Galactagogues

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Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Randomised Controlled Trial

Date fruit consumption appears to be useful for promoting and increasing breast milk quantity in breastfeeding mothers. Date fruits may be an alternative galactagogue.

2021 Breastfeeding Medicine The Effects of Date Fruit Consumption on Breast Milk Quantity and Nutritional Status of Infants
Modepeng T, Pavadhgul P, Bumrungpert A, Kitipichai W

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Randomised Controlled Trial

Fenugreek improves breast milk production in mothers and increases the weight gain of newborns during their first week of life.

2020 Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health Effect of fenugreek on breast milk production and weight gain among Infants in the first week of life
Ravi R, Joseph J

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

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

2020 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 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

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Consumption of fenugreek significantly increased amount of the produced breast milk versus placebo.

2017 Phytotherapy Research Effectiveness of fenugreek as a galactagogue: A network meta-analysis
Khan TM, Wu DB, Dolzhenko AV

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Galactagogues" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Galactagogues" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Galactagogues" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Randomised Controlled Trial published in 2021 in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine found that Date fruit consumption appears to be useful for promoting and increasing breast milk quantity in breastfeeding mothers. Date fruits may be an alternative galactagogue. Breastfeeding mothers who received 10 date fruits/day had an 11% increase in breast milk quantity from baseline to week 2, and a 23% increase from baseline to week 4, (both p < 0.05). The breast milk quantity of the breastfeeding mothers who received date fruits was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). However, there were no differences in infant nutritional status.

A Randomised Controlled Trial published in 2020 in the journal Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health found that Fenugreek improves breast milk production in mothers and increases the weight gain of newborns during their first week of life. The study was an experimental design carried out in two groups, a control and an experimental group, at a maternity centre in Bangalore. A total of sixty postnatal mothers were selected and split evenly between the two groups. For the experimental group, 7.5 grams of fenugreek was steeped overnight; this resulting fenugreek water was then given to these participants once in the morning for one week. The study then assessed and compared the frequency of urination and weight of the infants between the two groups at different points: on the first, third, fifth, and seventh days. There was identifiable improvement in indicators of sufficient breast milk in the group that consumed the fenugreek compared to the control group. The influence of fenugreek on breast milk was identifiable through increased frequency of urination and weight gain in infants in their first week.

A Systematic Review published in 2020 in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that 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.

A Systematic Review published in 2017 in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that Consumption of fenugreek significantly increased amount of the produced breast milk versus placebo. The pairwise comparison revealed that fenugreek was effective as a galactagogue compared to placebo, control, and reference groups. However, the effect of fenugreek was substantially inferior to Coleus amboinicus Lour and palm date. The NMA using pairwise comparison demonstrated the effect of C. amboinicus and palm date in the stimulation of the breast milk production was comparable and superior to all comparators.

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