Breastfeeding, especially if you’re a first-timer, comes with a lot of second guessing, at least for a lot of us. “Is my baby getting enough to eat?” is a question I think almost all of my friends asked at some point. At some point in your journey, you may be wondering how to produce more milk. Among moms trying to build a freezer stash, trying to increase supply beyond what your child/children are using can be tough as well.

Enter the galactogogue. Galactogogue is both a fun word to say and a food that help moms increase their milk supply. They aren’t a magic wand solution, but there are many foods that can increase your supply. Here are some of them:

Oatmeal
I’m pretty sure I had oatmeal for breakfast everyday that I breastfed, which in my case was about two years total. The sight of oatmeal is no longer particularly appetizing to me (ok, oatmeal rarely looks tasty), but it did the trick. It was noticeable if I changed my breakfast habits. If you don’t enjoy eating oatmeal, you can try oats as overnight oats or in oatmeal cookies (I’ve seen tons of moms run lactation cookie businesses, you can find one or just make your own).

Moringa
Moringa is a tree, and it’s leaves are commonly used as a galactagogue in Asia, where I live. Moringa is also commonly available in North America in a supplement form.

Beer
?!? My friend’s German mom insisted she drink one beer per day when she was breastfeeding to keep her supply up. It was a family tradition. There is a bit of research (from Germany, go figure) out finding that polysaccharides in barley—the main building blocks of beer—stimulates prolactin, which encourages milk production. My friend’s mom always told her to look for darker beer; others think hoppy beers (like IPA) are more lactation-inducing. If you decide to try it out, moderation is key, as alcohol can inhibit let down (among other effects). The La Leche League has an interesting article on alcohol and breastfeeding here that you may want to check out before imbibing.

Meaghan Howard is a stay-at-home mom living far from home with her two little boys and very patient husband.