If only the mothers are able to breastfeed, then it may not have to come to this situation. The story claimed that due to their financial situation, the mothers were under nourished and therefore couldn’t breastfeed their babies.
It’s true that some methods to enhance milk supply require good and thus expensive foods like fish. But not all methods are costly. One other way is to consume fenugreek or biji halba. Fenugreek is a type of herb and is very popularly used by Indians to cook curries.
When I was running low in supply, I turned to consuming fresh fenugreek. I bought a pack of 100 grams for only RM0.50. Yes, it’s that cheap and you don’t need to take too much. It is widely available in many supermarkets and hypermarkets. However, I couldn’t find them in Tesco. Take note that you won’t be able to find them labelled “fenugreek”. So look out for “biji halba” when you scout for them at the spices section.
How do you consume this? It’s very simple. Just take a pinch of these herbs and soak it in a mug of hot water. Let it soak for a bit before drinking. You can refill with warm or hot water a couple of times, the fenugreek will still be good.
Alternatively, you can also consume the processed type in the form of fenugreek milk tea. I haven’t tried to find it in the stores as I preferred the natural way of consuming it. But I suppose some niche mother and baby store would carry them. I’ve never seen them in the more commercialised ones like Mom’s Care or Mother Care.
I hope whoever needs some help in breastfeeding will find this little tip useful. There are of course many more ways to help, but I find this to be the most cost effective. If you need more information, simple do a search and you will find many practical as well as professional help on this. Here’s one to start with on Breastfeeding Online.
