(Note: I was given a free sample of Fenugreek for Nursing Moms from The Republic of Tea to try. This review is based on my personal experience with that product and all opinions are my own. Please see our complete affiliate disclosure here for more information! Thank you for supporting The Pumping Mommy!)
I absolutely love tea.
I would drink it all day long if I could. After I had my first son, I returned to work when he was about 4 months old. I would start my day in the office the same way for over 18 months – with a cup of lactation tea. I drank maybe 3 cups of lactation tea every day.
I was petrified of not pumping enough while away from my baby. There is a lot of pressure to squeeze those ounces out and hope it is enough to match what your baby drank while you were away. While there are many ways to increase your breast milk supply, one way that takes no effort at all is drinking lactation tea. And as a working mom, we are short on time.
When I received a sample from The Republic of Tea, I was thrilled since I drink many of their other teas. I had no idea they had a nursing tea so that was a pleasant surprise.
Fenugreek for Nursing Moms by The Republic of Tea
There are a lot of tea brands to choose from in stores today. But not all teas are created equal. Some have additives, unnatural ingredients, artificial flavors, etc. Not necessarily what you might think when you are drinking something “natural.” So when I was sent a free sample of The Republic of Tea’s Fenugreek for Nursing Moms tea, I was happy to see that the tea is made with 3 very simple ingredients:
- Organic Fenugreek
- Organic Cinnamon
- Organic Carrot Root
Simple. Organic. The way a nursing tea should be made.
So, What is Fenugreek and Why Does it Help Lactation?
Fenugreek is a herb often recommended to mothers who want to get a boost in their milk supply. You will find numerous mothers who rave about the results they have seen by taking Fenugreek daily.
Studies show mixed results in regard to Fenugreek and its true influence on a mother’s supply but with the positive reviews out there and the thousands of breastfeeding moms who say it does work, one would conclude that this herb is a winner.
Of the studies that have been done, it does show that a mother needs to take nearly 3500 mg of Fenugreek a day in most cases for it to be effective. It is said that once your sweat and urine smell like maple syrup then you are taking enough. Nice, sweet side effect in my opinion! I love maple syrup!
Powerful herb with great results!
(Related: Find out why Motherlove More Milk Blend is one of my favorites!)
My First Impression of Fenugreek for Nursing Moms
When I brewed my first cup, I used the 6oz setting on my Keurig since that is the amount the directions call for. I am usually a Venti kind of tea and coffee drinker, so 6oz seemed like a small sip to me but trying to be true to the experience.
This tea smells amazing and tastes just as good. It is a very mild cinnamon flavor. Really smooth and not overpowering at all. Some cinnamon teas start tasting like Red Hots and that’s just gross. This doesn’t even go close to that line. Think cinnamon coffee cake type cinnamon vs Red Hots cinnamon.
The other thing this tea has on some of the other herbal teas is that it really doesn’t taste ‘herbal.’ A lot of lactation teas have fennel in them which gives it a very strong black licorice taste. Not my fav but cool if that is your thing. Blessed thistle, coriander, anise, goats rue, etc are all other herbs that can be found in lactation teas. While none have as distinct taste as fennel, they are can start tasting quite ‘earthy.’
The cinnamon added to this tea was a great choice by The Republic of Tea. It really gives the tea a nice soft taste to it.
My only complaint about the flavor is that despite letting my tea brew for the recommended 5-7 minutes, it was weaker than I like. It took 2-3 tea bags to get the strength that I prefer. That might be just me but I do like my tea a little stronger and found this brew to be watery when using only one tea bag. The nice thing is that there is the option to add more tea bags to make it the way I like. Once it was to the strength I prefer, I absolutely loved the tea.
Overall, this is one of the best tasting lactation teas I have tried to date.
Does Fenugreek for Nursing Moms Really Work?
So, the big question – does this tea actually increase your milk supply? I went ahead and put it to the test.
I typically pump mid morning after my daughter has nursed and gone down for her morning nap. I block feed (feed from one breast per nursing session at a time) so when I pump after nursing, I expect to pump very little from the side she just ate from. Between my two breasts, I will typically pump 4-4.5 ounces.
To keep with the recommended 35oo mg of fenugreek to be effective, I drank 3 cups of Fenugreek for Nursing Moms a day for a week before deciding if this tea actually increased my supply (this tea contains 1400mg per serving but is a proprietary blend so 3 cups seemed to likely contain what I needed, though I could have done 4).
Not surprisingly (Fenugreek has been used for centuries for nursing mothers…), I did see a slight increase in my milk output. I went from the usual 4-4.5 ounces to pumping 6 full ounces. So an increase of about 1.5 ounces. Not bad for not doing anything besides drinking tea!
I certainly found this tea gave my supply a slight boost.
(Related: Find out how to increase your milk supply!)
As with any supplements, results are going to vary from mother to mother. 1.5 ounces may not seem like a lot, but that’s an extra 7.5 ounces in a work week. More than one full bottle! It will add up.
If you are looking for a good tasting lactation tea, made with simple, organic ingredients that can give you some results, this tea would be a great choice!
Have you tried The Republic of Tea’s Fenugreek for Nursing Moms? Drop me a comment below with any questions or stories you would like to share!
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