Oral galactagogues (natural therapies or drugs) for increasing breast milk production in mothers of non‐hospitalised term infants

Foong SC, Tan ML, Foong WC, Marasco LA, Ho JJ, Ong JH · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2020 May 18

Objective

To assess the effect of oral galactagogues for increasing milk production in non‐hospitalised breastfeeding mother‐term infant pairs.

Conclusions

There is low‐certainty evidence that pharmacological galactagogues may increase milk volume.

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Insights

The effectiveness of galactagogues in enhancing breast milk production has limited evidence.

The effectiveness of oral galactagogues for enhancing milk production in non-hospitalized breastfeeding mother-infant pairs was assessed through a review of 41 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The trials included 3005 mothers and 3006 infants across various countries. The certainty of evidence was generally low due to biases, heterogeneity, and imprecise measurements. Pharmacological galactagogues like domperidone and metoclopramide showed potential for increasing milk volume, though evidence was limited. Natural galactagogues, such as fenugreek and moringa, demonstrated potential benefits for infant weight and milk volume, but substantial heterogeneity necessitates cautious interpretation. More high-quality RCTs are urgently needed to establish galactagogue efficacy and safety.