Trialling the Effectiveness of Lactation Cookies by Measuring My Milk Supply

I have low milk supply as a result of breast reduction surgery, and against all odds and expectations, I am still managing to produce approximately half the milk needed by my 5 week old baby. I know exactly how much he is taking from me because we are weighing him on a borrowed set of baby scales before and after each side, and recording the amount of the EBM or formula top-ups. With the support and guidance of a Lactation Consultant and his Paediatrician, I am already feeding three-hourly, double-pumping after feeds, using massage and breast compression, on the maximum dose of motilium, etc, etc. Our feeding routine has been relatively unchanged in the last week.

I have finally managed to buy the ingredients for Lactation Cookies, as per this recipe, and have made up a batch today, with 4Tbs brewer's yeast. By comparing my milk production in the week prior to eating the cookies with the week after starting to eat the cookies, I will find out for sure if the cookies work for me, and therefore, if it's worth the effort (and extra calories) of making and eating them.

Can anyone tell me how many I'm meant to be eating to be effective? Two a day? One every feed? Three every feed? The recipe made about 55 cookies, and I have already eaten enough raw dough to make another 5 or so. Can anyone give me any other advice re the cookies? I know it's meant to be more effective if you eat it raw, but I have a limited tolerance for raw dough - I wouldn't want to eat it raw ore than once a day.

In case anyone is interested in the figures, my average milk production has been 364 ml/day over the last 7 days. The range has been from 647 ml to 848 ml. I get this number from weighing him immediately before and after he feeds from each side to calculate how much he takes direct from the breast, and weighing the milk I pump after the feed, and adding the figures together over 24 hours. I'll keep up the weighing routine for the next week and see if the average increases. I reckon it would have to increase by at least 30 ml to be statistically significant, but I'd want to see a bigger increase than that to justify continuing to make and eat them. Does that sound about right?

Will be interested to see if they work..

Never tried them before though so no advice.

Good luck hope they do work for you..

I'm interested to see your results. I made them once but found it hard to see of there was a difference.

would also be really interested if you notice a difference. I've never eaten them because I've never had an issue with supply. but I do hear they are very yummy.

I made some this morning and have eaten dough and cooked. This afternoon is the first time in a long time that I've felt full and needed pads. Oh, and verrrrry yummy.

I hope you have some success with them

All the best with your experiment.

I has great success with them this time round, although it took about 3 days to notice.

Unfortunately my little man is intolerant to something in them though so haven't been able to use them again.

Good luck!

I thought that there might be a few people who would be interested in what I'm doing. I know most people are not lucky enough to have the opportunity to actually measure the milk they're producing... or unlucky enough to have the need to do it!

So far, so good - most of the time I get a very small yield at the afternoon feeds (often just 8-10 ml per side, compared to the 20-30 he usually gets, or the 40-50 ml that he gets at 4am) but this afternoon he's been getting 20-30 ml per side at the afternoon and early evening feeds as well. But I'm not going to read anything into it until we've done a few days worth, at least.

Great stuff getting 50%!
Very interesting experiment - subbing for your research findings

I've made them up a number of times and I "think" it had a positive effect, but I'm, very interested to see how you go :)

Very interesting! I made them when I had low supply with DS1 and it was noticeable with 3 or 4 hrs. Looking promising! Can't wait to see how you go over a week!

I started a poll based on the recipe posted on BB and people have voted in there, only a small percent noticed no difference.

So far, though it's great that people are interested in my findings, no-one's given me any idea of effective 'dosage' - Please, if you think they helped you, how many cookies did you eat, and how often? Or, how long did it take you to get through a batch? 3 days? a week? two weeks?

At the moment I'm having one cookie per feed, but I don't know if that will be enough.

Kelly, it was seeing the poll that made me decide to try them myself. :) But I bet that almost no-one had the chance to know for sure by measuring the difference - they just 'think' it helped.

Its hard to measure when youre breastfeeding and shouldnt be worrying about mls unless youre bottlefeeding! But a few posted about leaking and squirting after the recipe :p

Yeah, I know they worked for me, because I squirted after eating them for a bit, and I hadn't done that for months. Interested in what you find in terms of them working for you.

