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What’s the best lactation tea?

Low milk supply is a common concern for new breastfeeding moms. You’ve probably had simple suggestions such as nursing often or drink more water.

These tips certainly do help to increase your supply. But, what if you could give some oomph to your supply?

Herbs have been used for thousands of years to boost breast milk supply. They are a great natural alternative to try before opting for pharmaceutical alternatives.

However, like any parenting product, there is a lot of choices. We’ve developed this guide to help you find the lactation tea which is right for you.

Let’s start with our top 5 recommendations.

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Best Lactation Teas | What are the best herbal teas for breastfeeding? Find out my top 5.  Breastfeeding tea can boost your milk supply and help your postpartum recovery. A postpartum essential for new moms. Stork Mama

Top 5 Best Lactation Tea Reviews

1. Traditional Medicinals Organic Mother’s Milk Tea

The Traditional Medicinals Mother Milk Tea is one of the most recommended lactation tea. It’s one mom’s return to with their second and third babies because it works so well.

They recommend you drink 3 cups a day but may see a boost to your supply with even one cup a day. It contains the herb’s fennel, anise, fenugreek, coriander and blessed thistle. The taste is a sweet and bitter licorice flavor, which takes some getting used to.

It’s a great booster for moms who pump as it gets you so much more from each session. Use this tea when your baby is going through a growth spurt.

It gives your supply a helping hand and cuts down on the exhaustion of cluster feeding.

2. Yogi Teas Woman’s Nursing Support

The Yogi Nursing Support tea is an organic blend which contains fenugreek, fennel, chamomile, nettle, anise and lavender. Although it states it has a sweet apple-like flavor, most moms report a fennel or mild licorice taste.

It’s recommended to drink 2-3 cups of the tea per day. With the box contains 16 bags it should last for around a week.

You will notice a difference in their supply soon after drinking this tea. On average, you should produce an extra 1-2oz per session. Although this will be easier to see when expressing your milk.

Moms that took the recommended 3 cups per day, noted they saw a fall in milk production when they don’t drink as much.

3. Pink Stork Liquid Gold

The Pink Stork Liquid Gold is the best lactation tea for helping to double your supply. It’s a little pricey compared to other brands but worth the results.

They recommend 3 cups a day which can be made from the one tea bag. It’s ideal for busy moms as you can make it up as a pot of tea to drink hot or cold.

I found it a bit strange it contained spearmint, as this known to reduce milk supply. However, with the combination of other herbs, the effects are minimized. Plus the spearmint really helps prevent your baby getting gassy.

The flavor of the tea is very sweet, and a lot nicer than the other bitter tasting teas we’ve recommended.

4. Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Milkmaid Tea

Earth Mama Angel Baby Milkmaid Tea is perfect for helping to establish your milk supply. We would recommend this one for new mamas due to the red raspberry leaf content.

This herb is amazing for increasing milk supply and reducing postpartum bleeding and after pains. The flavor is a licorice and fennel taste. However, very mild and bearable if it’s helping to boost your supply.

The effects of this tea are quick. If you drink it at night, you’ll probably wake feeling more engorged than usually by the morning.

The biggest drawback with this tea is that the higher dose of fenugreek can make your baby quite gassy. If you drink this tea and notice your baby getting more irritable, try cutting down.

5. Buddha’s Herbs Milky Cloud Tea

For a Fenugreek-free, option try the Buddha’s herbs Milky Cloud Tea. Fenugreek isn’t suitable for certain medical conditions and can make some babies gassy. Of all our picks, this Tea rates the highest for taste.

The sweet flavor is due to the ingredients of fennel fruit and lemon balm leaves. If you want to avoid the licorice tasting tea, then this is the one to buy.

The effect is quite powerful. Most moms report an increase of 1-2oz per pump session. That’s a fantastic output if you’re struggling with your supply.

Cost wise you get a two-week week supply (3 x cups per day) for under $10. Compared to other brands it’s a great option if you’re watching your budget.


Lactation Tea Buying Guide

For lactation teas to work well, you’ll need to drink 3 cups per day. There are a few factors to consider before buying a Tea brand that’s right for you. This is what you should look out for when buying a lactation tea.

Type

  • Tea Bags – Are convenient to use, especially for working moms. The flavor is weaker than loose leaf. However, some brands can be used to brew more than one cup.
  • Loose Leaf – Provide a fresh flavored tea with stronger ingredients so you don’t need to drink as much. However, are usually more expensive and require extra equipment to use.

Ingredients

The active ingredients of the lactation tea will determine whether you continue to use it or not. Each brand will have a different strength of each ingredient.

It may be a case of trial and error until you find one that improves your supply. Increased trapped wind in your baby is one of the most common side effects of drinking lactation teas.

If the ingredients don’t agree with you or baby, we suggest to first try cutting dairy from your tea. If that doesn’t work, then try another brand, often fenugreek-free teas work well for babies with colic.

Taste

Lactation Teas are usually packed with a few milk boosting herbs. Fennel and Anise are popular ingredients, which give the teas a licorice flavor.

The teas which rated best for flavor were the Pink stork liquid gold and the Buddha’s herb milky cloud tea.

