Acupuncture to increase milk?

[filewizard25]

My doctor apparently also does acupuncture and he mentioned that he could do acupuncture to increase my milk supply. Has anyone tried this?

[MonkeysRUs]

I haven't done it personally, but I do know that it works for some women. There is some information on it in the book "The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk" by Diana West and Lisa Marasco. They state that accupuncture has been used to treat low milk production for over two thousand years. It can stimulate both oxytocin and prolactin depending on the points chosen by the practitioner. The link below from their website has some more info:

http://www.lowmilksupply.org/acupunc...pressure.shtml

[Rose-Roget]

I would definitely try it - I doubt it'd hurt anything, and it sounds like some people respond well. Does your insurance cover any of it? How many treatments is your doctor recommending?

[bender]

It helped me a bit, but I still ended up having to supplement with formula because of low supply. Another lady who was getting it at the same time ended up with a full supply. At the very least, it was an hour of uninterrupted quiet where I could sleep. That alone was worth the visit when John was a newborn. :-p