Domperidone for inadequate milk supply - anyone heard of it?

[mears]

If you check out the thread 'I'm NOT a Gina mum but....', there is interesting discussion about health professional advice/bullying about breastfeeding.

I have mentioned medication that can increase poor milk supply when all other measures have not worked such as proper positioning and attachment and frequent feeds.

It used to be Maxalon in our hosptital but now it is Domperidone which has fewer potential side effects and can be bought over the counter. It's other name is Motilium and it's original use is for bloatedness ( a common female complaint!).

Primarily it is used in hospital for mothers who are expressing for premature babies whose supply is not good. The community midwives recommend it to mothers who are struggling to produce enough milk.

Anyone else out there heard of it or used it?

I had never heard of this either but I have heard of a herbal remedy called LactoBono which apparently can help when trying to increase milk production. Has anyone tried this?

YES. I used it this time around and highly recommend it for those in my situation.
Baby #3 is now 9 weeks old and still fully breastfed and I have no intention of giving up yet! 9 weeks may not seem long to many of you but with numbers one and two I had given up by now so this is a real achievement for me.
I am absolutely convinced I am a slow lactator. - never had any sensation of the milk "coming in", never felt full if baby had not fed for a while,never leaked, etc.I appreciate these signs are not neccessarily indicative of poor suppy, and bf experts are reluctant to make this diagnosis, but I am sure it is the case for me.

I think I took Domperidone at about two weeks and it definately increased my supply and for the first time ever I had a feeling of fullness in my breasts and baby seemed able to get a good tummyfull at a feed, then go for a few hours till next feed, which got over that awful " at the breast all day" thing - NOT possible if you have two kids and sore nipples.
I experienced no side effects and thoroughly recommend it to anyone who really feels they have a poor supply.
You can buy it without prescription - a 10 day course ( I think that is the recommendation - Mears please confirm) will cost slightly over £10. It comes in packs of ten, and you take 3 a day.
My understanding is it "kick starts" lactation, i.e. you don't have to take it indefinately.
Anyone else used it?

Really fascinated by this thread. Mears, in our hospital we used to give Maxalon - now we give nothing at all! Really not a help to those on SCBU trying desperately to keep supply up whilst expressing....
Jasper, I'm sure I've joined in with you on similar topics before - I sound a carbon copy of you. I'm still feeding dd, who is now a year old, but it only really got reasonable after she was about six months old and onto solids. Until then I could feed, feed, feed. It was hardly ever a case of feed, fill up, come off satisfied (except first thing in the morning). Instead I would feeed for ages, and eventually take her off for a break! Any time I offered her the breast she took it - never too full! She was always on the smaller side (still is), so wasn't like she was over feeding either. I know all about positioning, regularity of feeds etc, but after months I had to come to the same conclusion as yourself Jasper. I was not looking forward to the prospect of a second child in the future, to have to go thru all that again, but now there may be a little light at the end of the tunnel!

Jasper and Leese,

The dosage is 10mg of Domperidone three times a day for 10 days. It comes in packs of 10 tablets costing approx. £3.95 a pack.
Of course prescriptions are free for the year following birth so it can be prescribed by the GP which is what happens usually here - unless you don't want to have to wait for an appointment.
You should get your hospital onto it. Try the Babyfriendly Initiatve for more info Leese.

Thanks ever so much Mears - will lok into it - see if I can't be a little proactive!

Might look into it too!

I thought this hyperlink would be useful to those of you interested in Domperidone :
users.erols.com/cindyrn/20.htm

pupuce - really interesting info about Domperidone. The recommended dosage is TRIPLE the dose we advise at our hospital. I will need to have a chat with the Breastfeeding Co-ordinator!
Mumsnet is such an informative site

When I had baby no.2 she took 8 weeks to gain back her birth weight, and at no time was I offered any help other than keep feeding her and taking her to the doctor every other day to be weighted and examined. My confidence took a severe battering. She cried all day and night and would take the breast whenever offered. I was completely exhausted, but determined to breastfeed no.2.

It would have been the best thing to have been able to take this drug to make things a little easier.

In the end though things came good and feed little darling until 17 months.

Interestingly Pattsy what prompted me to take Domperidone was the fact that as well as all the signs in me that I had a low milk supply, my baby was losing a lot of weight, although all other signs were that he was perfectly healthy.
I posted about this on mumsnet at the time.
The hospital, being very thorough wanted to keep him in longer, take blood and monitor him but I did not want to do this so took him home on the understanding he would be closely monitored by the community midwife, which he was, but he kept losing weight!
My community midwife and my wonderful friend and "delivery" midwife put their heads together and suggested domperidone and we haven't looked back.( my friend even provided the tablets to save me a trip to the doctor's)
He has gained over three pounds ( above his birth weight) in two months.

Hmmmmm..............thought you were all talking about Dom Perignon for a second there......

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOhh if only!!!!

I believe it works too but is not available on prescription