All About Lactation Cookies
Since we were talking about Breastfeeding and Nursing Tips in the last post, I think the topic will almost always invariably steer to lactation cookies. So here's a lowdown of what the fuss is all about. At the end of the day as a mother, I understand the need to want to give only the best to your baby but do manage your expectations with regards to your output as every one is different, and that’s okay!
If you're a nursing mother looking to boost, maintain, prolong, support your supply, if you're going back to work and you're worried, if your period is back, if you fell sick and your supply dropped and your considering lactation cookies - read on!
What are lactation cookies?
Honestly, they’re just regular cookies that EVERYONE can enjoy, just made with certain ingredients called galactagogues! The presence of these galactagogues help stimulate breast milk production in nursing mothers. Some commonly known galactagogues are brewers’ yeast, oats, milk thistle and fenugreek.
If you don’t happen to be a nursing mom, they’d just be regular cookies to you like that chocolate chip cookie you like so much, except different! It is truly fair game for everyone and any one in the family to eat! Boobie cookies for the win.
Do lactation cookies even work?
This whole argument has been going on for a long time and fact is, Lactation cookies are always a hit or miss. For some mommies it works wonders and has managed to really boost and double their supply or simply support it for nursing mothers looking to breastfeed beyond six months, but for others… not so much.
Put it this way, it’s purely a supplemental product – like that Vitamin C pill you take. I’m sure you’ve read the countless articles touting the benefits of taking Vitamin C for immunity, a natural cold remedy. I cannot remember the number of times I’ve been told to take that emergen-c or redoxin (am I spelling this right?) you know that sizzling Vitamin C tablet you drop into a glass of water right before you feel like you’re about to be down with something.
Well, Dr. Bruce Bistrian, Chief of Clinical Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has found that Vitamin C intake has hardly any benefits when it comes to the common cold, you can’t kill a flu virus and stop it in its tracks just by taking a shot of orange juice! He did however find that, “taking at least 200 mg of vitamin C per day did appear to reduce the duration of cold symptoms by an average of 8% in adults and 14% in children, which translated to about one less day of illness”.
Main point is, when it comes to drugs, vaccine shots, medical treatments, supplements, etc… there’s always that percentage of people it does and doesn’t work for. The same goes for lactation cookies.
Why’d you think there’s always those super teeny tiny disclaimer words for your medication, be it Panadol or Viagra. Lol. All medication has an efficiency rate, like how not everyone can take Panadol, like my mom, her eyes swell up like someone punched her in both eyes and that’s a super dangerous side effect!!
How Does Lactation Cookies Work Then?
It’s about giving your body the right ingredients, nutrients and conditions to make more breast milk. Like I mentioned earlier, it contains Mother Nature’s most well known galactagogues to help boost or support your supply.
Will Lactation Cookies Make Me FAT?
Did you know that as a nursing mother, you should be taking in an additional 500 calories a day or more? Actual caloric intake would really depend on the amount of milk you’re producing. Its important to give your body the right building blocks to make that high caloric breast milk that is FULL of vitamins and nutrients, making it the PERFECT source of food for your baby for the first 6 months. If you're going to be starving yourself trying to lose that baby weight right after giving birth to your baby, you're not going to be able to product much milk. Why? Because you're body is having trouble feeding itself, much less make the perfect nutrient source for your baby.
Eating lactation cookies is supplemental in giving your body the extra calories and vitamins your body needs. Beyond that, You still need to be eating nutritious food to heal your body and soul! Pushing a baby out is no small feat!! Cut yourself some slack.
Is there a Zero Calorie Option besides Lactation Cookies?
Yes, you can consider trying our range of lactation teas, we call them boob juice - which you just steep in water. Some Gooberr mommies have had huge success with our range of teas as its great in helping them increase their water intake while boosting due to the presence of galactagogues. We still recommend to take this with the cookies, because, again! Making Milk is a high caloric affair!! What about medicine you say? They're zero calories right? Lets talk about that!
Are there specific drugs or medication I can take to boost my breastmilk supply?
Here’s where I introduce the concept of efficiency in medicine. Efficiency is about “whether a drug is worth its cost to individuals or society. The most efficacious treatment, based on the best evidence, may not be the most cost-effective option. It may not be acceptable to patients.” It’s all about weighing the costs and the benefits.
You may or may not have heard of domperidone, it was initially prescribed to patients to treat nausea and vomiting caused by other drugs used to treat Parkinsons Disease or Cancer.
As an added side benefit, the drug has been found to work on nursing mothers to help raise levels of prolactin, which in turn, helps to increase the production of breast milk. However, it is also a drug that is currently BANNED in the United States because of fatalities that occurred from taking it.
Health Risks Of Domperidone, And Why You Might Want To Avoid It
Basically, the FDA found the potential health risks from taking this drug too severe to even allow it to be sold or marketed to humans in the USA. Here’s a list of it’s side effects:
“Side effects associated with domperidone include dry mouth, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, rash, itching, hives, and hyperprolactinemia, the symptoms of which may include breast enlargement, galactorrhea, breast pain/tenderness, gynecomastia, hypogonadism, and menstrual irregularities”
Further, according to the Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation, “after starting domperidone, it may take three or four days before you notice any effect, though sometimes mothers notice an effect within 24 hours. It appears to take two to three weeks to get a maximum effect, but some mothers have noted effects only after 4 or more weeks.” - Which is basically the same for harmless lactation cookies, except with MUCH less side effects?!
