domperidone risks, anyone using it?

[newmum13]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to the site and this would be my first post, so please be gentle.

I have a 10 day old baby girl at home and I have been recommended to take domperidone in order to increase milk supply. This has come from midwives at the breastfeeding clinic I attend in order to get things going.

I am trying to breastfeed, but baby is constantly hungry, even after a feed that lasts close to two housr. When expressing (using electrical pump), I never get more than 50 mls, that is is baby hasn't been feeding.

I am desperate to increase the milk supply, so if anyone has gone through the same thing, please give advice.

Thanks

Good you are getting some help, newmum13.

Did the midwives confirm this is an issue to do with milk supply? What is your baby's weight and wee/poo output? Is your baby feeding often, both breasts (at least) day and night? Because frequent effective feeding (has to be effective) is the basis of good milk supply, and domperidone will not work if that's not in place.

Domperidone is a fairly standard medication to take to boost milk supply, and your doc can prescribe.

I've been taking it since dd was born (very prematurely) 9 months ago. I stopped for a while but had problems with supply and had to take it again. How much are you supposed to be taking? I was on 10mg qds (four times a day) but am now just taking 10mg once a day. I haven't experienced any adverse side effects and it worked very well for my supply. Am now mixed feeding so I guess supply will be dropping anyway.

tiktok - the midwives have checked the latch (which is fine), baby seems to be feeding well, deep jaw movements and all. they are also the ones who suggested the domperidone (i had no idea such a drug existed and that it was not created for lactation - how funny is that :P)

ladylush - i am waiting for my gp to decide if i get a prescription or not, so i have no idea what dosage. but it's good to hear there have been no issues. the internet has suggested it's wrong to use it as a lactation drug.

The only reason you've read on the internet that it's wrong to take it as a lactation drug is that it's not what it was developed, and licensed for - it's fairly commonly used. I took it (without any obvious benefit, I have to say) both times I struggled to breastfeed. One thing I was told afterwards - not sure if this is right as am no expert - is that if you do take it you need to be pumping on top of feeding as long as you are taking it, otherwise it's not so effective and the benefits will stop once you come off it.

Hang on in there.

Why do they think you have less milk than you should, then, newmum?

What does your baby weigh? What are wees/poos?

Feeding for a long time is not necessarily diagnostic of poor milk supply....plenty of babies will feed on and off for a few hours at a time, it's well within normal.

because i'm topping up with formula, she's gainig weight. wee/poo output is fine as well - but this was not the case when i wasn't topping up. she had dropped 200 gr in 4 days, with very few wet nappies. even the dirty nappies had stopped before i started topping up. so i decided i'd rather have a happy mixed fed baby rather than an unhappy, starving exclusively breasfed one. she is coping very well with the mixed feeds, and has no problems switching from breast to bottle. sigh of relief

i am guessing that their assumption is based on starving baby and very little production when expressing. i am going by instinct here and saying that they are right (especially since my mum had the exact same problem).

but have just had a chat with gp and she refuses to prescribe it as a lactation supplement, so no issue remains to be debated... :|

newmum, a drop of 200g in 4 days can be within normal if it is the usual weight loss in the postnatal days....not normal if it happens after a baby should have started to stop losing of course (round about day 5).

Domeperidone will not work well if you are continuing to supplement - the effect of formula on breastfeeding will outweigh any effect of the meds, even if your GP would prescribe it. It's not really sensible to prescribe it without other means of ensuring a good milk supply, so she has reason on her side!

The usual way to manage a situation like yours would be to concentrate on boosting supply by making sure the baby has frequent, effective breastfeeds day and night, and couple this with expressing if needed. This might mean gradually reducing the formula supplements. She's only 10 days - it's very early days to assume this is an underlying supply problem, and much to early to talk about a baby 'starving'

It's a really difficult time for you - hope you get a chance to talk in real life with people who can give other options to you and support you through them.

Newmum, my little boy is 3 months old now but we have been through something very similar. I fought tooth and nail against topping up with formula, but my boy just wasn't putting weight on, in fact we ended up back in hospital with a tube down his nose...not a pleasant experience. I stopped the formula and kept feeding but he was hungry...last week I decided enough was enough and re-introduced the formula - the most important thing is that your baby is getting enough food - whatever way possible. I'm also on Domperidone and it is working really well - I feed him on the breat first until he starts to fuss and then give him the bottle - my milk supply has definately increased. I was prescribed the medication in Australia - they use it a lot there (have a look on the Royal Woman's Hospital websire for really good info) The doctor here was surprised it's working so well. There are no side effects for me. Before that I used Blessed Thistle which had a slight impact - I hear Fenugreek also works. Well done you for making the decision early on to mix feed - you're right happy baby is best
Good luck to you

My baby was born very prematurely (30 weeks gestation). I exclusively pumped for 10 weeks (put her on breast as much as I could when spending time with her in hospital and again when she was home at 5 weeks of age). I tried pretty much everything to try to boost supply (fenugreek, fennel tea, barley, guinness (!!), lots of water, frequent expressing and switching sides, looking at pic of dd, expressing at cotside......) I could only get 20ml each time. I got 75ml the day after I started taking domperidone and it got better and better. I still expressed frequently until dd started bf (at 10 weeks of age). Her weight gain has been slow at times and I've tried to introduce formula top ups (have had problems bf dd in the daytime for a few months now) but dd refused to have a bottle until last week. So my situation is different to yours, in that dd has only been mixed fed since 9 months of age.

yeap, non-alcoholic beer seems to be working as since i strated drinking it things have been moving about. mum's right, always trust the old sayings, they have the experience to know what's what. all drugs be damned!!! bring the beer!!!!

I had a very similar situation to yours, dd slow to gain weight, not that many wet nappies (was something I always stressed about), feeding constantly. At 3 weeks I started topping up, taking fenugreek, expressing and took domperidone (although I had to buy it as doc wouldn't presribe - v expensive), like you baby did v well on top ups but I really wanted to go back to EBF which took 3 weeks. On the final day of top ups I was at my wits end on the phone to bf specialist in Tesco telling her I was starving my baby and being selfish and bought another tub of formula. I gave dd 2 top ups that night and decided she was much happier so would continue to offer whenever she needed them. I went to bed much happier and a lot less stressed... I still haven't opened that tub.

I think what I'm trying to say is for all the things I bought to increase my milk supply the thing that worked the best was to relax and stop beating myself up. I know it's really worrying and you feel awful everytime they cry thinking it's your fault, but once I chilled out and enjoyed and embraced the constant feeding things picked up.

I hope this helps, listen to everything Tiktok tells you she is very wise , if you can go to La Leche League meetings, they really helped me too, they changed my pre-conceived ideas on bf, and most of all enjoy your baby, ultimately do what you need to do to make your baby happy (but remember they cry for other reasons than hunger - I know it sounds obvious but I completely forgot that when stuck in the middle of it!). Good luck!