Re: SCD and breast milk supply. Might Be a Bigger Issue Than You Think

September 11, 2010

Misha,

The best thing I know of for increasing breast milk supply is nursing the baby.

Were you at home w/ your first child? Pumps are just not as efficient nor as

" motivating " to the breasts, shall we say, as directly nursing that baby. This

doesn't even take into consideration the fact that no caregiver is going to gaze

adoringly into that baby's eyes the way you do and studies are showing more and

more how important the love and nutrition we receive as babes will be to our

overall health for the rest of our lives.

This former La Leche League Leader would suggest that you spend as much time

holding, loving, and directly nursing that baby as possible. It's about supply

and demand. But, then, I AM biased. The reason I nursed my number 2 baby

exclusively for such a long time was the food problems #1 had. And in my, and

the medical community's ignorance, I greatly contributed to them. It took

literally YEARS to straighten them out and some of them will NEVER be corrected.

I would never again put a child through what he went through as a consequence of

having fed him the foods the doc told me to feed him. And it's the same protocol

that many pediatricians still use!

The children of women with our gut issues seem to be more prone to serious

developmental problems (learning, emotional, bahavioral, and kinesthetic brain

issues). And we can be assured that more is passed on in our breast milk from

what we consume than science yet realizes. My humble opinion is that I would

stay away from illegals because, unbeknownst to me at the time, my own babies

reacted to such. I sure wouldn't want to be causing the problems we had at our

house. No amount of money-making in the world could be worth it.

Blessings,

Artful Carol

Former me: From babyhood - CFS, Depression, Candida, Severe Chemical, Inhalant,

and Food Allergies. Current me: Global Carb and Fungal Problems well-controlled

past 30 yr. by extremely low-carb, no dairy, no grains allergy/anti-yeast diet,

SCD 01/05. After 35 yrs. no need for allergy shots since SCD! Magnesium/Vits

A, B, D, E/Evening Primrose, Fish, Olive, and Other Oils, Lecithin. 2 grown kids

recovered from serious developmental problems which I believe were

fungally-caused.

I have an almost-6-month-old at home who is just starting solids and has been

exclusively breastfed up till now. I went back to work when she was about 4 1/2

months old and I pump at work. Last week I had to take a trip for 2 days and

even though I pumped while I was away, my supply is now significantly lower than

it had been. We are starting to supplement a *little* with formula, but I would

really like to give her as much breastmilk as possible, and avoid formula if

possible. (Supply is starting to build up again, but I know that over time it

will decrease, as it did with my first child.)

> So here is my question: with my first child, I used lots of techniques to

increase my milk supply (oatmeal, dark beer, mother's milk tea, and an herbal

tincture), and they all worked GREAT, but it turns out they are all SCD-ILLEGAL!

(Back then, with my first, I was not on SCD.) The tea and tincture contain

fenugreek, which is illegal, and marshmallow root, which is also illegal. Does

anyone have experience with this? Any recommendations for SCD-legal supplements

or foods that might help increase my supply? This might be a case where I have

to ingest some illegals for a little while and accept slower healing during this

time. I assume that if I'm going to ingest one of these illegals it'd be better

to use the tea and/or tincture (i.e. illegal herbs) rather than oatmeal or beer,

does anyone know if that's right?

>

> Thanks for your help,

> Misha

>

> IBS-D since 1996, no meds

> SCD since June 2010

>

September 11, 2010

Hi Carol,

Thanks. That's exactly what I've been doing ever since I got back from my trip

and my supply has indeed increased (though it still comes and goes a little).

Unfortunately, working less is not really an option since I'm the primary

bread-winner in the household, and I can get away with slacking off only so

much! With my first child I was able to wait longer before returning to work

(she was 6 1/2 months old when I went back, my second was 4 1/2 months), but

over time I couldn't get much from pumping, for the reasons you mentioned. (I do

use non-food-based techniques to improve output, like looking at pictures of my

baby and breast massage.) With my first, even after I stopped pumping around 11

months I continued to breastfeed her mornings and evenings until she was 18

months, and I hope to do the same with my second.

I'm well-connected with my local La Leche League group, but I posted to this

group because I thought there might be galactogogs out there that were SCD-legal

(and I figured LLL folks wouldn't necessarily know SCD). It seems like there

probably aren't, so I'll just do my best.

Since you mentioned it, may I ask which foods you introduced to your first child

early on that turned out to be very problematic? We have just started her on

solid foods recently. My first child had no problems with any foods, but I also

had total remission of my symptoms during my pregnancy with her and for about 6

months after her birth--not so with my second. So I wonder if my second has a

higher chance of having food sensitivities?

misha

>

> I have an almost-6-month-old at home who is just starting solids and has been