Fennel

[@llli*krystine]

I loaned my copy of Making More Milk to another twin mommy and wondered if anyone here could remind me what it says about fennel. One mom swears by it and I don't remember what it's supposed to do. I'm about done trying everything under the sun to increase my supply but this is one thing I haven't tried. I'm still taking more milk special blend and nursing both babies about 10-12x/day but I am supplementing them about 12 oz combined now since I don't have the scale and am worried about starving them. We have an appt today so I"ll have a wt check at our family doctor's office.

[@llli*mjtony]

momma you may try fenugreek seeds. i took 1 tsp 3x aday and it works. i was able to pump only 40-60ml but after taking fenugreek seeds, my supply has become 90-120ml. i only pump 2x and nurse on demand when im home. im a working mom

[@llli*lllkaren]

Hm, in the Fennel entry in Medications and Mothers' Milk, Hale says

As an herbal medicine it is reputed to increase milk secretion, promote menstruation, facilitate birth, and increased libido...Fennel is a popular herb that has been used since ancient times. It is primarily believed to be estrogenic. Because estrogens are known to suppress breastmilk production, its use in lactating women is questionable.

He also says

The estrogenic component is believed to be a polymer of anethole such as dianethole or photoanethole.

Between his repeated use of the word "believed" and the fact that he doesn't cite any studies about its use in increasing milk production, I'm going to go with saying that there is no research or evidence for or against it as a galactagogue.

[@llli*krystine]

OK, thank you. One mom on another site was really promoting it and I have tried about everything. At 5 mos, though, I think I'm running out of things to try and just have become more at peace with my twins getting some donor milk as a supplement.