Pregnancy Neo Natal Care - What is Fenugreek?

Fenugreek Breast feeding- Boosting Milk Supply

Fenugreek is a substance, which is said to increase milk supply in nursing mothers. Fenugreek breast-feeding thus can be beneficial to nursing mothers. This benefit of fenugreek is known since ancient, even biblical times. The herb contains a key compound in it, called diosgenin that has been proved to increase milk supply. The scientific name of fenugreek is trigonella foenum graecum.

This herb, found in Europe and Asia, is one of the oldest cultivated medicinal plants. It is used as a condiment, dye, as a forage plant, as a food and in the form of medicine.

How Fenugreek Increases Milk Supply in Nursing Mothers

While the exact way it increases milk supply is still unknown to us, it is believed that the woman’s breasts are modified sweat glands and fenugreek stimulates sweat production. Milk production increases within twenty four to seventy two hours of eating the herb.

How You Should Eat Fenugreek

Fenugreek can be taken in the form of pills, wherein the fenugreek seeds are ground and paced in capsules. These pills can be obtained from a natural food store or your chemist. It can also be taken in tea form, but fenugreek tea is considered less potent than the capsule form, and it also tastes very bitter. One way to find if you are eating the right amounts of fenugreek is to increase the amount, until your sweat and urine begin to smell like artificial maple syrup. Please stop using it immediately, if you have any adverse reactions.

Fenugreek is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s GRAS or Generally Recognized as Safe list. However, it may cause asthma symptoms in some women and lower the blood glucose levels in women with diabetes.

For those, who can digest this wonderful herb without any side effects, you should take up fenugreek breast-feeding to increase your milk supply, so that your baby can get all the milk it wants through fenugreek breast-feeding. For more information please visit pregnancy period

Pregnancy Neo Natal - Feeding And Alcohol Is A Bad Idea

Feeding and Alcohol Don’t Mix Well

Breast-feeding and alcohol do not mix well. It has been proved by medical experts that, breast-feeding is the best form of nutrition for the newborn infant. During breast-feeding, two hormones are at work, prolactin and oxytoxin. Prolactin causes the secretion of milk and oxytoxin pushes the milk into the nipple, so that your baby can suckle easily.

The Effects of Alcohol on Breast-feeding

Research says that, when you consume alcohol during breast-feeding, your levels of prolactin increase, while your levels of oxytoxin decrease. This means, your breasts will be full of milk, but the milk will not be pushed into the nipples, so your baby will be unable to suckle from them. You certainly do not want your baby to go hungry. In addition, the baby’s liver is not developed enough to digest alcohol at this early stage in its life.

Colostrum in the Mother’s Milk

In the first six weeks after delivery, the breast milk that your baby drinks contains a substance called colostrum. This colostrum improves the baby’s immunity and prevents it from getting illnesses and infections. That is the reason why your doctors say, it is necessary to breast-feed your baby for the first six weeks after delivery. Now is certainly not the time to drink alcohol and contaminate this colostrum rich milk.

Your Baby May Not Like the Smell and Taste of Milk

However, if your just cant resist it, drink alcohol only after you have breast fed. This way, the alcohol is not accumulated in your breast milk. Alternatively, you can also pump your milk from your breast and feed it to your baby. Also, do not be too surprised, if your baby does not like the taste and smell of your milk, because feeding and alcohol gives the milk a bad taste and smell.

We advise you not to mix breast-feeding and alcohol. You do not want your baby to drink alcohol from infancy, do you?

For more information you can visit pregnancy period.