Of course, most people have no way of measuring their milk supply, and believe me, it's a real hassle to be weighing between sides, not to mention having to top him up with variable amounts from the bottle after each feed. I can only dream of leaking and squirting, at the moment! I guess I'm in a unique situation where I have had to be weighing him anyway, and will continue to do so for a while, at least, in order to maximise my milk supply at the same time as making sure he gets enough milk to grow. It would be fantastic if I had enough milk to be able to dispense with the pumping and the formula top-ups, and be a normal breastfeeding Mum, who doesn't need to worry about mls, but reality says that's unlikely to happen for me.

It's probably one of those things that there's no real "answer" to, because most of the evidence is anecdotal, along the lines of what others have posted, there isn't any scientific proof as far as I know. Which isn't to say they don't work, just that it's never been research. It's also going to be hard to be precise with dosage because everyone's breasts are different - one or two biscuits a day might work brilliantly for one girl, but do nothing for the next.

If I were in your position I'd eat as many as I was able to eat in a day, without making myself sick, or becoming totally sick of the biscuits, and not going broke cooking up biscuits. I'd stick with this level for about 5-7 days, to see if there was consistent improvement. Then look at cutting back to find the optimum level.

Beyond that, you are awesome for even trying to BF! Bloody awesome!

Thanks, Bhoysgirl. :)

I guess if a range of people who had success with them told me roughly how much they ate, I'd choose an amount part way between the average and the top and start there. You're right about having lots to begin with and cutting back... that's a better way to go than stating with just a little and then increasing. Perhaps I'll go for 2 every feed - that'll be about 15 a day, which sounds like a lot to me. But then I normally don't eat biscuits and cakes and things except on special occasions.

I probably ate 3 or 4 a feed, cos I'm greedy. Fed every two hours. Actually, I'm amazed I never gained weight during that time! This was when DD was probably 5 months old. It was also the height of my supply. Feeding we every two hours at least, as well as pumping about a litre a day (2 sessions). Never thought that maybe the cookies might have contributed? But to answer your question, I ate 3-4 and was generous with the active ingredients.

I ate two this morning on the way out shopping. Five hours later and having fed Miss A once in that time on each side I sat down to feed her again and my bra and shirt are soaked.

The recipe says it makes 72 cookies but I obviously made much bigger ones because I only got 54.

So, two for me mid morning and TBH given the way my boobs are feeling I won't be eating any more today unless I start to feel really empty towards early evening. HTH

Thanks, PZ and LuluHB.

PZ, pumping a litre a day??? Oh, boy, I'm sooo jealous! If I could do that, i wouldn't be bothering with the cookies!

LuluHB, sounds like they work pretty quickly for you.

Hiya Pholi,
It's early days for bubs and I and I am still increasing my motillium and taking fenugreek and cumin seeds and eating lactation cookies. The dose for the cookies is 6-8 a day. Differently recipes would be different but mine is from our LC and that's the dosage given to us. I varied the recipe and took out the sugar and chocolate and used maple syrup and cinnamon instead for 1 batch and for the other batch I put organic raw dark chocolate that had bee sweetened with agave and some chopped figs.
Let me know If you'd like more details. If You PM me I'm more likely to see it :-)

I'm curious to see your results as cookies were one thing I never bothered with when I was struggling with supply.

But aside from that can I just give you a massive round of applause! Just pumping between every feed was enough to leave me totally exhausted and at the end of my tether. I have no idea how you're managing with all the weighs as well. Congratulations on working so hard for your bubba.

I think I was eating total of 8 or so a day.

I was eating 1-2 each feed and only just cooked them so they were still quite soft. I noticed a huge difference when I had them and soaked through everything. When DS was feeding I hold a cup under my other breast and collect about 40mls just from leakage :o

I also played around with the recipe and used butter or oil, different chocolates and carobs, dries fruit and nuts. My mum made me eat heaps of walnuts as she believes they help with the milk production as well.

