Breastfeeding and harmful effects of domperidone

Food and Drug administration has recently brought out a report cautioning women who are breastfeeding to stay away from a drug known as domperidone. It causes an increases in the secretion of hormone prolactin in women who are breastfeeding. Basically prolactin is a hormone which helps in the production of milk during breastfeeding. An increase in its secretion would mean production of more milk.

FDA has banned its usage in case of women who are lactating as there has been some links found in between this drug and diseases like arrhythmias or cardiac arrest and in some cases even sudden death.

There have been more than two thousand reports on the harmful effects of this drug. This is the reason why it has already been banned in several countries. Though several countries still permit its use for some of the gastric problems, though it still not permitted for increasing the production of milk.

The reason why the report has been released by the FDA now is that there have been several cases of pharmacies in US selling this drug made from alternate sources. In fact there are several websites on the net providing the names and addresses of places where one can find this drug. These websites do not even caution the user about its harmful effects.
The breast milk provides a lot of nutrients to the infant. And the ban on the drug is not for discouraging women from breastfeeding but has been put to prevent them from the harmful effects that this drug can have upon them.

Natural Lactation

Sometimes women are not able to produce adequate amount of milk during breastfeeding. Instead of using the drug it is advisable to consult your doctor. There are several solutions for producing milk naturally in adequate amount.
Some methods like pumping your breasts more often and feeding your baby more frequently can lead to natural increase in the milk production.

Taking a nutritional and balanced diet will help in the normal production of milk during breastfeeding. Taking multivitamins also help in increasing the milk supply.

The milk supply may decrease due to fatigue, that most new mothers suffer from. Therefore it is important for the mother of a new born to take adequate amount of rest. Rest whenever you get the opportunity to ensure a normal supply of milk for your child.
One thing every new mother must be careful about is their stress level. An increased stress level may affect the supply of milk in new mothers. That is why it is important to keep stress at bay. Any kind of illness have the same effect on milk production but the problem goes away with the illness.

One can also take natural supplements to increase milk production. These are not guaranteed methods but they have helped in some cases. One of them is fenugreek. This is considered to be a herbal galactagogue. But nobody should  ever take anything, even natural supplements before taking permission from your doctor. He will be able to tell you about the nature of your problem, whether it is natural or because of some other medical reason. He will also let you know whether it will improve your condition.
Your doctor will be able to guide you in a better manner and will also find a solution for your problem. The natural supplements may not work well with your other medications and you may also suffer from some adverse effects.

In some cases women are not able to breastfeed at all due to medical reasons while some women choose to bottle feed their child as they feel it may spoil their figure. But its your child, so you want to bottle feed him or breast feed him is totally your call.