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Working with a Mom whose baby has been diagnosed with Methylmalonic Acid deficiency. The specialists she is working with have restricted baby to 22 ounces of breast milk every 24 hours and Mom is worried her supply is dropping. She asked about taking Fenugreek or Blessed Thistle to help boost her supply. Any studies or evidence these would raise the amount of protein in the breast milk or be an issue? Thanks.
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Rhinz:
The problem with herbal drugs is that virtually no one really know much about their use in breastfeeding mothers and particularly in a mother with an infant with a genetic deficiency. The only way for this mom to sustain her milk supply is to pump it out, or use a real Galactagogue like metoclopramide or domperidone. I do not think that Fenugreek works, and the newest data supports this. So, I don't have an answer for you. I would be really careful using fenugreek or blessed thistle in a baby with methylmalonic acid deficiency.
Tom Hale Ph.D. -
Not all fenugreek is created equal.
Fenugreek doesn't get the respect it deserves because moms take a poor quality herb and an incorrect dosage for them. Kathleen Huggins, a renown IBCLC has written an article that included 1200 nursing mothers showing results with fenugreek. In my 20 years of experience, I have seen the fenugreek from Nature's Herbs (a TwinLab company) work very well, especially if taken in a dosage of 3 capsules t.i.d for smaller moms under 150 lbs. and up to 5 capsules t.i.d. for moms over 150 lbs. They start with a quality herb and have dark glass bottles that keep the herb fresh. You can find the article at breastfeedingonline.com/fenuhugg-print.html.Comment
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