Do certain foods encourage more breast milk production?

Answer 1

Oatmeal. Even in cookies it will boost your supply. Here is a recipe that is a blessing to the milk supply! It has oatmeal and brewers yeast(which also boosts supply).

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies by Noel Trujillo
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
2-4 tablespoons brewer's yeast

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
Add eggs and mix well.
Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
Stir in oats and chips.
Scoop onto baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Let set for a couple minutes then remove from tray.

Answer 2

I didn't realize that about Ovaltine! I use Mother's Milk tea, and once I had some Guiness (I'm not a beer drinker!), but I didn't like it. It did seem to work, however. I only drank about 4 oz., so don't go crazy.

Also, drink plenty of good old water. That's a must. Avoid caffeine, too, because it dehydrates. Good luck!

As an aside, nursing often is the most trusty way to boost milk production. If the baby refuses to nurse when you are low (you're never truly empty), you can use a pump for a few minutes. That will tell your body that it should make more. Check out kellymom.com or La Leche sites.

Answer 3

i breast fed 4. don't know about certain foods but i do know enough food is a big factor. you need to have a few extra pounds (not a lot) to produce a good supply. i do know that eating certain foods is not good as the taste comes thorugh with the milk, like onions, or too much raw garlic, etc. more frequent feedings helps stimulate production, as does really hot baths. it's good to see young mother's breast feeding, it's the natural way and by far the best way. p.s. my breasts are actually perkier than either one of my daughters, aged 32 and 23 respectively, so it's totally a myth that breast feeding produces sagging "titties". i'm for you! you go girl.

Answer 4

As said before malt and liquids. Berries, especially blackberries make the milk sweeter. Try the football hold for increased milk production, it pulls milk from further in the back where there is actually more cream, the more you nurse, the more milk you'll get.
Good for you for feeding your baby the best food in the world!

Answer 5

The lactation consultant at my hospital just recommended drinking kale and emailed our breast feeding group the following recipe. I haven't tried this yet but figured I would share:

Pineapple juice and kale go really well together. This is a good snack for nursing women, as the kale will increase milk supply. Add nutritional yeast flakes, protein powder, yogurt or tofu for extra protein.



½ cup pineapple juice (Dole’s orange, pineapple, banana juice is best)

½ cup milk (dairy, soy, rice or coconut) or coconut cream

1 banana peeled, sliced and frozen (can add ice if unfrozen)

2 medium size kale leaves chopped very fine (no stems)



place ingredients in blender (or smoothie machine) and puree until smooth

makes 2-3 servings- drink all servings in 1 day


may substitute 1 cup pineapple-coconut juice for the juice and milk

may add ice for slushier consistency


source for recipe is unknown but moms at the Thursday group who have made it say it is delicious and does work to in crease milk supply

Answer 6

Malt beverages, like ovaltine, have been known to boost milk production. And believe it or not, a few sips of beer. I would recommend the malt. If you have an ice cream parlor around, what could be better? Belly up to the bar and order a malted milk shake, mmmm.

Answer 7

Hey - that's a great question. Though I'm not sure of the answer, I was always under the impression that supply would decrease as demand decreased. Are doing any pumping on the side? If not, perhaps that my increase your production.

Answer 8

Yes certain foods like oatmeal, yeast, and alfalfa may increase milk supply. And certain herbs such as fenugreek may as well. There are also prescriptions.

However the first thing you need to look into is whether your supply is really low. Many moms think theirs is and it very rarely actually is. If your baby is having enough wet and poopy diapers and is gaining well, they are getting enough milk PERIOD. Also many moms have an unreasonable expectation about how long babies should go between feedings.

Also moms have an unrealistic expectation about how much milk they should be able to pump 1/2 to 2 oz from both sides is normal for full time breastfeeding. Even for working moms 4oz is an unusually large output, and it is common to have to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one feeding. Breastpumps are just not as effective as babies.

If your baby is not thriving on breastmilk the first step should be to see a lactation consultant. It doesn't matter how much milk you have if the baby can not latch on well enough to get it.

Is your milk supply really low?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply

"He Can't Be Hungry. He Just Ate!"
http://www.wiessinger.baka.com/bfing/howworks/hungry.html

So I Nursed Him Every 45 Minutes
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/Law45com.html

"She cites a study done in 2000 that looked at the feeding behaviour of infants aged three to four months in three different communities: families from Washington, DC, the Ba’Aka hunter-gatherers and the Ngandu farmers, both of the Central African Republic. They found that the Ba’Aka babies nursed 4.02 times per hour, the Ngandu babies nursed 2.01 times per hour and the American babies nursed 1.6 times per hour. Certainly the American babies nursed less often than the two African groups, but they nursed more frequently than many new parents expect."
http://www.todaysparent.com/article.jsp?content=1266685

"Most moms who are nursing full-time are able to pump around 1/2 to 2 ounces total (for both breasts) per pumping session. Moms who pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, or may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase pump output with practice. Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is an unusually large pumping output."
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

Answer 9

Yes. Fenugreek supplements, Blessed Thistle supplements, and consuming oatmeal all are used to boost milk supply.

Answer 10

oatmeal, and i swear by and live on fenugreek. it saved breastfeeding for me and recommend it highly!!!! 4 tablets 3 times a day. at vitamin/gnc stores. or rite aid. not expensive. lots of liquids also.