If you want to know if your results are statistically significant it is possible to do a some sums and see the true % change. I seem to remember my statistics vaguely from university if you want help :)

Can't wait to see your next update!

I ate about 1a feed, although not consistently. I just did it for something fun, and because DH won't scoff them all if they're "lactation" cookies! I was definitely a squirter when I made them, but I've never been able to let down for a pump, so no idea how that would have gone.

I'm a bit of a nerd and have a science degree, so I love the idea of determining the effect of the lactation cookies scientifically, lol. I wish I could do it, but it's a bit impossible for me with three kids feeding, hehe. I'll live vicariously through you ;)

I wonder how they would go with coconut oil. It is the worlds most healthiest oil, so many benefits, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties and then some - would make for some veeeery healthy cookies!

I ate maybe 8-10 a day from the time DD2 was about 10 days old until she was about 2 months - the time during which I was working hard to establish my supply. I *think* I saw an improvement in supply, but it's difficult to say with certainty that the increase was due to the cookies! My supply should also have increased as my bub grew and demanded more from the breast. My supply also fluctuated depending on how much rest I had had, how much water I managed to drink, how active I had been during the day... I'll be interested to see your results!

Pholi, I have been in precisely your position (three times!) and I know how easy it is to become focused on how much milk you are producing. It is a hard slog to establish a supply, particularly after breast surgery. Feeding, pumping, measuring, weighing... Don't forget to look after yourself, cut yourself some slack and celebrate every success but accept that you may not reach every goal - you are still a success! And remember to take your cues from your baby - not from how many mls your boobs produce, what a book tells you or what someone else says you *should* be doing. Weighing after every feed seems excessive and puts a lot of pressure on you. Sometimes bub will be hungrier in the morning, sometimes in the evening and sometimes overnight. So a big gain after a feed one morning and less of a gain after the same feed the next day may not be significant but I worry it will cause you concern or feelings of failure. I know how easy it is to obsess about your boobs and those scales!

Finally, words of encouragement - I have had two breast reductions, classic anchor reductions with a total of 3-odd kg's removed in the first surgery. My youngest DD will be two next months... and we're still feeding! You can do, you ARE doing it... whatever happens, you are a BF mum! :D

I tried making a batch with coconut oil but they had to be kept in the fridge otherwise they fell apart lol

Tastes great though :)

Bugger that they fell apart, but sounds like the dough would go well before I got to that stage lol! They sound so yum but I am scared to have them unless I get a low supply, lol!!!

I took them for a few weeks so I could build up my ebm supplies before returning to work. Helped a lot and then cut back on them when I had enough stored.

Thanks for the dosage guidelines, people. It sounds like 1-2 per feed is a reasonable way to go, so that's what i'm doing - plus an extra one if I feel peckish in between.

thanks for the 'applause' k4t.

ryatha, I did some research as an undergraduate, long ago, but I can't remember quite how to do those confidence interval calculations, so yes, I might just need some help with that, thanks!!

nickle, I've read your history with interest on other related threads, and you are an inspiration, indeed. Thanks for your support, and you're right, hydration and rest play a big part, too. I know my evening feeds are bigger when I've had an afternoon nap. And I am a bit obsessed, I admit that, but I don't think, for me, there's any in between ground where I can feel confident that I have done , my best to establish as full a supply as possible, and not be breast-obsessed! It might seem excessive to be weighing as much as we are, but I actually feel far less stressed about it, being able to weigh him and know for sure how much I'm producing with one method of feeding vs another (eg, SNS vs bottle for top-ups), or whether or not an intervention is effective, like the lactation cookies. For example, I know, so far, that although double pumping has been established in research to be better for building supply than pumping both sides independently, it did not make a difference to my supply. Despite that, I continue to do it because it is more time efficient. But thank you for your concern. :)

mylitta, I knew the rest of us nerds would come out of hiding!!

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mylitta, I knew the rest of us nerds would come out of hiding!!

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Yup, hehe. Since reading this post I find myself often wondering what sort of scientific research I could do on my kids lol

Pholi your a star being able to double pump! I find I must compress each Breast to get maximum output - any tips?

