Fennel for increasing milk production

[K2012]

Hi ladies

i made another topic last week about not producing enough milk. I want to give it another try before I give up and was told by a friend to try boiling water with fennel seeds in and it can increase milk production.

Has anyone tried it and it helped?

I used fenugreek but I don't think it really made much difference. What helped me was a prescription for domperidone. It was like night and day.

I tried nursing teas (neuners was the most palatable), you can get them from Amazon or a health food shop.
No idea if they made a difference, but LO did eventually regain birth weight. TBH, feeding lots, skin to skin, eating a good diet with a calorie excess (everyone says oats, I did that for breakfast, plus a flapjack most days) and drinking more water than I thought was possible may have been just as helpful, but I was desperate.

Just posted about this. I also think I have low milk supply but some of the women who responded said it sounds like I'm fine.

I thought because my pumping outcome is so low 100ml combined compared to two months ago when I could pump 160ml just on one side.

Ive been taking the fenugreek and milk thistle supplements but they have done diddly squad for me.

I was just told to try oats. I haven't seen your original post but what makes you think your supply is low?

Are you feeding through the night also? If baby has started to sleep through or for long stretches it will lower production.

Your levels of the milk producing hormones is higher at night and if not being used your body will think it's not needed.

I had the same. I drank to or three cups of fennel and fenugreek tea a day and mad sure to feed through the night.

I'm currently laying here with a full right boob as we speak waiting for little to wake up to releave it!

Thank you for all the replies.

@TradedAtlanta I didn’t know Dimperidone was given for low milk supply, will speak to GP about it.

@VixFromThe6ix How do you take Fenugreek and how much? Will try oat milk now.
It’s a long story but to cut it short I’m expressing with an electrical pump and hand expressing and only get about 20-30ml in total in a 24 hour period.
@PrettyPlatapus No I don’t express during the night (I bottle feed and express with pump and hand express) but I will try now after what you suggested. Where did you buy the fenugreek and fennel tea?

Fenugreek tablets worked well for me. It's years ago now but I remember it was a huge dose to get it going. Like 4-5 tablets a couple of times a day.

But like I say, it did work. You smell of maple syrup for a while though. No clue why!

My dr refused to prescribe domperidone because milk production is a side effect of it not the purpose of it. I was gutted.
fenugreek capsules can be purchased from holland and barrat but I didn’t have much luck

The very best way to increase your supply is to increase demand. As hard as it is, consistently expressing every three hours, and continuing to express for 3 minutes after you are empty should help increase your supply again.
Also worth checking that everything is okay with your pump- are you using correctly, does it fit correctly etc.

There are some good accounts on insta run by experts in the area - not sure if I'm allowed to share names here but if you look for mamas milk and mother shaheda there's some really valuable advice there

Good luck

What you get on the pump is absolutely no indication of supply. Some mums feed their baby exclusively but can't get a drop with a pump.

The only way to increase supply is feeding demand.

Are you feeding directly from the breast or just expressing and bottle feeding?

Did work for me but you do need to take a lot. I had capsules. I smelled like maple, it seeped from me every pore! it was amazing.

Oats- porridge
Fenugreek tea
Drinking 4 pints water a day
Comfort nursing (the baby suckling increases supply).

To increase supply if you’re not feeding directly, you need to pump every 3-4 hours including nights. I did this whilst my baby was in hospital. I found it quite hard though.
Can you try pumping with your baby latched in one side or pumping whilst doing skin to skin?
I believe some people try power pumping too, where you pump again 20 mins later to mimic cluster feeding.

Thank you for all the replies.

Baby doesn’t want to latch (I’ve tried since the beginning) and I’ve given up now ☹️

so I’m using the pump and hand expressing. I feel like giving that up now as well as I only got about 20-30ml in total in a day 😩

Switching to exclusively formula feeding is a completely logical and valid choice. Like you, I could get nothing meaningful out with a pump and the attempts to pump endlessly really impacted negatively on my experience of the first few weeks and I would have been much better off spending that time holding and loving my little girl. The benefits of breast for baby on an individual level rather than population level are really not massive, especially in a country where we have good access to clean water and formula. Having said all that, I know personally how breastfeeding can feel like the MOST important, essential thing and if you choose to stop, allow yourself to grieve for the feeding plan you expected.

I've managed to successfully relactate in 5 weeks and have been eating oats, drinking lots of water and drinking Galactogil supplements for a week now and have noticed an increase in my supply after almost completely drying up at 7 weeks PP

I'm also pumping every 2-3 hours. Night time pumping has been really good for me and I always produce more milk which then increases my supply each day.
Also, getting a hot bath or shower, massaging your boobs and then hand expressing really gets things going
Good luck mama :)

Have you tried calling the LLL or the NCT or Breastfeeding network helplines?

Also, is there a peer support group in your area? It doesn't sound like you've been given much input by professionals?

Power pumping is where you leave it pumping for a while; no milk comes out but it's sending messages to your body as an order for more milk. It's like leaving them on to suckle and mimics cluster feeding.

themilkmeg.com/power-pump-your-way-to-more-milk/

Also pumping at night as suggested, and leaving to to dry pump.

Ideally all overseen by someone who can advise.

Fenugreek tablets did work for me quite quickly. Fennel is supposed to help wind (never did for us!)

Id also see if you can find someone to come and visit - a lactational consultant would be ideal. (LLL.) they could help with patch, check tongue tie and advise. Nipple shields can sometimes be needed for example, but usually it's positioning.

As I type all that, It REALLY isn't the end of the world to mix feed or move to formula at all. It really isn't. You will feel a natural hormonal drop when you stop but don't let your brain mis interpret that as failure. It's normal hormones and happens even if you've fed for ages.

Someone need to see the latch and what's going on. Good luck ❤️

@K2012

Fennel is common tea now a days. Tesco have it, pukka do a tasty one. Fenugreek is a pollen like herb/spice. Maybe in larger supermarkets. I got mine from a international supermarket.
Fenugreek is not as nice tbh but I boil up a tablespoon for 5 mins, strain into a mug and add honey. Can add another strong tea to take mask the taste. Something like fennel or licorice would work well with it.

A good latch is tricky!! I spent the first 6 weeks in toe curling pain and it felt like someone rubbing broken glass into my nipples!! But once both baby and me got it, it all just clicked and now she's 5 months, I'm actually starting to enjoy it! I couldn't tell you exactly what it was that clicked or how...it just did!

Weather you want to try latching again or not I would still recommend you get some kind of support - or even better, lots of support!

100% try an inperson breastfeeding support group. I've had really lovely experiences and you don't actually have to feed if you don't want to - just a cuppa and a chat is equally as useful sometimes. They will have great suggestions on supply and pumping/expressing.

www.laleche.org.uk/
La Leche League (LLL) do great free session over zoom and some in person groups too. I live in Bristol but joined a group held in Scotland! It was great and welcoming and was available when I needed it. Really doesn't matter which you join. They have great resources on their website but is quite difficult to read through imo.

Kellymom is an American site but has really good, clear info.

The breastfeeding network phone line is great too!

Good luck with feeding, and remember every mother know exactly how difficult it is! You can see by all the amazing replies to this post how willing everyone is to share experiences and wisdom, as we've all been there in our own ways, so don't be out off joining a group!