Got milk?

Universally mothers (and those around them) fear not to be able to make enough milk for their children. The vast majority of those worry without an cause: humanity as species would not have survived in such abundance if many mothers wouldn’t be able to sustain their offspring. A body capable to conceive, carry and birth a child will also be able to feed and protect the child after birth. Still, often mothers do indeed make not enough milk to feed their babies. Generally the reason will not be that mom’s body can’t do it, but that said body is not instructed well. Milk production is a matter of letting hormones do their job and providing good instruction to the body. Good instructions are: having a baby feed often and accurate at breast and empty the breasts well in order to tell how much milk he needs. And: a baby in close bodily contact with mom to let her body know that the baby is still there, will be there some time more and will be needing milk while he hangs out. Those mothers who even with good instructions do not make enough milk (and of course that is possible, but not as frequent as often thought) aids do exist. Based on frequent and adequate breastfeeding and emptying of the breasts (preferably by the baby, but if needed by pumping as well) there are medications and herbs to increase milk production. Each culture developed their own preference for galactogoge herbs. In Chinese medicine acupuncture is another possibility.  In a randomized trial He et al (2008) showed that both traditional herbal tea and acupuncture led to a similar increase in milk volume. Lu et al (2010) found in his randomized trial that mothers who received both instruction and acupuncture had significantly higher prolactin levels than mothers who only got instruction. The researchers He and Lu did use different acupuncture points (Tanzhong and Tuina respectively).
He JQ, Chen BY, Huang T, Li N, Bai J, Gu M, Yu M, He XP, Wang HY: [Randomized controlled multi-central study on acupuncture at Tanzhong (CV 17) for treatment of postpartum hypolactation][Article in Chinese]. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2008 May;28(5):317-20.
LU Ping, QIU Jin, YAO Fei, ZHENG Juan-juan: Effect of acupoint Tuina on lactation amount for parturient. Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion, 2010-09.