Yes - I found the same thing, and was totally thrown by the logistics of trying to hold 2 bits of kit in place, and switch on the machine, and turn it up as I'm able to, AND do the compression/massage I needed to do to get all the milk out!

But I persisted - I found that as long as I sit in a chair with a footrest, I can put my foot or feet on the closest edge of the chair and therefore rest (actually, it's more like 'wedge') the bottom of the collection container on the top of my thigh/s (it helps if there are creases in your trousers to create a ridge to stop it slipping). Then I wriggle one hand over so that the inside of the bend of the elbow supports the top of the flange on that side, keeping the flange in contact by squeezing it in to my chest, and I use that hand to hold the flange on the opposite side. That frees up one hand for adjusting the machine or doing compression/massage. (Or playing Words With Friends ;) ) I always massage the side being held by hand, not by elbow, as it's too easy to accidentally break the suction on the elbow side because the weird position on the elbow side means the contact and suction isn't even all the way round.

I have also found that, although I don't get more milk from double pumping, I get more milk without having to do nearly as much compression/massage. I find that double pumping gets as much milk as it can in about 6-7 minutes (where with single, it stopped after 1-2 minutes and then I needed to start compressing) and now I only compress for the last minute or two, and only get a tiny bit more milk from doing that. So now, I usually just do the elbow hold long enough to adjust the suction up to full (it takes me a minute or two to tolerate it, especially on my still-ulcerated right nipple) and then just hold each side in one hand for the first 7-8 minutes. That was I can sit up in a straighter position, which of course is better for my back, and means i don't have the weird flange-digging-in-to-the-underside-of-my-boob thing going on.

For me, it was worth persisting with double pumping, even though it hasn't unfortunately improved my supply at all. Even though it was only 10 minutes each side, cutting it by half by double pumping made a huge difference to how I felt about pumping, and I don't resent it nearly as much now. Being able to relax and not squeeze and poke and watch the milk coming out the whole time means my neck isn't so stiff from looking down all the time, and I can actually relax, watch TV, close my eyes and meditate, play a phone game or read a book at the same time. And of course being able to relax is a key for getting letdowns, which I think is why I get more out without all the compressions now!

I really hope it helps, and that you get all those benefits AND a boost to your supply!

Thanks for your detailed description Pholi bill give it a go tomorrow. The other idea I had was to cut 2 holes in a crop top to hold the flange in place- much cheeper than the commercial version of the top.

Hiya ,
Just did the crop top double pumping thing and it worked brilliantly! Saved myself $70 on the commercial version.

How are you going with the cookies Pholi?

OK, results time:

When eating cooked Lactation cookies at a reate of approximately 2/feed- Average 24 hour yield over 5 days before: 372ml. Average over 5 days after: 412ml. Increase of 40ml, or 11%.

Stopped eating cookies for 2 days: Average 24 hour yield: 397ml. Decrease of 4%.

Started eating raw lactation cookie dough, which, according to collective bellybelly wisdom, is supposed to be even more effective than cooked dough, also at a rate of the equivalent of 2/feed. Average 24 hour yield over 4 days: 449ml. Increase from cooked cookie average of 37ml, or 8%; increase from no dough in the previous 2 days of 52ml, or 13%. Increase from before eating any cookies or dough of 77ml, or 20%.

Conclusion - it made a positive, measurable difference to my supply when I ate the cookies raw or cooked, but the raw made a bigger difference. I was certainly not leaking or spraying, or even feeling any fuller. I think that the fact that the numbers dropped when I stopped for 2 days strengthens the results.

Note that most women who breastfeed have an adequate supply, and an increase of 70 ml is probably irrelevant to most people. However, for those of us with a genuine low supply and have no choice but to supplement with formula, another 70mls of BM in 24 hours is a pretty good result.

Areas for further research - How much do I need to eat to maintain the effect? If I eat more, would my supply increase by more? If I stop, will my supply drop rightt back to base level, or would it stay partially or fully increased?