Cost

The cost of drinking lactation tea can add up quickly. The best way to estimate is to work out the cost per cup.

Say you’re your box has 10 tea bags for $10, but each can be used for 3 cups. That’s 30 servings, which is a month’s supply. Another brand may be $7 for 15 tea bags that are a single serving.

That means a month’s supply will cost you around $14. Buying in bulk is a great way to save money, however, make sure you like the brand first.

10 Best Herbal Teas for Breastfeeding

If a specialist lactation tea isn’t your thing, why not try a herbal tea without the other ingredients. The benefit is that it is can still help to boost your milk supply, without the bitter taste of lactation teas.

1. Alfalfa

Alfalfa tea is great for helping you to increase your energy if you suffer postpartum anemia. Other benefits include relaxation and helping with water retention.

2. Anise

This is the shortened name for aniseed, so if you dislike the flavor, this is one to avoid. The benefits of Anise tea include preventing blocked milk ducts and preventing colic symptoms in baby.

3. Chamomile

Well known for its relaxation properties, chamomile is great for nursing moms. Chamomile tea also has other benefits for postpartum mamas such as protection against infection, hemorrhoids and aches and pains. This is a great option for when your baby begins teething.

4. Fennel

Another popular tea for increasing breast milk supply. Fennel tea is a great choice if you suffer from digestive problems such as IBS. It also helps baby with colic symptoms. It’s a great source of vitamin c and will give you the immune boosting benefits.

5. Fenugreek

The most common herb used for increasing breast milk. Fenugreek tea truly helps to boost milk supply. Plus if you get a lot of after pains, it really helps to ease these.

6. Goats Rue

This is a very popular herb used in Europe to boost milk supply. Goats Rue tea has very similar properties to other herbs on this list including helping blood sugars, being antibacterial and improving water retention.

7. Marshmallow root

Apart from being totally delicious, marshmallow tea is great for nursing moms. If you suffer from IBS or urine infections, it can really help keep them at bay. It’s also great for keeping infection at bay, so great if you have any type of stitches.

8. Milk Thistle

The milk thistle plant has been used in Europe and Asia for centuries by nursing moms. The biggest benefit of milk thistle tea is detoxification of the liver. A great option for helping with skin health.

9. Nettle Tea

Tea from the common stinging nettle has lots of benefits for after birth. Nettle tea will help you boost your milk supply as well as being a great source of calcium, vitamin A and K. It’s an anti-inflammatory, like a natural version of Advil. As a diuretic, it will help prevent that dread post pregnancy bloat.

10. Red raspberry leaf

A herb often used in pregnancy to help speed up labor. Red raspberry leaf tea amazing for postpartum too. It helps to shrink your uterus, control bleeding and ease any general aches and pains whilst you recover.

Benefits of Nursing Tea

Let’s look at the benefits you can gain from adding a nursing tea into your daily routine.

Increase Supply

This is the benefits most moms want from their tea. It’s often a worry when your start breastfeeding or pumping that your supply isn’t enough. Even if you need to give it a little boost to get a bit more milk. Most moms will benefit from the milk-boosting effects of the herbs in lactation teas.

Keep Hydrated

When you have a new baby, it can be difficult to remember to keep yourself fed and hydrated. Drinking your lactation tea regularly will take care of around 3 of your recommended glasses of water per day. If your fluid intake is usually poor, that alone should help your milk supply.

Less Colic for Baby

Herbal ingredients such as fennel, anise and a small amount of fenugreek can really help reduce colic in babies. These help to calm the digestive system and reduce the muscle spasms as a side effect of colic.

Quick Healing

The herbs used to improve lactation are effective because they are similar to female hormones. A boost of these helps you through the postpartum period. This includes reducing aches, cramps, infection and bleeding. They can also give you a boost of vitamins to help your energy levels.

Aid Sleep

Tea which contains relaxing properties will really help to increase your quality of sleep. Nursing is fantastic for getting great quality of sleep, even if it is little and often. The longer you can prolong that, the better for your physical and mental health.

Caffeine Free

If you cut back on tea drinking due to caffeine, you’ll be happy to know lactation teas are caffeine free. This means you can drink them without worrying about the effects on your baby.


Disadvantages of Herbal Teas

Although herbal teas have been used for centuries, it’s important to remember a lot of the information we have about them is anecdotal. Due to lack of strict scientific testing or smaller studies, it’s difficult to know how safe herbs are for certain conditions. Please be aware of the following before you buy any herbal teas.

Medical conditions

If you have any severe medical conditions such as diabetes, thyroid problems, digestive or metabolic disorders, please consult with your doctor. Small amounts may not be harmful. However, certain herbs are known to be incompatible with these conditions.

Medications

Also if you take any regular medications, please make sure they are compatible with the tea ingredients. Some herbs may block your medication from being effective or increase any side effects. Discuss this with your doctor beforehand.

Oversupply

If you need a slight boost to your supply, we suggest only taking the tea until it gets to this level. You can then maintain the supply with frequent feeding or pumping. Oversupply of milk without regular emptying of the breast can lead to engorgement and mastitis. Left untreated these conditions can severely affect your health and require urgent medical treatment.