Two questions I hear very often from breastfeeding parents: What can I eat to increase my supply? and What should I avoid eating during breastfeeding? This Monday I will focus on the first question, next Monday I will focus on the second.
The Myth of the Galactagogues – “The More Milk Makers”
There are a lot of urban legends floating around about foods that will boost your supply. Recipes for “lactation cookies”, steel cut oatmeal, flaxseed, and article after article about supplements such as fenugreek, goats rue, and blessed thistle. One mother I knew drank pineapple juice, an entire glass, every time she sat down to nurse. I know of a mom who was force fed milk by her mother, because “to make milk you must drink milk.” Most recently, and oddly, women are swearing by blue Gatorade and Oreo cookies. I don’t know why it has to be the blue flavor but apparently IT DOES.
There are tons of old wives tales, cultural foods too lengthy to list here, and homemade remedies. I am sure, SURE, someone is selling an essential oil that they say will make milk flow like the Mississippi.
The Truth
I say to you. The best way you can make more milk is: FEED YOUR BABY MORE OFTEN. Yep, that’s it. The more you feed, pump or express your milk, the more milk you will make. The longer you let your milk stay in your breast, the less you will make. So, eat to hunger, drink to thirst, and avoid eating too much sugar, it will only make you pack on the pounds and possibly land you with thrush. Is steel cut oatmeal a bad idea? Absolutely not! It is a nutritious breakfast full of fiber! Have at it! Do you need to drink gallons upon gallons of milk or water or eat five cookies a day to meet your baby’s needs? Nope.
Remember, you are enough, you can do this. Below you can see my favorite recipe for lactation cookies.
