Many young mothers face the problem of insufficient lactation. Older women, based on their experience, often recommend tea with milk when breastfeeding. This is one of the proven folk remedies. There is an opinion that it really helps. But some women also say that such tea can cause colic in the baby and diseases of the digestive system. Which opinion is actually fair? What are the benefits of tea with milk during breastfeeding?
Benefits and harms
In general, of course, if you listen to the opinion of doctors, then to enhance lactation they recommend putting the baby to the breast as often as possible. After all, the hormones prolactin and oxytocin are responsible for the amount of milk. And frequent feeding helps stimulate their production in the body of a young mother. But what about the huge number of women who once helped tea with milk while breastfeeding? And our grandmothers, mothers and aunts did not know any other way.
The mechanism of action of this folk remedy is actually simple - any hot drink increases the flow of milk. The oxytocin reflex is stimulated due to exposure to heat. Then the milk begins to actively flow to the nipples. It is easier for the baby to suck it out. Therefore, it seems that there is more of it. But in fact, the functioning of the mammary glands simply returned to normal.
But often the child develops colic, problems with stool, and increased nervousness if the mother drinks tea with milk to stimulate lactation. The fact is that not all babies absorb protein from cow products. After all, their body does not yet produce enzymes to process it. Therefore, constipation or, conversely, loose, foamy stools are possible. In this case, you should exclude milk from your diet. And in tea you can replace it with cream that does not contain lactose. But it will be even more beneficial to drink tea with condensed milk while breastfeeding.
Green tea is a great alternative to black
The second problem that can be observed in this situation is the increased nervousness of the baby. It happens that there is a positive effect of such a folk remedy on his body, but at the same time the child sleeps poorly, is hyperactive, and often cries. This is due to the caffeine content in black tea. It has a tonic effect on the baby’s still fragile nervous system. We recommend replacing it. For example, green tea with milk during breastfeeding will not only help lactation, but also calm the baby. The drink will also strengthen the nervous system of the mother and her baby.
Which type of tea to choose
During breastfeeding, it is advisable for a girl to drink plenty of fluids. Many people are concerned about whether a nursing mother can drink tea with milk or whether it is better to refuse, but this question cannot be answered unambiguously; it depends on many factors. In addition to drinking compotes, juices and water, drinking tea is also allowed. The choice of tea variety depends on the benefits and effects that vary depending on the variety and are needed by a woman at a particular time.
Tea to improve breast milk lactation
Black drink
This drink absorbs a lot of healing microelements: various vitamins, essential oils and minerals. Although a very small amount of all these elements passes into the child’s body with mother’s milk, this amount is sufficient for a baby.
It is advisable to drink loose-leaf tea from those manufacturers in which you are most confident; try not to use aromatic additives or tea bags.
Green drink
This drink is healthier than other varieties. The tea contains antioxidants that help stop the progression of aging in the body. Green tea with milk helps nursing mothers rid the body of waste and toxins, which is very useful for women in the postpartum period.
The same caffeine in green tea is a cause of concern - a common cause of anxiety and whims in children. But if the baby does not experience any reaction, the mother can drink this drink while breastfeeding.
Drinking green tea with milk while breastfeeding will greatly benefit your baby's health; you should drink it half an hour before breastfeeding. With frequent, consistent use, this tea strengthens the immune system of both the mother and her child.
The drink also has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system of a young mother; during this period, a woman is susceptible to emotional breakdowns, unhealthy fear for her baby, and healthy sleep is also disturbed, and all this can lead to stress and depression.
Amazing milk drinks
In order for your breast milk to contain the necessary beneficial microelements, you need to consume not only tea drinks, it is advisable to supplement your diet with other decoctions. There are countless such drinks; for such a long development, as you understand, traditional medicine has not stood still, but let’s talk about the healthiest drinks from all this variety:
- Walnut tonic. Fill a mug filled with them to the brim. Pour 1 liter of boiled milk over the nuts and let it brew for four hours. Drink half a mug 3 times a day;
- Carrot drink . Dilute 3 cups of boiled milk with a few tablespoons of grated carrots. Drink 1 cup 3 times a day;
- Fennel drink . Stir fennel along with dill and a pinch of anise in equal proportions, about a spoonful of each product. Stir the mixture in a glass of hot water. Let it brew for one hour. Drink half a mug 2 times a day, 40 minutes after eating.
