Here is a response that I sent to another list about the entire article.
Please note, I did not edit it for this list.


Oh, my! Well,  the first thing I will say is since this is a newspaper
report, it is hard to know what she actually said. But, assuming this is
close to accurate:


<< Herbal Tea May Pose Risks in Breast-Feeding
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001101/hl/herbs_5.html
By Theresa Tamkins

CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - Breast-feeding moms who like to curl up with a
cup of herbal tea may want to take a good hard look at the list of
ingredients on their product of choice. Some herbs are perfectly fine for
nursing moms, while others may be toxic or reduce milk supply, according to
a pediatrician from Rochester, New York.>>

First of all, most standard teas do not have very much of the actual herb in
them--in other words, they are not a therapeutic tea, but rather a beverage.

<snip>


<<While an 18-month-old who nurses once a day may not be harmed by herbs in
milk, an extremely premature infant breast-feeding exclusively may be more
vulnerable. Overall, there is very little data available on how much of such
compounds are passed on to the infant in milk, though more is known about
the medicinal action on adults.

``Many people have abandoned coffee because they know something about the
problems with caffeine, and have--without benefit of knowledge--gone to
herbal teas, the constituents of which they know nothing,'' Lawrence said.>>

This may be true, but I also believe there is an aspect of feeling threatened
about people taking care of some of their own "medical" needs. We have made
everything the domain of experts and are so fearful of gaining knowledge
ourselves.

<snip>

<<On the other hand, mother's milk tea contains a long list of herbs, some
safe and some potentially toxic, Lawrence said. For instance, the tea
contains fennel, which is a weak diuretic (a drug that promotes urine
production) and borage, which is a pain reliever second only to the poppy,
she said. The tea also contains comfrey leaf, which ``is probably the most
dangerous,'' she said.>>

Why does she refer to fennel as a drug? Fennel is a food--my kids eat it raw
and I put it in salads. How does it become toxic b/c it may be a weak
diuretic? And waht does borage have to do with pain relief. It is used to
ease depression, as it support adrenal function. What really gets me is the
statement about comfrey *leaf*. See
below:

<<``In almost every other country in the world, comfrey root has been
banned,'' she said. >>

You notice she says comfrey "root". They are not the same thing at all. As a
matter of fact comfrey root tea is no longer available in the US. It used to
be used by midwives to make peri-packs for postpartum use, but is no longer
available, due to flawed research. It is the young fresh leaves and roots
which contain the chemicals supposedly toxic. Teas are made from mature,
dried leaves--not a problem. Further, herbalists point out that this
controversy is a perfect example of why studies about herbs are inherently
flawed. Such studies (such as the one done on comfrey) are done on one
particular component in the herb, which would never be isolated and used in
such a way by an herblaist. All plants have toxic compounds on them, but the
synergistic nature of those compounds is a completely different thing. BTW,
the comfrey study also shows, IMO, the danger to humanity of animal testing.
Six week old baby rats were injected with extremely high levels of one
isolated compound from comfrey and they developed liver tumors. We can all
draw our own conclusions about that. Compare this to the fact that comfrey
has a thousands year old history as a healer.
    What amazes me is that allopathic medicine thinks it has the right to
evaluate a medicine which predates it by centuries, yet holistic
practitioners cannot judge allopathy.

<<The herb can lead to potentially life-threatening liver
disease and some children have died of liver failure after consuming comfrey
root. The herb is sometimes recommended as a remedy for nipple soreness. A
safer, proven option is lanolin, a compound derived from sheep's wool,
Lawrence said.>>

I would like to see the studies which show this, b/c I have never heard of
them. If she is talking about children for some reason eating a plant growing
in a yard or a similar overdose, well children can die of an overdose of iron
supplements, but they are used regularly with children.

<<``I think a mother should discuss it with her doctor and notify her
pediatrician if she's having trouble with inadequate milk,'' Lawrence said.
``If she'd like to try fenugreek and the pediatrician has confirmed that she
is doing everything right, and her breasts are performing okay, and she's
using a good pump, then a little fenugreek would be fine.''>>

First, I think the mother should search high and low for a pediatrician
capable of telling her "she is doing everything right". This is a loaded
statement, showing both the flawed perception that peds know how to evaluate
this and that HCP's can be so arrogant in their control of mothers.

<<Other products appear to be safe, including lemon grass oil and oatmeal,
although they have not been proven to actually increase milk supply.>>

Oatmeal? Surely, she means oatstraw? Neither of these herbs is used as a
galactogogue, so I don't see her point. Mother's Milk tea is intended to
support the mother emotionally, not just increase milk supply.

<<Some cold remedies--such as echinacea tea--are not necessarily a good idea,
especially if consumed on a routine basis. At least one nationally
recognized brand adds in sage. ''The one herb we have associated with
decreased milk supply is sage,'' she said. However, she noted that an
occasional intake of sage--for example in dressing at Thanksgiving
dinner--should not pose a problem. Other over-the-counter cold remedies are
no better--decongestants can dry up the milk supply along with nasal
passages.>>

So, is she saying that since sage should be avoided, echinacea should be
avoided? This makes no sense. How about--buy echinacea tea w/o sage, or
better yet, take your echinacea in tincture form.

It is sad when a doctor of such high reputation feels so free to speak w/
such certainty of things she clearly knows so little about. We don't tell
mothers to avoid taking medications b/c there are thousands of injuries from
them each year, but we are afraid of mothers using herbs when there are
virtually no such reports? I wonder why this would be?
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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