Research Needed to Determine Safety, Effectiveness of Herbal Supplements During Breastfeeding

More research needs to be done on the supplements commonly used by breastfeeding women in order to determine their safety and efficacy, an article published in the Pediatrics In Review stresses.

Carried out by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the team of scientists determined that while many mothers use herbal supplements while breastfeeding, doctors aren't always clued in.

"It is important for physicians and clinicians to be more aware that mothers are using herbal supplements and how vital it is to ask the mothers, who are seeking a doctor's opinion when having trouble breastfeeding, about their use before making an assessment," Dr. Paula Gardiner, assistant professor at BUSM and a physician of family medicine at Boston Medical Center, said in a press release. 

This isn't altogether surprising given the fact that no regulatory guidelines exist setting a standardized risk assessment of herbal supplement use during breastfeeding. Meanwhile, studies examining the herb use during lactation is all but nonexistent. As a result, the researchers explain, many resources provide mixed reports and safety recommendations that result not only in confusion for the mother, but clinicians as well.

"The use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding is two-sided -- there are benefits, but there are also safety concerns," Gardiner said.

Herbal remedies, for example, may be used to increase the milk supply, relieve engorgement, treat mastitis, or for other therapeutic uses unrelated to lactation.

However, after completing a systematic review of human lactation and herbal medicine literature, the researchers found those studies that are available were based on poor methodology.

For this reason, they concluded that further research is needed to assess the prevalence, efficacy and safety of commonly used herbs during breastfeeding.

"Since there is very limited research, it is difficult to develop accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of specific herbs during breastfeeding," Gardiner concluded. "It is crucial that more research is conducted in this area, including national prevalence studies and safety and efficacy studies."