Fenugreek breastfeeding is the ideal method to increase milk supply especially for those nursing mothers who have insufficient milk supply for their babies. Fenugreek has been known to augment milk supply since ancient times. It is basically a type of herb that contains certain plant chemicals such as phytoestrogens which are just like estrogen, the female sex hormone. The main component in Fenugreek is diosgenin, which has proven qualities of improving milk supply.
Fenugreek is grown as a plant in India, France, Argentina, United States, North Africa and the Mediterranean countries for food, medicines, dyes, condiments and forage purposes. It's an erect annual herb with trifoliate leaves and a height ranging between 0.3 and 0.8 meters. With the beginning of the summer season, its white flowers turn into yellow-brown pods that are slim and long and contain fenugreek commerce brown seeds.
How Does Fenugreek Work?
The brown seeds of fenugreek contain some hormone precursors that help increase milk supply. The most likely explanation for this phenomenon is that sweat production is stimulated by fenugreek and human breasts are basically sweat glands with some modifications. Moreover, it hardly takes between one day and three days for the fenugreek to increase the nursing mother's milk supply and once this supply reaches the desired level, fenugreek breastfeeding can be discontinued. Thereafter, the optimum level of milk supply can be sustained with breast stimulation.
How To Take Fenugreek
The easiest way of using the fenugreek breastfeeding method is to swallow fenugreek in a pill form. These pills are easily available in supermarkets and nutrition and natural food stores. Alternatively, fenugreek can also be taken in the form of tea. But this might leave a bitter after-taste and it may not be as potent as the pills. The minimum dosage that can produce any tangible effect is approximately 3500 mg or 6 capsules per day. However, excessive fenugreek can make your urine and sweat will smell like maple syrup. In case of side effects, you should stop using it.
Contraindications Of Fenugreek Breastfeeding
Fenugreek breastfeeding does not suit all mothers as it can cause aggravated asthma symptoms, loose stools, maple syrup smell of sweat and urine, uterine contractions and lowering of blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). However, moderate use of fenugreek does not pose many problems and is considered safe. Diabetic mothers should be very careful in fenugreek breastfeeding as hypoglycemia can be dangerous.
Other Advantages And Uses Of Fenugreek
Fenugreek can be used to enhance the flavor of food especially artificial maple syrup that is widely used as a vital component of chutneys and curries and in traditional medicines in China, India, North Africa, Greece and the Middle East. Fenugreek is also very popular as salad and sprouted. Besides these uses, the main function of fenugreek is to increase the milk supply and if a nursing mother does not experience side effects, she must resort to fenugreek breastfeeding. The mother can make fenugreek more palatable and increase her milk supply in many ways. The satisfaction that she will get when she sees her baby getting all the milk that it wants through fenugreek breastfeeding will be worth any bad taste or minor side effects.
The importance of fenugreek for breastfeeding mothers is immense. Fenugreek is an herbal home remedy for breastfeeding that helps to increase milk supply. Please consult your doctor or lactation consultant for usage and dosage information. Visit Breastfeeding Help for more on breastfeeding, pregnancy, fertility, pregnancy symptoms, maternity clothes and almost everything you want to know about pregnancy and childbirth.