There are foods that some mothers claim that can increase breastmilk. Fenugreek is one of them but they are not to be taken by pregnant mothers. (PLEASE NOTE THIS) Fenugreek is actually a common spice we use in our curries. In the United States, there are fenugreek supplements for breastfeeding mothers to take as supplement. Well, I wouldn’t advise breastfeeding mothers to resort to this because our body can produce enough milk for our babies if you breastfeed regularly.
However, what if your Baby is not nursing like he/she should? I have a baby in the ICU for two months and hence, I can only express breastmilk for him. There are many mothers whose babies are like this. Take a look at the amount of breastmilk stored in this fridge :
How do we manage? How did I manage to be a fully ‘pumping’ mom and yet able to breastfeed my fourth baby and also my fifth baby who was on ebm for 8 months?
Recipes here:
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Date and Time photo taken: 2003:05:31 23:01:28 9wow, that’s a mighthy long time ago)
This is almost like my daily diet. A pot of soup made from fenugreek (the little brown seeds in the tiny saucer), lemongrass to expel ‘wind’, ginger also to expel ‘wind’ and fishes to make the soup wholesome. You can replace the fish with chicken if you like. However, fresh, fishes are best.
To quench those thirst that most breastfeeding moms feel, I always keep another pot of dates tea. Dates are fully of goodness (iron and other minerals) and they taste good too.
This version with red, black and honey dates is the milder version. After giving birth, I have another type of tea with Chinese herbs (which I will share later). I just boil the dates with water for a while, without needing any sugar as the honey dates are loaded with sugar.
There are many other classic recipes that most Malaysian moms swear by like the green papaya soup, Malay moms with the pegaga and cukur manis, Indian with the drumstick (beans) and etc. You can find them here:
Soup RecipeÂ
and even more recipes
plus confinement food of the various races
If you ask me if those really works, I can tell you that the psychological effect works best. It is like a placebo. Moreover, the foods aren’t difficult to prepare, tastes good and are healthy. So, why not give it a try? Many of us do swear that the milk quantity increases remarkably.
Originally posted 2006-06-21 14:52:49.
