Some notes on Milk Production

Gregermis

Thought I would share some info a friend of mine forwarded me.  Disclaimer, she is not a doctor and you shouldn't take anything without consulting your doctor first!

She had difficulties producing milk (in other words, it wasn't a discomfort or poor latching issue or something like that), wound up seeing a total of 4 lactation consultants, and some of them mentioned steps you can take before you give birth if you are worried about low milk production (read, those of us that are or in my case were freaking out because our boobs didn't seem to grow a lot and/or aren't leaking yet).

One main culprit for poor milk production is apparently iron, so especially towards the end, make sure you are getting enough

Another is that Soy can depress your thyroid and this can also affect milk production

Mother's milk tea can be taken to increase colostrum and milk production, but not necessarily super helpful before you start expressing either of these.  On a side note, apparently you can express and store colostrum (freezer) before giving birth as a back up.

Goats rue apparently supports the growth of the milk ducts (as in you make more ducts I think??)  It's more effective to take this during pregnancy and is supposedly safe during pg (again... check with your OB first!!)

Apparently oats and oatmeal have been used for centuries to increase milk, so sounds like it can't hurt to make some oatmeal cookies (which can be pretty low in sugar and might even been okay for those of you with GD)

Finally, she found "The Mother's Guid to Making More Milk" by Liso Marasco to be an extremely helpful resource.