For breastfeeding women that have chronic low milk supply (CLMS), western medicine offers few treatment options to improve lactation. Regular breastfeeding and pumping can stimulate milk supply and help to an extent, but Chinese medicine can also provide potential treatment options.
Wang Bu Liu Xing is one such option for women experiencing CLMS. Wang Bu Liu Xing is a bitter herb with blood-stimulation qualities, which can improve lactation.
What Can Cause Problems with Lactation?
Lactation issues like CLMS can be caused or worsened by the following:
- Infrequent or inconsistent breastfeeding
- Introducing solid foods too early (before six months old)
- Certain medications – birth control pills, in particular
- Drinking or smoking tobacco
- Poor sleep
- Stress
- Previous surgeries
Certain conditions, including hepatitis, herpes, or diabetes, can also affect milk supply. Latching may also be an issue for the infant, which can be caused by a tongue tie, jaundice, cleft lip (or palate), or one of several chronic medical conditions.
How Can Wang Bu Liu Xing Help with Lactation?
Wang Bu Liu Xing is a bitter herb that has historically been used by Chinese medicine practitioners to address low milk supply in breastfeeding mothers.
When administered properly, Wang Bu Liu Xing enters the stomach channel, which runs up the length of the body and passes over the breast tissue. As such, the most effective way to target the breasts is through the stomach channel, which may seem counterintuitive to patients.
Wang Bu Liu Xing works by improving circulation and blood delivery to breast tissue. It can also correct blood stasis – a problem characterized by reduced blood flow and nutritional delivery via the blood. Pregnant women are at a high risk of blood stasis when delivering their child, as the process can thoroughly deplete the mother’s nutritional and energy reserves. Want Bu Liu Xing can correct this and, as a result, improve lactation.