herbs while breastfeeding

[Guest guest]

Which herbs are known to cause problems when taken by a breastfeeding

mother.

 

I need to write an herb formula, but the patient has a 1 year old

daughter with Down's Syndrone.

 

I don't want her milk production to slow down or dry up. I don't

want the baby to be adversly affected by the herbs.

 

I am going to write the formula from scratch, but I will be

taking " ideas " from many standard formulas.

 

Do any of these formulas (or ingredients in them) cause the problems

I mentioned:

 

ding zhi san

xiao yao san

jia wei xiao yao san

gan mai da zao tang

gui pi tang

jiu jun zi tang

tao hong si wu tang

yue ju san

shi xiao san

 

What about herbs that would open in orifices? I really want to

include shi chang pu in the formula.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Brian C. Allen

[Guest guest]

The breast milk is a product of the mother's blood, and the quality of

the blood is dependent on the balanced functioning of the viscera and

bowels. Therefore, whatever Chinese meds you prescribe in order to

bring the mother back into balance will improve the quality of her

milk and, consequently, also improve the baby's condition as well. The

issue is not which Chinese meds are contraindicated during lactation

but which Chinese meds are warranted or indicated in order to bring

the mother back into dynamic balance according to her pattern

discrimination. For instance, while ginseng may cause heat in the

blood and, hence, also in the milk if unwarranted, it will not do so

when warranted by the mother's pattern. In that case, the mom's milk

before treatment will be cooler than it should be, and adding ginseng

to her Rx will improve the quality of her milk and make her child also

healthier as a result.

[Guest guest]

, " Bob Flaws "

<pemachophel2001 wrote:

>

> The breast milk is a product of the mother's blood, and the quality of

> the blood is dependent on the balanced functioning of the viscera and

> bowels. Therefore, whatever Chinese meds you prescribe in order to

> bring the mother back into balance will improve the quality of her

> milk and, consequently, also improve the baby's condition as well.

 

Thanks for your input Bob.

 

I understand what you are saying and it makes me feel better about

going ahead with the ideas I had for the formula.

 

However, I did think that there are specific Chinese herbs, perhaps

commonly used ones, that can either inhibit or stop lactation. I feel

like I should avoid those herbs even if indicated for the mother.

 

I just don't know which herbs those are.

 

I intend on using both blood supplementing and blood moving herbs.

Those I feel confident using. However, I also need to address liver

depression. I feel fairly confident that those herbs won't negatively

affect lactation, but I am not completely sure.

 

The part of the formula that will concern me the most is the part that

address damp accumulation. I need to transform / drain damp. I also

want to use shi chang pu for it's orifice opening function.

 

It seems like transforming or draining (or drying) dampness might

inhibit or stop lactation. I just don't know.

 

Also, shi chang pu seems very important to the formula and I don't want

that to inhibit or stop lactation or adversely affect her 1 yo daughter.

 

Brian C. Allen

[Guest guest]

Hi Brian,

I believe large doses of Mai Ya are known to inhibit lactation.

Interestingly, John Chen's herb book says that small doses may promote

lactation.

 

-Danny Johnson L.Ac.

>

 

> However, I did think that there are specific Chinese herbs, perhaps

> commonly used ones, that can either inhibit or stop lactation. I feel

> like I should avoid those herbs even if indicated for the mother.

>

> I just don't know which herbs those are.

>

>