Do Lactation Cookies Really Increase Breast Milk Supply?
I am pretty sure that anyone who breastfeeds, also worries about their milk supply.
Like 10 times before second breakfast.
In the early days you worry your milk supply will never come in. Then it comes in and you’re engorged so you worry it’s too much. Then growth spurts hit and you worry again.
Returning to work? Worry.
Sleep lengthens and you start solid foods? Worry.
Did a workout? Worry.
Again and again the worries keep on coming. I was starting multiple conversations a day with my husband about my supply worries in the early weeks. My husband thought I was obsessed.
Maybe I was. But mostly I was disappointed. Because he was absolutely no help in calming my fears.
So I took to the internet. (Most likely at 2am, after I’d nursed my baby back to sleep and was now wide awake). And what did I find?
A cookie to solve all my woes.
There must be a thousand Pinterest pages promising recipes for “THE. BEST.” lactation cookie.
Thousands more giving you the top 10 ways to increase your milk supply. And what always makes the list?
Lactation cookies.
So is it true? Will a lactation cookie made with oats, brewer’s yeast, and flaxseed really solve your milk supply worries? Or is it just a myth?
It sounded too good to be true...I can eat this delicious cookie AND it will help me breastfeed? I am going to breastfeed FOREVER! Keep the cookies coming!
Let’s take a closer look.
Turns out there are many foods, herbs, and medications considered to be galactagogues. Galactagogue (pronounced Ga-lack-ta-gog) is a long, funny-sounding word that means a food or drug that promotes or increases the flow of human milk.
It turns out that in a recent study on galactagogue use, lactation cookies were the most commonly reported galactagogue used. In terms of perceived effectiveness however it was ranked as “slightly to moderately effective.” In the same category of effectiveness as nine of the top ten galactagogues reported. (The medication domperidone was ranked as the most effective galactagogue by study participants. But before you get too excited - it also was described as having the most side effects AND it is not approved for prescription in the United States).
A couple things I found interesting about this study that I wanted to highlight:
About one fifth of the almost 2000 study participants started using galactagogues in the first week after having their baby…before milk supply is even established. So this tells me that sometimes, maybe often, women take them just to be on the safe side.
Study participants cited the expense of lactation cookies as a reason they wouldn’t recommend them to a friend, more than any other galactagogue. Medications and herbal supplements had lower complaints of cost than the cookies in this group.
It looks like there is currently one study underway specifically looking at lactation cookies impact on milk supply but I couldn’t find any others. In the end there is really no scientific evidence that eating certain foods will directly increase your milk supply.
Keep in mind nutrition is notoriously hard to study.
But...
While we may not have good evidence that eating certain foods increase breast milk production, we do know that a healthy diet while breastfeeding is important for both the mother and baby. And an easy-to-grab, nutrient-dense snack like a lactation cookie might be the difference for some busy nursing parents that would otherwise skip eating.
So…should you go out and buy those lactation cookies?
Image by Nila Williamson
Honestly - my recommendation is no.
Not the packaged convenience products that are out there. Look at that price tag!! More than $2 each?! I can see why the women in that study mentioned the expense.
On the other hand though - homemade oatmeal cookies with a little ground flaxseed, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, and/or walnuts thrown in? No more difficult really than baking normal homemade cookies. I say go for it!
A bowl of oatmeal several times a week for breakfast? You bet!
There’s definitely no risk to up’ing your intake of galactagogue foods. They are healthy and nutritious and yummy. Especially when made at home. But will they solve your concerns for low milk supply?
Probably not.
And lastly I will just rant for a moment
I believe there is a subtle but real consequence of all these lactation cookie products. It goes back to all those Pinterest Top 10 Lists of ways to increase your milk supply.
They have become clickbait for vulnerable women struggling with low milk supply. Or based on that study…vulnerable women not struggling with low milk supply but who are worried about it and will do anything they can to get out ahead of it.
If you are struggling with milk supply concerns please reach out to a lactation consultant for help and information. Low milk supply can be real but also sometimes only perceived.
If real it can be caused by many factors such as ineffective milk removal, hormone levels, amount of mammary tissue, etc.
A quick fix like a cookie doesn’t address these factors and can falsely advertise that we have control over our milk production when in some instances we don’t.
And that leaves us feeling guilty or like a failure when we don’t “succeed.”
And no parent should be made to feel inadequate by a large industry that preys on our insecurities and anxieties.
If you are looking for a yummy lactation cookie recipe that you should make and eat not because it will increase your milk supply but because it is yummy and nutritious and will be a convenient and healthy snack while you breastfeed —- Click here to get my free guide on the 5 best ways to prepare for breastfeeding and you'll get my favorite recipe!
Have a comment? Or experience with lactation cookies you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!