Breastfeeding support through natural treatments

DEFINITION: Treatments to aid in the production of nutritional breast milk and to aid in breastfeeding.

• PRINCIPAL PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS: None
• OTHER PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS
• Enhancing milk production: Acupuncture, fenugreek, milk thistle
• Weaning/breast engorgement: Proteolytic enzymes, sage, peppermint
• Nipple pain: Peppermint, lanolin cream
• Preventing allergies in children: Probiotics, reducing saturated fats
• General nutritional support: Calcium, multivitamin/mineral supplement, omega-3 fatty acids

Introduction

For much of the twentieth century, segments of the medical community discouraged breastfeeding, a position widely regarded as misguided by the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. By the 1970s, accumulating scientific evidence and public health experience had clearly demonstrated the shortcomings of this recommendation. Contemporary medical consensus recognizes human breast milk as the optimal source of nutrition for human infants.

Not only does breast milk contain all the necessary nutrients, but it also contains additional substances, such as colostrum, which provide essential health benefits. Breastmilk and breastfeeding have many other benefits. However, formula is a safe and valid alternative that can support healthy growth when breastfeeding is not possible or preferred. 

Still, nursing can also cause difficulties for the mother of a newborn. Milk flow may be insufficient, the breasts may become inflamed or infected, and when it comes time to stop nursing there may be an interval of severe discomfort. Medical treatments are available for some of these conditions, although in many cases, these treatments are more traditional than modern.

The constituents of human breast milk can be affected in both positive and negative ways by the mother’s diet. On the one hand, herbs and supplements, like drugs, should be considered risky in breastfeeding until demonstrated otherwise. On the other hand, certain supplements for the mother might benefit the baby. There is considerable overlap in this subject between conventional and alternative medicine, and only the more “alternative” of the relevant information is presented here.

Proposed Natural Treatments

Weaning and breast engorgement. Sage leaf tea has traditionally been recommended to dry up milk supply and reduce breast engorgement for weaning, but supporting scientific studies are lacking. One early double-blind, placebo-controlled trial did find some benefit for breast engorgement with the use of proteolytic enzymes. Still, considerably more evidence would be necessary before it could be considered an effective treatment.

According to traditional wisdom, applying cabbage leaves to the breast can reduce the discomfort of breast engorgement during weaning, but controlled studies indicated that this practice is not effective. Peppermint tea and peppermint oil—applied topically—are also natural treatments that have been proposed to reduce breast milk production. However, there is no clinical evidence to support these claims. 

Nipple pain. Pain and irritation in the nipples can cause a nursing mother to cease breastfeeding earlier than she might otherwise wish to continue. A double-blind study performed in Iran found that applying peppermint water—essentially lukewarm peppermint tea—directly to the nipples helped prevent nipple and areola cracks. Lanolin cream may also help to soothe and moisturize the nipples.

Promoting milk supply. The herbs milk thistle and fenugreek have been used historically to promote milk supply. Still, only limited studies exist on whether they provide any benefit. Fenugreek has been studied in smaller, randomized studies, and one meta-analysis of studies appeared to support its use in promoting milk production. The herb chasteberry has been used traditionally to promote milk production, but it is not recommended. Additional natural treatments that do not have scientific backing but have been used traditionally include blessed thistle, goat's rue, shatavari, fennel, and alfalfa.

Acupuncture has also been proposed for increasing milk supply. However, no benefits were seen in a well-designed and reasonably large— almost 180 participants—trial.

Preventing eczema and other allergic conditions in children. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials suggest that nursing women can help ward off eczema and other allergic conditions in their children by taking probiotics —friendly bacteria. Cutting down on saturated fat, such as animal fat, may be helpful too.

General nutritional support. Because breastfeeding requires a woman to supply nutrients to another human being, the use of a general multivitamin/mineral supplement is advisable. However, such supplements seldom contain adequate amounts of calcium, so a separate calcium supplement should be taken. Calcium supplements offer the additional benefit of reducing lead levels in breast milk.

Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, play an important role in infant brain and visual development. Maternal intake through a balanced diet—such as fatty fish or fortified foods—can increase the DHA content of breast milk. Routine supplementation may be considered for women whose dietary intake is low, although evidence does not suggest that all nursing women require additional supplements.

Finally, while human breast milk supplies nearly all essential nutrients, it does not contain enough iron. This problem is exacerbated by the modern practice of rapidly cutting the umbilical cord, which reduces the infant’s iron stores. For this reason, some physicians routinely recommend that breastfed infants receive iron supplements. However, some evidence suggests that this practice is warranted only if the infant is anemic; otherwise, supplementation may decrease the infant's growth rate. Supplementation with iron should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Herbs and Supplements to Avoid

Virtually no medicinal herb has been established as safe in nursing, and even herbs that might seem safe because of their wide use in cooking could cause problems when they are taken in the form of highly concentrated extracts. There could even be problems with herbs traditionally recommended for use by nursing mothers. For example, the herb chasteberry is traditionally used to promote milk supply. However, it inhibits prolactin, a hormone that is vital to milk production.

Supplements that are essential nutrients, such as vitamins, generally have a maximum safe intake established by a governmental agency. However, other supplements that are not essential nutrients are in much the same position as herbs and could conceivably cause harm. This may even be the case for apparently safe supplements. For example, one double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that if a nursing woman consumes the supplement conjugated linoleic acid, the fat content of her breast milk will be reduced with potentially harmful effects.

Bibliography

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"Lanolin - Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®)." NCBI, 15 May 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501842. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.

Masters, N., et al. "Maternal Supplementation with CLA Decreases Milk Fat in Humans." Lipids, vol. 37, 2002, pp. 133-38.

"Nutrition While Breastfeeding." WIC Breastfeeding Support, wicbreastfeeding.fns.usda.gov/nutrition-while-breastfeeding. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.

"Peppermint - Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®)." NCBI, 15 Aug. 2024, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501851. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.

"Too Much Milk: Sage and Other Herbs for Decreasing Milk Supply." KellyMom.com, 2 Jan. 2018, kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/herbs-oversupply. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.

"What Are the Effects of the Maternal Dietary Intake of Omega‑3 Fatty Acids from Seafood on Breast Milk Composition and Infant Health Outcomes?" U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review, 2020, nesr.usda.gov/what-are-effects-maternal-dietary-intake-omega-3-fatty-acids-seafood-breast-milk-composition-and. Accessed 11 Dec. 2025.