3 Drinks To Increase Your Breast Milk Supply
If you’re an expectant mother, you’ve probably been experiencing a wide range of changes to your body—from a growing abdomen to morning sickness to changes in your sleeping habits. One of the most obvious changes that come along with pregnancy are the changes that occur to one’s breasts as they evolve with you to help you prepare to feed your new baby.
When it comes to breastfeeding, research has shown time and again that the advantages are plentiful—and these benefits are good for both baby and mama! Still, some women may find that they struggle to produce the amount of milk they need to keep up with the demands of their child. Fortunately, there are many natural ways to increase your breast milk supply, including ingesting certain kinds of food or drinks.
In this article, we’ll talk about a few of the options you have at your disposal if you’re looking for ways to increase your breastmilk supply.
Table of Contents
Overview
Maintaining your supply of milk while breastfeeding is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your baby is healthy. For mothers that are having a difficult time with their supply, various factors could be at play—such as waiting too long to start breastfeeding, not feeding often enough, supplementing breastfeeding with formula, or an ineffective latch from the baby.
To help combat these issues, women all over the world eat certain types of foods (called galactagogues) right after they give birth and while they’re breastfeeding to keep their supply full. These foods are already known to be full of vitamins and minerals, and some also contain certain chemical properties that are said to aid in breast milk production.
Some of these foods include:
• Lactation Tea
• Coconut Milk
• Oatmilk
In the following sections, we’ll talk about these a little more in-depth and help you decide which one may be the best option for you!
Lactation Tea
One of the most popular options out there for mothers looking to increase their milk supply is lactation tea, which is an herbal tea that contains vitamins and supplements—like fenugreek, blessed thistle and goat’s rue—that are believed to naturally increase a mother’s milk supply.
There are many brands of lactation teas out there today, but it’s especially important to try and find ones that are made with whole ingredients and don’t contain an excessive amount of sugar or caffeine.
Some popular brands of tea are:
• Traditional Medicinal’s “Mother’s Milk”
• Oat Mama Lactation Tea, and
• Mrs. Patel’s Milk Water Tea
Coconut Milk
Coconut is unique in that it is one of only a few groups of foods that are composed of primarily good saturated fats known as “essential fatty acids.” And it just so happens that breastmilk is another!
Thus, it makes sense that ingesting more essential fatty acids and having them available in your system will allow you to produce more—and more nutritious—breast milk, while other essential vitamins and minerals (like lauric acid and monolaurin) can be transferred to your baby.
But you don’t have to restrict yourself to just the milk! Coconut is beneficial in all its forms to mothers who are breastfeeding, including coconut water, coconut oil, as well as the “meat” from the inside of the coconut itself.
Oatmilk
It has long been known that oats and other whole grains are one of the most effective things a mother can eat while breastfeeding to produce more milk as well as get all of the vitamins and minerals she needs for her body as well. To that end, oat milk is a great option for mothers looking to increase their supply!
Oatmeal in all forms contains an amazing assortment of nutrients, such as protein, fiber, carbohydrates and phytochemicals like plant estrogens—all of which help to promote a full milk supply. It has also been found that ingesting oatmeal can help elevate iron levels, something that mothers who struggle with their milk are known to have low levels of.
Conclusion
Breastfeeding is one of the most incredible and intimate experiences a mother can have with her child. Not only does it complete the necessary task of nourishing your baby, but it also provides a safe time for you to bond with your little one.
While breastfeeding comes naturally to many women, and most never really have to worry about not producing enough milk—as they actually end up making one-third more breast milk than their babies typically drink—there are still many others out there who have difficulties meeting demand.
Luckily, there are many foods and supplements out there on the market that use the power of nature to help keep mothers strong as well as help them produce the milk they need to nourish their new bundle of joy! Hopefully this article has helped you discover a few of them.