Tea with ginger, a drink with the addition of dill, chamomile tea and rosehip decoction also cope very well with poor lactation. It is strictly not recommended to use aloe vera extract, St. John's wort tincture, ginseng, rhubarb, wormwood, okolnik, coltsfoot, buckthorn. Firstly, they reduce the amount of milk production, and secondly, they cause great harm to the health of your baby. We also do not recommend drinking mint or lemon balm infusions.
Green tea with milk during breastfeeding
Herbal teas
Currently, there is a huge selection of lactation herbal preparations. You can brew nettle instead of tea. It will improve the quality of milk and help the woman’s body recover after childbirth. Fennel decoction also stimulates lactation well. If you drink it before feeding, the baby will not have problems with gas formation. Fenugreek is the most powerful lactogenic agent, and goat rue can increase milk volume by 50%.
Doctor Komarovsky's opinion
In addition, a nursing mother needs to replenish fluid loss. Dr. Komarovsky recommends drinking one to two liters of warm drink per day. In this case, it is necessary to divide it into small portions and drink a glass 20–30 minutes before each feeding. This will have a beneficial effect on the psycho-emotional state of the mother and stimulates a flow of fluid to the nipples. Therefore, the doctor recommends tea with milk when breastfeeding. Komarovsky also emphasizes the following point: in order for normal lactation to be established, the first 28 days of a baby’s life must be fed on demand, and not by the hour. The more often this happens at the stage of lactation, the better.
What else affects lactation? A young mother should eat well. The diet should include cereals, vegetables, and lean boiled meat. It is necessary to exclude canned food, semi-finished products, alcoholic and carbonated drinks, and any other products that can cause increased gas formation or allergies in the baby. Also, the formation of lactation is hampered by smoking and an unstable psycho-emotional state.
How and how much you can drink during lactation
It is up to the mother to decide which tea for lactation is best to choose. White tea is considered the safest for breastfeeding - it contains the least caffeine. Then comes green, red and black. At the same time, red tea (hibiscus) is considered the most allergenic of all listed. Details in the article about whether you can drink tea while guarding.
It is better to start with a small amount - no more than 0.5 cups per day. Then observe your child's reaction for several days. If no rashes, redness, or stool abnormalities appear, you can gradually increase the amount of tea. But ultimately, it should not exceed 3 cups per day. In addition, it is better not to drink strong tea at night, so as not to disturb the child's sleep pattern.
It should be remembered that the recommendation to drink more while breastfeeding does not mean the need to force liquid into yourself. You need to drink strictly when you feel thirsty or a little more. On average, you get about 1.5-2 liters of liquid per day, this amount includes tea with milk. It is not recommended to drink more than 3 liters of liquid per day, as this can cause edema. The exception is hot summer days.
In order for the property of tea with milk to expand the milk ducts to manifest itself in full force, it is best to drink it 10-30 minutes before feeding. For a nursing mother, this will be an opportunity to take a break from household chores and relax, and for the baby it will provide easier access to milk.
Drinks with milk
In order for the mother's product to contain all the necessary and beneficial substances, you can drink not only tea with milk while breastfeeding. Recipes for decoctions used in traditional medicine for insufficient lactation are varied. Here are some of them:
- Drink made from walnuts. Pour a glass filled with them into a larger container. Pour a liter of hot milk and leave to steep for 4 hours. Take 2 times a day, one third of a glass.
- Carrot delicacy. Mix 2 cups of warm milk with a couple of tablespoons of grated vegetable. You need to drink one glass three times a day.
- Fennel decoction. Mix it with dill and anise. The amount of each ingredient is a teaspoon. Pour a glass of boiling water over the mixture. Insist for an hour. Drink half a glass twice a day, forty minutes after meals.
Ginger tea, dill water, chamomile and rose hip decoctions help improve lactation. It is strictly not recommended to take aloe vera extract, ginseng, infusions of St. John's wort, rhubarb, wormwood, coltsfoot, buckthorn, and comfrey. They not only reduce the amount of milk, but can also cause serious harm to the baby’s health. You should also not brew mint and lemon balm.
How does mint tea affect lactation?
Is it possible to drink mint tea while breastfeeding? A question that concerns many nursing mothers. According to some reports, mint inhibits lactation. There are some nuances in this issue.
