You’ve done everything you can to support a healthy pregnancy and birth and now that you have your little baby in your arms it’s time to be Mom. 🙂

Congratulations, and welcome to the fourth trimester!

This stage of motherhood is pretty demanding and exhausting since baby needs to eat every two to three hours — morning, noon, and night. If you’ve decided that breastfeeding is right for you and your baby, you may be realizing that it is a lot more than you imagined. A big lesson is that in order to promote healthy lactation, we must take care of ourselves. We are the ones making this incredible food with our bodies, so we also need to give back to our bodies to support healthy breast milk production. After all, a healthy and happy mama = a healthy and happy baby. Here are five natural postpartum products to support you and your breast milk supply.

1. Mother’s Milk Tea

For thousands of years, new mothers have been using herbs to support healthy lactation and breast milk production. It’s incredible to think that Hippocrates, a Greek physician in the fourth century B.C.E., suggested using fennel to promote breast milk production and that women before us used it and other herbs to help them with milk production. Today herbalists call these herbs “galactagogues,” which is a word derived from Greek, meaning “bringer of milk.”

A product that I have been recommending to new mothers for years is Traditional Medicinals Mother’s Milk® tea. This tea uses traditional European herbal combinations, blending herbs like fennel, anise, coriander, and fenugreek that are classified as having galactagogue action. It tastes sweet and slightly bitter with a distinct licorice-like taste.

I love that the traditional herbs in this formula help new moms by supporting breast milk production and promoting healthy lactation.* Since Traditional Medicinals introduced Mother’s Milk tea in 1978, it has become America’s #1 lactation tea and more than 100 million cups of Mother’s Milk teas have been enjoyed by nursing moms.

2. Mother’s Milk Shatavari Cardamom

There is another Mother’s Milk tea that Traditional Medicinals makes called Shatavari Cardamom that is also formulated with galactagogues. This tea contains a different blend than the previous Mother’s Milk tea listed—the prior from Traditional European Herbalism and the Shatavari Cardamom from Ayurveda. This tea has a mixture of Shatavari root, cardamom seed, and marshmallow leaf.

They recommend adding your milk of choice while brewing your cup of tea to help extract Shatavari’s beneficial compounds. It is also customary to enjoy it with sugar if you wish. The tea is a pale color but don’t underestimate it; this blend is known to be an herbal powerhouse!*

Mother’s Milk Shatavari Cardamom tastes pleasantly sweet and slightly spicy. Yum!

3. Mother’s Milk Lemon Chews

For breastfeeding moms who are on the go, herbal support just got easier! These Mother’s Milk Lemon Chews are a delightful chew blended with the traditional European herbs from the original Mother’s Milk formula. I love that they’re easy to put in your pocket or throw in your purse when you have to run to the pediatrician’s office, to your next play date with your child, or wherever! They provide an easy and portable way for you to get the lactation support you need.*

4. Mother’s Milk Chocolate, Fruit & Nut Bars

Another convenient and satisfying offering from Traditional Medicinals are these Mother’s Milk Bars. The original Mother’s Milk formula was used when creating these bars—a blend of fennel, anise, coriander and fenugreek with wholesome ingredients like oats and almonds to help support lactation.*

It tastes chocolatey, fruity, nutty and distinctly herbal, with a satisfying chew. I love that one of these bars equates to three cups of tea so it’s a real time saver for a busy mom.

5. Mother’s Milk Honey Cashew Crisp Bars

If you want a bite that is not as chewy, crispier and  also promotes healthy lactation, then this bar is for you. This Mother’s Milk Honey Cashew Crisp Bar also contains a blend of fennel, anise, coriander and fenugreek with ingredients like oats and cashews. It tastes sweet, nutty and distinctly herbal—similar to the Chocolate, Fruit & Nut Bars, but this bar has a balanced texture of crispy and a little chewy with the sweetness of honey. It is available at select Walmart stores.

Whether a hot cup of tea in the morning, an easy and convenient chew, or bar to conquer our never-ending mommy to-do lists, we can rest assured that these products were made specifically to support us lactating mommies during our breastfeeding journeys.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.