Audio Galactologue

[@llli*LLLKaren]

In 1989, there was a study that showed the important role of relaxation in milk production -- mothers whose babies were in the NICU listened to a relaxation tape each day, and after a week it was found that

Moms in the relaxation tape group made an average of 90.1 ccs (about 3 ounces) – compared with only 55.4 ccs in the control group, for an average difference in milk production of 63%. Feher and his colleagues found that the tape was even more effective among mothers of babies who were so sick that they were on a mechanical ventilator – mothers who were asked to listen to the relaxation tape made 121% more milk than those who were not. They also found that the more frequently a mother listened to the tape, the more milk she was able to make.

Since the study only included mothers with babies in the NICU, it's hard to know if the results can be generalized to different circumstances, older babies, etc, but it's a method that it couldn't possibly hurt to try!

There's more information at the Breastfeeding Medicine blog, along with a podcast of the relaxation recording.

[@llli*durhamgrrl]

Wow those are some stats. I wonder if that would have helped with my first (not NICU, but the stress levels were pretty up there)

[@llli*oakdryad5]

I wonder if its anything with that specific recording, or if its any recording which the mother finds relaxing...

[@llli*mommal]

I stumbled on some interesting lactation science a while back- about cows. Apparently some cows get afraid of the milking machine. Scared, stressed cows produce a surge of adrenaline, which prevents letdown from happening. So it makes sense that relaxed mammals have an easier time letting down...

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

I downloaded it a couple nights ago, but I haven't listened to it yet. But it's interesting.

[@llli*LLLKaren]

I wonder if its anything with that specific recording, or if its any recording which the mother finds relaxing...

I doubt it's only the specific recording, but it may have to do with the kind of relaxed state you can get from guided imagery or meditation. That's my theory, anyway.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

I stumbled on some interesting lactation science a while back- about cows. Apparently some cows get afraid of the milking machine. Scared, stressed cows produce a surge of adrenaline, which prevents letdown from happening. So it makes sense that relaxed mammals have an easier time letting down...

I had a farmer who played classical music in the milking parlor He swore his cows gave more milk because they were relaxed. Dairy farmers treat their cows well because a stressed cow doesn't milk well and gets mastitis more frequently. (sound familiar ?)

[@llli*mommal]

I had a farmer who played classical music in the milking parlor He swore his cows gave more milk because they were relaxed. Dairy farmers treat their cows well because a stressed cow doesn't milk well and gets mastitis more frequently. (sound familiar ?)

Wow, that's cool! I know my grandparents were always very good to their cows, both the milkers and the steers who were destined for the dinner plate. They got hand-fed treats and brushed all the time. But I don't recall music in the barn!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

It was only the one. The others didn't do that, and I had probably 35 farms I regularly visited, and I had about a hundred I visited less frequently. This guy was interesting, shall we say

But it was so interesting what he claimed that when I read about the podcast, I found it on iTunes and downloaded it.

I sort of wonder, with the moms, if it turned out to be a cue, like when you hook up the pump or lift your shirt, to train a letdown response, and not anything fancy.