There are several types of mint. The most popular of them are peppermint and curly mint (garden, field). These two types of plants have different effects on the body. According to the international organization E-LACTANCIA (official website), which checks the compatibility of medications and breastfeeding, spearmint does not pose a risk for lactation. At the same time, peppermint contains menthol, which has a negative effect on breastfeeding. Menthol, when consumed in large quantities once, dilates blood vessels and provokes a flow of milk. But then the opposite effect occurs. Menthol reduces the amount of mucous secretions from the body, including breast milk.
The effect of suppressing lactation occurs when drinking a drink with peppermint more than twice a day. So sometimes a nursing mother can afford a fragrant drink.
How to make tea with milk?
It is recommended to prepare tea with milk during breastfeeding as follows:
- Brew weak green tea. Choose regular, without flavoring and aromatic additives. After all, they can cause allergies in the baby.
- Add boiled milk to taste. If the baby is less than two months old, replace it with a spoonful of condensed milk, dry cream, or give up milk altogether.
- You can add a spoon of honey.
You need to drink tea warm, almost hot, half an hour before feeding. Make sure that the amount of tea you drink per day does not exceed one liter. In addition to this drink, you can also drink about a liter of compote and chamomile decoction. Don't forget about regular clean water.
Contraindications for tea with milk when breastfeeding
Like any product that is used in large quantities, milk tea can also cause harm and discomfort to a nursing woman. Moreover, the presence of 2 substances in milk tea can cause a negative reaction in the child’s body; we’ll talk about them later. You need to take into account the likely benefits and contraindications before drinking this tea during lactation.
Theine (caffeine)
Since tea contains a large amount of caffeine, you need to be careful and regulate the amount of its consumption. A large amount of caffeine in breast milk can negatively affect the baby’s condition and cause irritability, anxiety, and negatively affect the quality of sleep. The nervous system of a young body is very vulnerable to the action of external factors, which is why we need to monitor the dose of theine entering our body.
Interesting! Too much milkweed while breastfeeding can cause low iron levels in human milk.
Women during lactation are advised to drink only black tea, as it contains several times less caffeine than green tea. But nevertheless, even in large quantities it can negatively affect the health of your body and that of your baby.
Drinks with the most caffeine
Reaction to milk protein
The natural proteins that make up milk are very allergenic and are difficult for the child’s body to perceive. A newborn may develop an allergy to cow's milk protein in the form of a rash, redness and other irritations throughout the body, abdominal pain, and problems with loose stools. You need to observe the reaction of the infant and stop drinking milk for a while if you notice a change in the child’s well-being.
Harm
We do not recommend drinking a drink with milk if:
- increased blood pressure in a nursing woman;
- if you are inclined to gain excess weight (in this case, it is especially not recommended to drink tea with sugar and other sweets);
- do not drink tea if you suffer from constipation;
- allergy to tea leaves or milk;
- lack of lactose in a child.
Positive opinion of women
Many young mothers drink tea with milk while breastfeeding. Reviews about it are mostly positive, because it is a folk remedy that has been proven over the years. Most women consider it effective, and most importantly, safe for normalizing lactation. Many people recommend brewing linden instead of green tea, as it helps improve digestion in a newborn and relieves colic. In addition, the color of the tree is an excellent sedative. It also has a beneficial effect on the baby's nervous system. If the baby does not sleep well or is capricious, then the mother should abandon regular tea in favor of linden tea.
Many breastfeeding women are advised not to rely only on tea with milk, but also to take other special means to normalize lactation. Good reviews about Apilak tablets. The drug is made on the basis of royal jelly. He has helped many mothers whose milk “disappeared” due to stress or lack of nutrition. It is also often recommended to use breast self-massage and relaxing baths at the same time as using milk tea.
Experienced women advise relaxing, calming down, and throwing all worries out of your head before breastfeeding. Drink a large cup of warm tea with milk, wait twenty minutes. Massage your breasts, pick up your baby and start feeding. To sweeten the drink, add a little honey. Tea with milk during breastfeeding is really very useful:
- Helps restore lactation.
- Replenishes the lack of fluid in the mother's body.
- Has a calming and relaxing effect.
- If you brew fennel instead of tea, you can easily solve the problem of gas formation in a baby.
- If you brew linden or chamomile, it will calm the baby and normalize his sleep.
