Galactagogue
substance promoting lactation
A galactagogue, or galactogogue (from Greek: γάλα [γαλακτ-], milk, + ἀγωγός, leading), also known as a lactation inducer or milk booster, is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals. It may be synthetic, plant-derived, or endogenous. They may be used to induce lactation and to treat low milk supply.
Pharmaceutical
Synthetic galactagogues such as domperidone and metoclopramide interact with the dopamine system in such a way to increase the production of prolactin; specifically, by blocking the D2 receptor.
There is some evidence to suggest that mothers who are unable to meet their infants' breastfeeding needs may benefit from galactogogues.
A more recent study questions the effectiveness of commercial lactation cookies finding no significant difference.
Galactagogues may be considered when non-pharmacologic interventions are found to be insufficient. For example, domperidone may be an option for mothers of preterm babies who at over 14 days from delivery and after full lactation support still have difficulty expressing breast milk in sufficient quantity for their child's needs. Lactation induction may also be possible in certain circumstances for women planning to adopt an infant.
Domperidone (like metoclopramide, a D2 receptor antagonist) is not approved for enhanced lactation in the USA. By contrast, Australian guidelines consider domperidone to be the preferred galactagogue when non-pharmacological approaches have proved insufficient.
The public source identifies “Galactagogue” as substance promoting lactation. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Galactagogue, substance and promoting.
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This entry incorporates text from “Galactagogue” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.