All righty then, here is what I have gathered, I hope it is OK with you that I post it here anarchamama.
I have searched high & low but cannot find a statistic. Not on how many women have a decrease in milk supply while pregnant (30%? 50? 100?
), or to what degree, or if taking supplements or altering your diet is even worth it (I mean of course it can't hurt, but I wonder if, statistically speaking, do most women who take the supplements, avoid b6, etc. etc. manage to keep their supply higher than if they didn't? I guess that'd be a difficult thing to gauge, but I wish I knew).
I have found that these are the most commonly suggested things that can help in keeping your supply up while pregnant:
A bowl of oatmeal per day:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/oatmeal.html
A calcium/magnesium/zinc supplement per day (I'm unsure how many mgs.)
Flax oil supplement daily
More Milk Two supplement:
http://www.motherlove.com/product_mo..._glycerite.php
(The More Milk Two supplement is awesome because raspberry leaf contains calcium, magnesium & iron, relieves nausea, strengthens uterine muscles & increases breastmilk. Nettle is a rich source of iron, calcium & folic acid. And Alfalfa is rich in Vit. K & chlorophyll, stimulates the appetite & aids in digestion, & increases breast milk:
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/alfalfa.php)
Drink barley water with fennel:
*Fennel/Barley Water. A combination of the two herbs not only increases the breast milk, but eases after pains and settles the digestion of mom and babe. Prepare barley water by soaking ½ cup of pearled (regular) barley in 3 cups cold water overnight or by boiling for 25 minutes. Strain out the barley and add to soup or discard. Heat a cup or two of the barley water to boiling as needed, store the rest in the refrigerator. Pour 1 cup boiling barley water over 1 tsp. Fennel seeds and steep for no longer than 30 minutes. (from freedompondworks.com & I saw this on several other sites as well) How often? I'm not sure yet.
Borage leaf, some info here:
http://www.birthandbreastfeeding.com/galacatagogues.htm
This from freedompondmoonworks: Borage leaves, Borago officinalis, the leaves are most highly regarded as a tea for increasing milk flow. Half a cupful of Borage infusion at each nursing insures an abundant supply of milk, acts as a mild laxative, and soothes jangles nerves.
Borage is also listed on Kellymom but it doesn't say on her site whether it's safe during pregnancy. Still researching that one...
Other things to do or consider:
Drink tons of water (haven't found a recommended amount yet)
Eat very healthily of course. The going recommendation seems to be eat like you are pregnant with twins, plus 500 calories. Geeez that sounds like a lot.
: LLL says "eat as if it is a twin pregnancy".
Fatigue & stress can affect your milk supply, pregnant or not
One should eat & drink *while* breastfeeding because more milk producing hormones are secreted while eating.
And things we should avoid:
Vitamin B6, aka Pyridoxine (which knocks out most/all? prenatal vitamins)
"4. Do not take vitamin B6 supplements, as they may contribute to lowered milk production." (from healthweb.com)
"The following medications can decrease breast milk production...
* Antihistamines
* Sedatives
* Some decongestants
* Some weight loss medications
* Diuretics (including caffiene)
* Very high doses of Vitamin B6
* Some birth control pills, especially pills that contain estrogen" (from babycareadvice.com)
Decongestants: they dry up the nasal passages AND the boobies
Mint tea
Several sites list comfrey root as a helpful galactagogue (a substance that increases breast milk), but this article scared me:
http://nobleharbor.com/tea/teahealth2.html
Galactogogues that are contraindicated for pregnancy:
goat's rue
sage
blessed thistle
fenugreek
And miscellaneous stuff:
A fabulous idea is to get a good supply of milk in your freezer before TTC, if possible. That way you can rely on that during the months your milk is decreased.
If you need to supplement a baby under 1 yr., & don't have breast milk available to do it with, your options are kind of sucky. There's formula, & there's goat & cow milk. Y'all know about formula, & here's some info on the suckiness of cow & goat milk:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mi...pplements.html
http://depts.washington.edu/nutrpeds...nfant.htm#goat
So, one would just have to pick what they think is the least of the evils I guess.
What I understand is this:
From 0-6 mos., breast milk (or formula) should fulfill a baby's need for nutrients & calories, from 6-12 mos. it should fulfill the majority of those two things, and from 12 mos up breast milk or formula is secondary to providing calories & nutrients, after solids. This is what I find in the mainstream sort of sites, I am certainly open to learning otherwise if this isn't the case.
Also, I don't know yet if one could take the More Milk Two herbal supplement AND drink RRL tea too. Would that be too much RRL?
So. This is what I've got so far.
If anyone has any info to add or wants to point out where I am wrong, by all means, please do!
Oh, one more thing. It's really interesting to search in the DDCs for the nursing threads. Pretty much every DDC has them, where the pregnant nursing mamas check in & talk about their experience.
