Chamomile reveals to be a potent galactogogue: the unexpected effect

Abstract

Good habits of breastfeeding have been associated with many long-term health benefits. Nowadays, improvement is seen in the health of children and mothers who practice exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. The search of new potent stimulants for milk production is important to promote lactation, mainly in cases where breastfeeding is a difficult task. This report presents a case of a woman who accidentally realized an abundant amount of milk and had high breast tension, a few hours after consuming chamomile. Although usual consumption of chamomile during pregnancy and lactation are documented for several purposes, the galactogogue effect was never reported. In this case report, we document for the first time the influence of chamomile in a lactating woman by increasing lactogenesis. This article also highlights the need of more research in this field to assure the safety of the intake, by women, of herbal product without the risk for them or the newborns.

Keywords:

• Galactogogue
• breastfeeding promotion
• herbs
• lactogenesis

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE UID-QUI-00313-2013) and National Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through project POCI-01?0145 FEDER-007630.