Our daughter-in-law tried to use some Echinecha and Golden Seal and it nearly dried her up. Is this normal? What other herbs can she use?
What herbs can a nursing mother use?
fenugreek: is a good herb to promote milk production.
garlic: if you eat a few cloves of garlic about an hour before nursing babies attach to the breast more readily and stay longer.
anise: very helpful in promotinglactation and helps with the flavor of fenugreek.
chasteberry: used shortly after birth promotes mild flow, good for breast tenderness, pms, and menstral cramps.
peanuts: promote good milk production.
parsley: eating chopped parsley is an old folf treatment for breast tenderness.
squaw vine: treating nipple soreness. boil 2oz. of squaw vine in a pint of water, add a pint of heavy cream, then boil mixture down to the consistincy of a salve. let cool and apply after each feeding.
hope that helps you out some.
This is Drews wife, I have been nursing a babe without a break for 3.5 years now and am pretty well versed in this area.
The Goldenseal is what did this to her. Echinacea is fine. ANother one to avoid is sage.
To increase her supply, there is a wonderful tastey tea made by Traditional Medicinals called Mothers Milk tea. IN it is blessed thistle, fennel, anise and coriander seed. This will increase supply. She can find this at her Whole Foods, health food store etc...
Of course there are other things she needs to do as well to restore her supply. Firstly, drink lots and lots of water, get plenty of rest and most importantly nurse the baby on demand. Since her supply is low, the baby will want to nurse more which means that she will be sitting and nursing more often. THis means that housework etc may get put by the wayside for a bit. Perhaps you could make dinner for her and take it over. (and then tell my mother to do the same for me ;P )
The absolute biggest mistake to make right now is supplementing with formula. It is unnecessary and will destroy the delicate balance of supply and demand.
If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to email me, breastfeeding is one of my biggest soapboxes:
Shannon@beantreesoap.com
Thanks, ladies. Holly is such a good mother to little Skyler and she was upset that she may have messed up her ability to nurse him. He was born about 5 weeks early and she knows how important her milk is to him.