Fenugreek Seed is one of the most well-known and effective herbs used to increase breastmilk production, BUT there are some things you need to know when using it.
- It can cause gas in either mom or baby. I like to suggest other things first before using Fenugreek, especially when your baby is young or already has a gassy or touchy tummy. Good choices are Nursing Tea or Nursing Tincture. Both help to increase breastmilk production while helping to alleviate gas, colic or reflux in baby.
- Fenugreek MUST be used with consistency, otherwise it could either not work for you, cause an up-and-down milk production, or for some women, even decrease their production altogether. Details about this can be seen in our article Fenugreek Info.
- Because of the consistency issue, products containing Fenugreek as one of its many ingredients can have the same negative effects on breastmilk production. It’s nearly impossible to regulate how many Fenugreek Seeds you may get in each dose – one might have 3 seeds, another 7, another 11, and another maybe just 1. Consistency is the key to success with this herb. An inconsistent in-take can result in inconsistent milk production.
- Read your product labels. If Fenugreek is one of many ingredients, choose something else. The best way to use Fenugreek is all by itself – just Fenugreek in the product and nothing else. This way, it’s very easy to regulate and you will get much better results!
- Another reason to read product labels – I’ve seen some Fenugreek products on the market that aren’t even made with the seed, but the plant material!! That’s not going to help you at all!
- Freshness counts and makes a big difference in how well Fenugreek (or any herb) will work for you! See my blog about that.
We have detailed information about Fenugreek, how it works, more on why consistency is such a big issue, how to use it and how to wean down from it once you are done at:
- Fenugreek Info
- How to Increase Breastmilk Production: An Overview
- How to Increase Breastmilk Production: The Expanded and In-Depth Version (All Access Membership required. SIGN UP or LOGIN here.)