Fenugreek - please help! (low breastmilk supply)

allisonbrendel · September 2009

I had my son 5 weeks ago and was planning on breastfeeding exclusively. However, he was born with a heart condition and was unable to maintain a latch and was unable to suck properly. Throughout his stay in the NICU and hospital, we tried nipple shields, supplemental nursing systems, 4 lactation consultants, etc. He was losing weight and would not be allowed out of the hospital until he gained, so I started pumping and feeding him the breastmilk that I pumped.

However, my milk supply never came in. I have never been able to pump more than 2 ounces (now I am pumping out less than an ounce each session) and he is now eating 4 ounces every 3 hours (needless to say we had to start supplementing with formula).

I have heard of fenugreek and that it can increase milk supply, so I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions, comments, stories that can help me decide on whether or not to begin taking it.

Does it really work??

pixelvixen · September 2009

Congratulations on your son! And welcome to the board.

I think Fenugreek may help but you might just not have a great milk supply. I took 3 pills, 3x a day... it increased my supply within 24hrs. I also had luck with eating oatmeal. And my OB also prescribed Reglan which helped the absolute most but I had severe depression while taking it. I know other women have taken it and didn't have any issues, but mine was pretty awful. Good luck!

massagegirly · September 2009

OMG I seriously wrote this exsact same post 9 months ago. Heart condition, nicu everything. Crazu!!

I also was on reglan and had bad depression. Fenugreek worked ok but I finally beged my ob to perscribe me domperidone and it worked amazing! Super expensive but I had to try everything. Keep pumping and drinking lots of water. I only had to use it for a month but it was around $300 and insurance does not cover it because it is not FDA approved.

JRS72206 · September 2009

Congrats on your little miracle!

I take Fenugreek along with another supplement called Lactation Support. I got both at Super Supplements, but you can get the Fenu a lot of different places. I saw my supply increase within approx 72hrs. Like pp said I also eat oatmeal every morning and drink a TON of water. GL!

MrsEditorJax · September 2009

First off, congrats on your little blessing!

I have been taking it for a week and it is definitely helping. I smell like an IHOP, but it's a small price to pay to be able to boost my supply, which has been low from the get-go (we had latch issues). I am taking 2 pills three times a day but will be upping it to 3 pills tomorrow. And the PPs weren't joking about lots of water ... if I don't drink enough, I feel like crap.

iHeartHimMore · September 2009

I've been taking it for a few weeks now and I'm not sure it's helping me. I'm taking 3 pills, 2 times a day. Maybe I need to up it to 3 times. I'm also probably not drinking enough water.

I don't think it necessarily works for everyone, but I definitely recommend trying it regardless. It can't hurt!

Congrats on your baby!

~Lynchie~ · September 2009

michelle, youre definitely not taking it enough! dr google tells me that you need to take a minimum of 9 pills a day for it to help your supply. I used to take 12 a day!

IdahoGirl · September 2009

Michelle - I was just going to tell you what Lynchie did - you definately need to at least take 3 pills 3 times a day.

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Fenugreek - please help! (low breastmilk supply)

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