Beer Helps Increase Milk Supply or DOES IT?

I had really wondered about this so I did a lot of studying up on it. I wanted to make educated comments on this subject that I feel very passionate towards. Alcohol as a solvent (Isopropyl) is very drying to our skin, hair & nails. Why would ethanol alcohol be much different? It's not ~ it's just as drying; as in "Drying You Up."


One thing beer has that can help is Hops Flower., Hops are a bitter, relaxing herb that eventually became standard for brewing, is a potent, estrogenic galactagogue with a strong reputation for the milk-ejection reflex. But what we can't deny in our culture here in the US is that our new moms get stressed easily over not having a proper amount of help & support (for breastfeeding, being away from baby at work, taking care of other children, etc.). Hops Flower has a bad side effect of depression. Which can be why when some people drink they feel more saddened.

Beer consumption by nursing women altered the sensory qualities of their milk and the behavior of their infants during breastfeeding in a short term study. The infants consumed significantly less milk during the 4-hr testing sessions in which their mothers drank alcoholic beer compared to when the mothers drank nonalcoholic beer; this decrease in milk intake was not due to a decrease in the number of times the babies fed. Although the infants consumed less of the alcohol-flavored milk, the mothers believed their infants had ingested enough milk, reported that they experienced a letdown during nursing, and felt they had milk remaining in their breasts at the end of the majority of feedings. The mechanism by which the consumption of alcoholic beer by lactating women decreases milk intake by their nurslings remains to be determined.


This pretty much sums it all up right here:
   Alcohol is an ANTI-galactagogue. Studies on animals and humans show that alcohol impairs the milk ejection reflex, slows the flow of milk, and leads to a reduced intake of milk by the baby during approximately four hours after drinking. Because of the back-up of milk, the breast feels fuller, fooling the mother into believing she is producing more. And because her baby drinks longer (milk flow is reduced, so it requires more time for baby to remove milk from the breast) the mother believes that her baby is drinking more. 



For more info on this subject or other subjects related to breastfeeding, labor support or placenta preservation contact Lisa. You can even have her speak at your event.



http://lactogenicdiet.blogspot.com/2011/10/beer-as-galactagogue-brief-history.html

http://creebreastfeeding.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/dear-lc-i%E2%80%99ve-been-told-that-drinking-a-beer-will-help-my-milk-supply-is-that-true-what-about-an-occasional-glass-of-red-wine-with-a-meal-or-for-a-special-occasion/

http://www.motherisk.org/women/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=347

http://www.breastfeedingbasics.org/cgi-bin/deliver.cgi/content/Drugs/alcohol.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2799511/