# Malt beer for increasing milk supply?



## Alstrameria (Sep 8, 2002)

Has anyone heard of this? My mom's ob had her drinking three bottles of guiness a day!

Jen


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## carrietorgc (Sep 16, 2003)

yes, i have heard that dark beer increases milk supply. i think it is b/c of the brewers yeast in it - you can also get brewers yeast on its own at a health food store.


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## heket (Nov 18, 2003)

I now have a new justification for a pint now and again!







:LOL

Slightly OT. Something I learned from my Irish girlfriend:
The interesting thing about Guinness was that back the in 30s or 40s, women who delivered in hospitals in Ireland were offered a pint once labor had ended. I always wondered why, and now it makes more sense...

Along that vein, my in-laws tell me that regular golden or amber beer is great for let down. Is that due to the hops?

Nissa


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

My husband's grandmother was Irish. She used to talk about drinking a pint of Guinness every day for the last month of pregnancy and while breastfeeding. She said it "fortifies the milk". She said it's folk wisdom in Ireland.


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## Corriander (Nov 19, 2001)

The only actual study that I have read that tests this theory showed that babies were falling asleep faster, because the alcohol does get into the milk. But babies were also getting less milk overall. Mom's felt more "full" even after a feeding and babies seemed satisfied so moms thought that they were making more milk. However that was not the case. Babies were getting less milk and moms could start producing less milk over time because their breasts were not being emptied.


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

now corriander, did ya have to go and ruin all the fun?







:LOL


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

Corriander









Omigosh! That is scary if true.

And here I was thinking it had something to do with fermented foods... a la probiotics or something.

YIKES.


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## morgan's_mom (Aug 25, 2002)

Hmmmm...I dunno. Every time I drank a beer or two the first 6 months or so I was nursing, I got so engorged I could feed my DD *and* pump a ton afterward. Non-alcoholic beer did the same thing for me.

Then again, I also *swore* that chocolate increased my supply back then.

(Note that these supply enhancers only "worked" the first 6-8 months or so. My supply was still fine after that -- until it decreased when I got pg, that is -- but beer/chocolate/oatmeal/tea didn't really have a noticeable effect anymore.)


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## Defenestrator (Oct 10, 2002)

Hops, which are in beer, stimulate production of breastmilk. Different beers have different amounts of hops. The ones that taste the most bitter often have the most. They are also in most non-alcoholic beers, so I suppose you could drink those if you were worried about alcohol.


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## sohj (Jan 14, 2003)

thank you, defenestrator, I don't need to post that now.

Look for an IPA (India Pale Ale) for a high hop content.

And guiness has iron, too, so that might be another reason it is helpful.

And, hops on their own are a nervine tonic and sedative, so if you were to take a cup of tea of hops (BLECH! it is sooooo bitter!), if your babe is tired and fussy, she/he is just as likely to fall asleep as if you drank the beer.


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