk supply.

Also, remember breastfeeding is all about supply and demand, so the more your son nurses, the more milk you will have. If you supplement, your supply will go down, unless you pump to replace a certain feeding. I was able to exclusively breastfeed my sons for a little over the year, with the help of the herbs and pumping, so good luck!

I reccommen Mothers Milk tea(they sell it at Choicemart even). Also, Yogi Tea has a blend for mama milk help. Guiness is supposed to help with milk producing too, or any porter beer....
Don't believe all the "scary" claims on herbs....I love herbal medicine and know that it has been around long before western meds.
Best Wishes
L.

the golden rule of breastfeeding is: sucking produces milk. fenugreek will help, as long as you bring baby to breast often, and he is latched on deeply, and can continue the feeding until he's done.

I have used it and there were really no side effects for me. It took about 24 hours to kick in but then it worked really well!

Fenugreek sometimes works, so if it doesn't - or it makes your skin smell funny, here are other things I have done or friends have done:

LOTS of water
Beer - the darker the better
(wine does the opposite by drying the supply up)
Milk Thistle very often is used with the Fenugreek
Relaxing
http://www.standardprocess.com/display/StandardProcessCat... worked for me within 2 days - and it's natural.

The only thing I'll add is that I DID NOT like the maple syrup smell. I felt I had to shower twice a day. I love maple syrup, but not maple-syrup sweat! But the Fenugreek did work, I took 9 per day until the bottle was gone and my supply went up after a few days. My supply was down b/c I supplemented w/ formula for a 12-hour outing when I had my mom visiting (I can't stand pumping)!

Hey!

I have been on Fenugreek for nearly 5 months (my daughter is a little over 5 months old). I have found it to be quite effective in boosting my milk supply. There is really no harm in taking it as long as your stomach can comply! I have taken up to nine capsules per day and really didn't feel any side effects. Right now I am weaning myself off of it because I don't think I need it anymore. In my experience, it worked great with no side effects.

Good luck!
L. P

I also took fenugreek for 3 days and it increased my milk supply. i took 3/day.

I had GREAT luck with Fenugreek. I took a high dose, I don't even remember for sure how much. I'm thinking I took like 10 a day. I started with supply issues and I was then able to nurse my daughter until she was 2!