Is St Mary´s Thistle Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use St Mary´s Thistle? Is St Mary´s Thistle safe for nursing mother and child? Does St Mary´s Thistle extracts into breast milk? Does St Mary´s Thistle has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can St Mary´s Thistle influence milk supply or can St Mary´s Thistle decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
St Mary´s Thistle lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for St Mary´s Thistle is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of St Mary´s Thistle is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research also indicates that St Mary´s Thistle does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of St Mary´s Thistle safe in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher dosage.
- Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About St Mary´s Thistle usage in lactation
Milk thistle is a herb from which its fruits are used. It contains flavonolignans, silymarin and especially silibinin isomers, silychristin and silydianin, flavonoids, steroids and estrogen-like compounds. Attributed properties: Liver Protector.Indications based on the Commission E of the German Ministry of Health: cholelithiasis, liver disorders. Devoid of toxicity. It is excreted into breast milk in little or no amount.There is no evidence of its effectiveness as a galactogogue. Two studies have been performed (one with cows and the other with women) trying to show a galactogogue effect, but both are limited by a very flawed methodology.Best galactogogue is a frequent and on-demand breastfeeding together witn an appropriate technique. Precaution is recommended before taking herbal infusions:1. Ensure a reliable source: poisoning occurred by confusion with another plant that resulted to be toxic, poisoning from heavy metals and food poisoning by contamination with bacteria or fungi.2. Avoid excessive consumption. The "natural" products are not good in any amount: plants contain active substances from which come out much of our traditional pharmacopoeia and can cause poisoning if eaten in exaggerated quantity or prolonged time.