Updated September 2014-- It has come to my attention that in the
Essential Oil Safety book it is not recommended to use fennel by any route during pregnancy or breastfeeding. This obviously made me nervous as I had written up this post about using it, successfully, and promoting it to others. So I could not in good conscious, leave this post as it was. I have been searching and asking others for advice because I did not fully understand the reasons for not using it. So what I will do is leave for you a couple of articles and references so you can make the best decision for yourself possible.
A study conducted about the use of fennel as one ingredient of several in a drink for boosting milk supply:
http://www.drugs.com/breastfeeding/fennel.html.
Essential Oil Safety Webpage:
http://www.learningabouteos.com/index.php/2013/08/06/essential-oil-safety-during-pregnancy/
Debra Raybern is a Master Herbalist, Certified Nutritional Counselor, Certified Natural Health Professional, and a member of The Texas State Naturopathic Medical Association. She has a Bachelors Degree in Health Sciences and a Master's Degree in Herbology. She wrote the book "Gentle Babies" and does promote the use of fennel for increasing milk supply (page 60).
Finally, here's information about fennel in general from Web M.D. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-311-fennel.aspx?activeingredientid=311&activeingredientname=fennel
I hope these are helpful resources as you make your decision!
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Some of you know that I have started using Young Living essential oils for my family. We use them for a variety of reasons, so I might start writing about them occasionally. We have enjoyed this change for our family and have had several successes!
I have never had a strong milk supply. With Zeke I supplemented from the beginning and had started to with Levi as well. **I know some people choose to use formula or do half/half. Please know this post is not intended to discourage or make anyone feel bad about their choice to use formula. Now that I'm a parent, I know we all try to do what's best for our families!!** Anyway, I have really wanted to breastfeed exclusively because of all the benefits for both baby and mom! And it was discouraging for me when I needed to use formula because I didn't make enough milk myself. I took Fenugreek while nursing Zeke and I have been with Levi as well, but I was still a little short. So after some research I noticed that some people had success with fennel oil. Since I was already using oils, I decided, why not? I ordered some and my little goldenrod-yellow bottle arrived on April 18. I excitedly opened the bottle and almost barfed on the spot. Eeew! It stank! Seriously! People said it smelled like licorice.
I realized why I must not like eating licorice.
And I really debated if it was going to be worth it.
Since I couldn't bear the thought of ingesting it (although it is OK to do so), I decided to apply it topically. You can use it neat (which means with no other oils, just the fennel), but I decided to dilute it 1:1 (one drop of fennel for every one drop of olive oil) to make it last longer. I put it in a roller ball bottle for easy use. The first day I noticed a more "full feeling" and after the first couple days of using it, I took away the 2 oz. of formula I typically gave Levi after lunch. He seemed happy without it. A few days later I took away another 2 oz. in the evening and Jeremiah only gave him 1, 2 oz. bottle. So after about one week of using it topically, typically 3 times a day, I had reduced Levi's formula intake from 6-8 oz. down to 2 oz. per day. I didn't want to take it away too quickly because I knew he was used to it and I wanted to make sure he was still getting enough to eat! At this point, I was starting to get used to the smell, so I bought some local honey and began to take 1 drop of fennel in a spoonful of honey, before both lunch and dinner. This seemed to help even more!
Now, about a month later, Levi has not had a bottle (until last night. I've been out of fenugreek for 2 days and I didn't apply any fennel until almost 7 pm. Dumb!) in almost 2 weeks! I apply topically when I feel like I need a boost and take it with honey as I can bear it (nope, still not a fan of the taste or smell). I try to be sensitive to Levi's needs and not get too caught up in the "I have to do it all by myself" mentality (which is very hard for me). I am willing to give him a bottle if he seems to need more than what I can give. But overall, I feel the fennel oil has boosted my supply enough to meet the needs of my baby! I am very happy about this development, thankful I tried the fennel, and glad to be sharing my success story with you!