The Safer And All Natural Option to Boosting Breast Milk Supply
Here’s my question to you, is taking a drug like that worth the potential risks (death, cramps, diarrhea) just to maybe boost your milk supply? That’s the efficiency question right there! Does the potential outcome you’re looking for outweigh the risks you are taking.
I would argue, compared to eating lactation cookies? Not at all. They’re just regular cookies! This is why Gooberr Cookies are all baked at SFA Grade A and FSSC Certified Facility in Singapore.
This means we meet global food safety standards - all food handling staff wear hair nets, face masks, gloves and aprons.
Yes, there’s the increased caloric intake but you’re burning calories producing breast milk! Nursing mothers can burn tremendous amounts of energy producing precious breast milk.
Yummy natural foods don't usually come at zero calories, but are a more nutrient-rich source and safer option compared to supplements. I'm a HUGE snacker and anything I put in my mouth HAS to taste YUMMY. Haha.
The way I see it, at the most, eat these cookies and don’t eat other cookies or pineapple tarts!! Or kaya toast with a thick slab of butter. Pick and choose your caloric intake.
By the way, if you’re curious you can check out our breast milk caloric burn calculator HERE! It calculates for you how many calories you're burning based on your breast milk output and the equivalent distance you’re technically running just by being a human cow!
You’ll need to know how much breast milk you are producing in total though, because caloric burn is predicated on your breast milk output.
In cases that Gooberr cookies don't work for you, you'll do yourself absolutely no harm having a packet of delicious and nutritious cookies.
Keeping You and Baby Safe, With Natural Ingredients, Hygiene and Consistency.
And if you check among the different lactation brands available in Singapore, the common ingredients are present because they are proven to work to boost milk supply. But what truly makes the difference is the unique composition and preparation, which results in dramatically different taste and textures. It's like giving a Michelin-star chef the same ingredients as you would to an average cook. The resulting flavours of any dish would be completely different!
At Gooberr™, quality, effectiveness, taste and safety are our top priority and we ensure that your cookies are safe for you and your baby (who will be drinking milk produced by your body). You'll get peace of mind that any and every cookie you put in your mouth will be safe, and what's more amazing is that they taste fantastic.
Gooberr™ Lactation Cookies are mostly about what’s NOT in the cookies. We don’t use artificial flavouring like Vanilla Extract in our boobie cookies. Most people don’t know this but the main ingredients of Vanilla Extract is: Flavouring, Substance, Propylene Glycol (aka antifreeze), Permitted Food Colour.
Ya’ll thought it was real vanilla bean or something right? Well, no. It’s not. It’s just chemicals and synthesized ingredients. Real vanilla bean is expensive and trust me when I say that any profitable business isn't going to use all-natural vanilla bean to make their dishes unless you're dining in a 3* Michelin Restaurant.
In general, I think it's always safer to steer clear of synthetic flavourings and go au naturale. Why use artificial flavoring when there’s so much nature has to offer?!
Today I’m starting the “Say no to yuckies in your cookies!” campaign. Hehe. Beyond that, the right conditions also means this checklist I’ve posted on Instagram before but I will repost it here again:
Top Tips For Nursing Mothers
- WATER, WATER, WATER! 💦 You can’t make a drink out of a desert 🥛 is a liquid. All you mamas who don’t drink enough water I got my eyes on you 👀 If you’re feeling thirsty you’re already dehydrated. If water is too boring for you, try sipping our teas throughout the day for a little extra boost.
- Proper Nutrition. A lot of mamas forget to take care of themselves because you’re just thinking - baby comes first. Nono, honey you come first. If you’re not healthy or happy how will you be able to produce that liquid gold or even nurture your baby? Eat well my dears!
- Your Mood - I can’t stress (pun intended) this enough. Your mood can seriously affect your supply and production! STRESS is a real killer on milk supply.
How Many Lactation Cookies Should I Eat?
For Gooberr, we always recommend eating at least 8 cookies two to three hours before your next pump/latch session together with a glass of our boob juice aka lactation tea (which can be re-steeped two to three times, just add more hot water) or milk.
I’m sure it’s different for every other brand so just read their instructions. Every mommy also has different intake needs, if you do not see results, within the next pump do up your cookie intake to 12 cookies with the tea or milk and see how that goes!
For some mommies they find the effects of Gooberr Lactation cookies unexpectedly effective, and they don’t even have to take 8 cookies to see risk engorgement and mastitis.
This is also a good time for me to remind all mommies to EMPTY YOUR BOOBIES PLEASE. Always, always empty your boobies even after nursing your baby, make sure to pump excess out. It saves you all the pain and the extremely uncomfortable effects associated with engorgement.
How Long Do Lactation Cookies Take to Work?
Again, this varies from mom to mom. Some mommies feel the effects by their next pump, while other take time this is where the persistence comes in, don’t feel dejected when you eat 8 cookies and it doesn’t work.
Keep going, you never know it may just take a couple days to kick in. If it can take up to 4 weeks for a scary drug to work, you could afford to give lactation cookies time.
Thanks for reading this super long article. I know our blog is called bedtime stories but I hope it didn't put you to sleep. Or if you did anyway, sweet dreams.