Children who have been breast fed have increased immunity, digestion and grow better than non breast fed children. In sufficient milk supply is more likely to occur in the two to six period after birth. Some of the symptoms that the mother may experience include tiredness, pale complexion, insomnia, dizziness and not enough milk or even no milk for the baby.
There are a number of causes for insufficient breast milk which include.
- Mums having gone under IVF
- History of miscarriages
- Difficult birth
- Excessive bleeding after birth
Medical physicians used to prescribe a pharmaceutical drug known as cisparide for insufficient milk supply but it was taken off the market because it caused serious cardiac problems. Doctors now prescribe Domperidone even though it was originally designed to help gastrointestinal disorders. Domperidone goes under the brand name Motillium and is prescription only medication.
In 2004 the FDA warned that Domperidone is not approved for enhanced lactation and issued a letter to women warning them not to take it.
There have been a number of studies confirming the effectiveness of acupuncture in promoting milk supply in breast feeding mums. One study in China even found that a specific acupuncture point SI 1 gave the best result when it was needled between 1 and 3 pm in the afternoon.
Traditional Chinese medicine has the view that the mother’s milk is actually the outlet of her blood and hence the saying, if the blood is weak, then the milk can suffer. Gynecology has been a specialist field in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years and there are many documented acupuncture points and Chinese herbs that are used for insufficient milk supply.
There is more than one cause according to traditional Chinese medicine theory as to the cause of insufficient breast milk. For example, it could be due to the blood of the liver being weak and deficient and in another instance it could be due to the energy of the liver itself being stuck and blocked. A practitioner of Traditional Chinese medicine or traditional acupuncturist needs to diagnose the individual and treat accordingly.