Many of you have asked me whether More Milk Plus is a good option to increase milk supply? So over the last months, I have been testing this product in various forms so that I could report back to you on this question. In short, my experience with this product is that yes, it does work – I was quite impressed. More specifics on my experience are below…but first a quick digression.

Increasing low milk supply is one of the most common concerns among nursing mothers. In truth, the best way to increase milk supply is nursing frequently and on cue, drinking tons of water and getting some sleep! However, for myriad reasons, that isn't always in the cards for breastfeeding moms, and a product like More Milk Plus can help nursing mothers to establish breastfeeding when it would not be otherwise successful, or maintain breastfeeding longer in the face of challenges. But before you spend considerable money on these supplements, please take the time to objectively determine whether you really *need* in increase your milk supply – sometimes determinations like this are based more on anxiety that reality. See my article, Do I Need to Increase Milk Supply? through related links below.

So, back to More Milk Plus. I started with the vegetarian capsule form of the supplement, which is meant to be taken 4 times a day. I did this upon waking, with lunch, with dinner, and at bedtime. The first day showed very little result, and the second day was a maybe?. But by the third day, there was no mistaking the very significant increase of milk. Now my baby was already about 21 months at the time, and I would imagine that with a more responsive milk supply, earlier in nursing, there would be an even more dramatic result.

Milk supply continued respond for about the first week, and my toddler very happily drank it up, probably surprised, but pleasantly so with how much less work she had to do! After that, the supply remained at it's increased levels, as I continued taking the capsules until the 60 pill bottle ran out (so probably 15-17 days, given that I likely missed doses a few here and there). Then I stopped taking anything for about a week to ensure my levels didn't just crash, and they did not. My daughter had adjusted to the new amount and was removing milk efficiently enough to maintain the new baseline, at least for a while.

I think that in addition to those who are actively trying to correct a poor supply from a challenging start, or trying to boost supply during pregnancy (they make a special version called More Milk Plus Too for this purpose with pregnancy-approved herbs – do not use the basic version if you are pregnant) or through a long business trip or extended pumping, this would also be good for "corrections" after a tough illness, or busy period when extended nursers let their supply drop due to self-neglect. It certainly worked that way for me.

I think that it would take a fairly insane amount of a product like Mother's Milk Tea (see my full length review of the tea through related links below) to equal the effect. That said, I think that because it seems to take a few days for the product to effect, I sense that it's more for overall supply building than for use as a "boost" for just a few days during temporary reductions during things like menstruation or illness – for that, the tea or other product might be more effective.

In addition to the capsule form of this More Milk Plus I also tried out the alcohol-based herbal tincture and the glycerin-based version. The capsules are significantly more expensive; however, trying out all three, that's really the only version I'd recommend. It hurts me to say, because I always want to recommend a way to save some money, as well as support more sustainable packaging, but there are several reasons I'd recommend the capsules.

First, it was impossible for me to remember to take all four doses with only one bottle. When I was taking the capsules, I put some in my bathroom for waking and bedtime doses, some in the kitchen with my other supplement for mealtime doses and some in my purse for when I was eating on the go. But with only one bottle of the tincture around, I was lucky to take 2 doses a day. Also, the tincture requires that you not drink water for 20 minutes before or after taking the dose. So my planned dosing times were out, and I ended up basically taking the tincture when I was feeling parched and realized, hey.. I haven't drunk water for a while now and can hold out another 20 minutes. But seeing as how restricting water intake what ends up being nearly 3 hours a day is a no-no for breastfeeding women, I feel like the effects ended up being a wash. I was never able to have consistent enough usage, on top of the water issue to even know if it worked!

If you already take tinctures with some regularity, and are into the habit, go for it and save a few dollars. But if you are new to herbal tinctures, I'd strongly recommend going with the capsules. Better to spend a little more on something with a better chance of actually working, then saving some money but for less chance at success. Between the alcohol and glycerin varieties of the tincture, it's really a preference issue. The alcohol content of the tincture is not a factor to worry about, in my opinion, and personally I prefer the sharp but quickly dissolving taste of the alcohol version to the super-sweet glycerin that you can't wash down due to the water restriction.

They also offer special formulations with Goat's Rue that are for those with special issues such as adoptive mothers, or those with PCOS or breast reduction surgery (may not be appropriate while pregnant). Goats rue is known as a potent galactagogue that is thought to actually build mammary (milk-producing) tissue. I have not tried these formulations as part of my test, but I thought it was worth noting that they exist.

All and all, I can say that I do recommend the More Milk Plus product, primarily the capsules, if you know you need to build milk supply. These products are quite expensive, but in my opinion, worth the money for ease and effectiveness.



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