chinese herbal medicine - would you trust it while breastfeeding

[poppynic]

My second child is now 7 weeks old and I have had permanently painful breasts (not nipples) with repeated blocked ducts and two bouts of mastitis - the second starting while on antibiotics for the first! I have tried all the tricks for unblocking ducts, regular feeding, changing positions etc, etc, to no avail. (With dc 1 I was on antibiotics once a month for first year and gradually reducing thereafter.)

It seems worse this time and it's really getting me down. I'm getting pretty desperate so yesterday I started a course of acupuncture which has at least stopped the latest inflammation turning into full blown mastitis.

However the place I went to mixes acupuncture with herbal medicine. I bought a week's worth but now am worried that the herbs just might be dangerous for dd. The govt website of course says avoid, or at least check various numbers - however these herbs were mixed together from big jars and I have now idea what they are or where they came from.

I want to do anything to try and sort out my malfunctioning breast but would have to take so much on trust re the herbs - I'm now thinking i shouldn't take them - any thoughts gratefully appreciated.

bump

I wouldn't take them. Herbs are powerful things, and you just don't know how they may affect your baby. I had acupuncture too, and they also wanted to sell me herbs, but they didn't do anything and were quite expensive. A homeopath might be able to advise you of safe homeopathic remedies to take while you are breastfeeding, if you feel like giving that a go. Hope it clears up soon.

How much do you trust the practitioner? Are they very experienced treating bf women? I would be cautious just because I know that a lot of conventional medical practitioners aren't necessarily up on what's safe when bf (examples on here of women who were prescribed drugs that interfered with their supply for example).