Fenugreek prior to ELCS to bring milk in?

[katiegolightly]

Hi everyone. I'm really keen to get breast feeding ASAP and would like the baby on the breast in theatre if possible. I'm hopeful I can persevere if milk takes a little longer to come in, but would like to do anything possible to aid this. I've read a bit about herbal supplements which increase milk supply - fenugreek, fennel, milk thistle, mothers milk (all as teas or capsules). In some articles, it's suggested that some of these can help milk to come in, as well as being a remedy for a low supply. I'd like to understand a little more about whether there's benefit in starting taking one of these the day before/of the ELCS to help get things going?

I'm aware of small risks of uterine contractions with some herbs and that for this reason they are discouraged in late pregnancy, but with an ELCS I'm not sure that this need be a real concern if the possible advantage is avoiding a panicky 4 or 5 days whilst things get going.

Any thoughts on this or other ideas on how to best prepare my body for this? Thanks everyone.

Hi love, I had an EMCS with my DD, and will be looking at an ELCS with my current pregnancy. You will find that you will start to produce a thick substance called colostrum from yoour breasts in the third tri (or possibly earlier). Your baby will need this substance to get it through the first few days, after which your milk should come in naturally.

With DD we had no problems at all, and provided you feed on demand and the latch is ok, you really should need any supplimentation to stimulate your supplies. Your baby's tummy will be tiny (think marble-sized) for the first few days and the concentrated colostrum is a perfect first food. The milk should come in aat around 3-5days after birth, when your babys tummy is more used to having something in it.

If you are worried about the use of formula, or you being incapacitated, may I suggest you investigate colostrum harvesting instead? This is where you express pre-birth so that the baby can have perfect food whatever happens.

Also, fenugreek might not be suitable if you have asthma, diabetes/blood sugar issues or take medications (it can affect absorption in the gut) especially if you are having an c-section it may interact with the anaesthetic/pain meds afterwards.

More details on fenugreek & medical conditions/drug interactions here and here.

Fwiw, my milk came in on the Wednesday following my Monday cs, so there won't necessarily be a delay. Herbal teas to increase milk supply are very popular in Germany where I live and the staff on the maternity ward brought round thermos flasks of "breastfeeding tea" (Stilltee) every morning for all the women trying to bf. I didn't really drink the stuff religiously, though, and always had plenty of milk.

It's probably more important to latch your baby on as soon as possible after birth and feed as often as possible in the first days. Having said that, I wasn't able to feed dd the first time until at least an hour after she was born and then didn't feed her again for hours iirc - it still all worked out fine. Try not to worry .

Bear in mind there is no special reason to assume you'll have a low supply and need to stimulate it artificially. Some mothers feel they produce too much milk, and that has its own disadvantages. Why not try the natural thing of holding baby and putting them to the breast as much as possible, and reach for the herbs later if there is proof of a problem. I think you might be over planning at this stage- natural but not necessary!

Thanks for the replies, everyone. helium, hmm over planning has been known to happen in my case

I'll just be insistent about skin-to-skin ASAP and see how we get on there then before going to crazy on the herbs!