How to Use Domperidone to Increase Milk Supply

Sometimes, nothing seems to increase breast milk supply. If you have already met with a lactation consultant to correct a baby's latch, drank an ocean of licorice-flavored herbal tea blends, eaten enough fenugreek pills to smell like a pancake restaurant and pumped until your breasts hurt, it may be time to try domperidone. Here's how to use it to increase your supply.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Domperidone pills
• Pharmacy, either local or Internet-based

1. Obtain the domperidone pills from a pharmacy. You can do this online if the prices are better or if your local pharmacy does not stock it.

2. Start taking the pills. Take three 10 mg pills three times a day. Spread the dosages throughout your day, like at mealtimes. There is no need to wake up in order to ensure you take them every 8 hours.

3. Continue to breastfeed and/or pump as you normally do. Some mothers notice a difference within a day, but most do by 4 days of this regimen.

4. Take the pills for 3 to 8 weeks. This will give you a chance to see if the domperidone is having a positive effect on your breastmilk supply.

5. Reduce your pill intake by one per day after the trial period. Wait 4 or 5 days, and drop another one until you are off the medication completely or you notice a drop in your milk supply.

Tips & Warnings

• Some online pharmacies, like those in Canada, require a physician's prescription in order to complete your Internet order. Other countries, like New Zealand, do not.
• Domperidone was originally created to increase movement in the digestive tract and to counteract nausea and vomiting. Its effect on lactation was noticed from the start of medical trials with the drug. Researchers found that one of the drug's unintended side effects was the an increase in secretion of prolactin by the pituitary gland. Low levels of prolactin have been linked to low breast milk supply.
• Although it has been used in Canada for many years with an extremely low rate of side effects, domperidone is nearly impossible to buy in the United States and is not approved by the FDA.
• Some women will not be able to maintain their breastmilk supply without domperidone. If you are one of those women, consult with your doctor about whether you should continue taking the drug or not.
• Side effects are rare, but the most common ones reported were headache, abdominal cramps, dry mouth and changes in menstrual periods.

Resources

• Find out more about breastfeeding

[sluna75]

on 5/18/2009 I just had a baby 5 months ago, tried everything I could think of to increase my supply, even to the point of smelling like the Waffle house, but nothing worked. Very disappointing. Now my baby making days are over, but i will remember this article to a friend of mine. Wish I had seen this before. 5 *