Common Nutrient Deficiencies in Lactating Women and Herbs to Boost Milk Supply

I’m not surprised I received a question because the information given to most women after childbirth is super vague. Usually you’re simply told to “eat a healthy and well balanced diet (whatever that means!)” and that’s about it. Considering how physically demanding childbirth is, it seems like we should be given better information on what to eat and even what supplements to take to help with recovery and prevent things like postpartum depression, anemia, thyroid issues etc. It’s even more important to have this information if you’re lactating and departing all of your goods (aka nutrients) to your baby. Here’s a shocker to ponder over: according to this study, women are NOT getting adequate amounts of nutrients through food alone. And the majority of docs don’t recommend taking a prenatal or multivitamin because the research doesn’t show any benefit (1,2,3,4,5,6). (Interestingly, these studies referenced only explain that the data is inconclusive, not that multivitamins are useless.) So if we’re not taking supplements, and we’re not getting adequate nutrients through food alone, it seems like we need to do something.

In general, new mamas seem to be most deficient in (>50%) in Vitamin A, Vitamin D, DHA, Vitamin E, Lutein, Choline and Iodine which all affect the infant’s optimal health. In terms of nutrition, eating a nutrient dense diet including whole foods, 6-10 servings of veggies daily with little to no processed food (the stuff that comes pre-packaged) and little to no added sugar, and eating meat can help get these levels optimized. Let’s talk about a few important nutrients that need to be addressed as well.

Vitamin D: Otherwise known as “Vitamin Sun,” is responsible for so many health benefits including bone health, supporting the immune system, decreasing seasonal affective disorder among many others (7, 8,9,10,11,12,13). For babies, it has been shown to decrease incidences of asthma, eczema, food allergies and boost the immune system to prevent infections, among other things as well. (14 ,15,16), But surprisingly most of us are either not in the sun enough (due to office jobs or sunscreen, yes even in sunny California) or just aren’t able convert the sun’s UV rays into enough vitamin d to keep us healthy (17) .

Currently the guidelines recommend babies that are breastfed should receive 400 IU’s of Vitamin D3 daily because most women can’t get enough vitamin D to support baby’s needs. I’ve seen recommendations for breastfeeding women to take 4,000 IU’s daily instead if supplementing baby directly with the 400 IU’s, but this could prove toxic to mom unless levels are consistently being checked (this is a fat soluble vitamin), especially during the summer months when you’re exposed to more sunlight. I would still recommend supplementing your breastfed baby with 400 IU’s of Vitamin D3 daily and that mom is supplementing with no more than 2,000 IU’s unless you are regularly getting your Vitamin D levels checked to avoid toxicity (18).

Choline: This is one of those underappreciated and less known nutrients that many mothers are deficient in and has huge health implications for baby. Studies show maternal intake of choline during pregnancy and lactation may affect the baby’s memory later in life and helps prevent neural tube defects (19, 20). Current recommendations are around 550 mg daily for lactating women. Common sources include eggs, beef liver, chicken, beans and legumes. Be sure your prenatal contains this one.


Vitamin A: Vitamin A needs during lactation go up to 1300 mcg daily, which is 69% more compared to pregnancy. Some people, especially young children don’t convert the inactive form of vitamin A found in vegetables like carrots into retinyl palmitate (active form found in animal products) well at all, so unless they’re getting the active form through supplementation, or better yet, diet, these people are at risk for deficiency. My opinion is to find a supplement with about 50% retinyl palmitate and 50% mixed carotenoids (the Wellness Essentials as listed above contains this) OR eat a diet that consists of liver, milk products, egg yolks and fish. If you’re looking to take only vitamin A, the best source would be cod liver oil ¼ teaspoon daily which can be found here. This will provide about 975 mcg of Vitamin A as retinyl palmitate and 400 IU of Vitamin D daily. This particular vitamin can be toxic if you take too much, so stick to the RDA limit of no more than 3,000 mcg total daily.

B-Vitamins (including folate): Somewhere around 30% of the population do not have the genetic ability to convert the synthetic forms of folic acid into the active form, making it useless because of a genetic mutation of the MTHFR gene (21). Because of this, it’s best to get the “methylated” or active forms of folate, and some studies show it may affect your ability to use synthetic forms of other B-vitamins as well. Look for the following in the ingredients on the back of your vitamin bottle:
Folate (B9): methylfolate or 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate, NOT folic acid
Riboflavin (B2): Riboflavin 5'-Phosphate Sodium
B6: Pyridoxal 5'-Phosphate
B12: Methylcobalamin
If you’re looking to take a good B-complex supplement, I would recommend Glycogenics from Metagenics. Otherwise eat a diet rich in meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and dairy.



EPA/DHA from fish oil: EPA-DHA- is naturally found in fish oil and babies need this to support brain health. Studies show that mamas need about 1,000 mg of EPA and 500 mg of DHA for optimal health. This may help reduce the likelihood of postpartum anxiety and depression (22,23), and may raise IQ levels in offspring (24,25). It’s worth noting many studies are inconclusive whether EPA DHA are actually effective, but the majority of research still recommends moms take fish oil daily (26, 27). Be sure you’re a high quality supplement because if it goes rancid, you may be causing more harm than good (check out Chris Kresser’s article on this for more details). Metagenics makes a great quality fish oil that can be found here.


You may consider taking a multivitamin/prenatal to be sure you’re getting all these nutrients daily. My favorite is Wellness Essentials Pregnancy by Metagenics which contains all of the necessary supplements in a form your body can easily use (you can order through my site here, or with your practitioner signed up with Metagenics).

Do supplements that claim to increase milk supply really work?

Anecdotal evidence says, “YES,” but the research is very mixed on this topic. There are only a few herbs that have studies to show a statistically significant improvement in milk supply, but no conclusive evidence..

Fenugreek: This is one of the top likely supplements to help improve milk supply, but there are only about 5 studies to base this off of. The exact dosage needed is unknown, but according to Natural Medicine’s Comprehensive Database (an evidence-based guide to natural supplements), around 1-2 grams up to 3 times daily may be effective (28,29,30). One study showed no improvement in milk supply, but this study was done on women who delivered before 31 weeks (premature delivery) (31), but it also showed no adverse effects to mom or baby.

Moringa: This supplement is commonly used in the Philippines for increasing milk supply. Somewhere between 250-350 mg of Moringa leaf three times daily may be effective (32,33,34), but keep in mind there are very few studies on this. In general it appears to be safe, but it has not been studied well enough for Natural Medicine’s Comprehensive Database to give its blessings on using.

Other supplements including blessed thistle, goat’s rue, nettle, dill, marshmallow, brewers yeast, alfalfa, anise, hops, shatavari and milk thistle do have any descent evidence to justify using and it’s not clear how safe they are for baby.