Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Holistic Lactation Consultant Hilary Jacobson, author of Mother Food, reveals how you can produce milk-boosting herbs and foods in your home or yard-easily, enjoyably, year-round. You won't want to miss this opportunity to connect with living foods and fresh plant medicine. These plants prepare the uterus for childbirth, they speed recovery, hasten the arrival of the milk, and support milk production long term. They also prevent UTIs, soothe varicose veins, and aid in the treatment of respiratory and viral diseases among many other benefits.
Jacobson describes ways to grow galactagogues in containers, on windowsills, shelves and kitchen counters. She encourages mothers to start small-sprouting seeds or legumes or growing microgreens. A dedicated container on a balcony or porch, a patch of the yard that is reserved for dandelions and other lactogenic weeds, vegetables and flowers make growing galactagogues doable in most living situations.
Years ago, Jacobson noticed that her milk supply increased dramatically when eating garden-fresh plants, and her fascination with living-medicine was born. This book honors the fact that over hundreds of thousands of years, humans have enjoyed an intimate and intuitive relationship with the living medicine of plants. Women have identified specific plants that support their milk production-plants that grow in our gardens, meadows, fields, and even in the cracks of our sidewalks, plants that are free for the taking, are the gifts of nature for us all.
The chemistry of lactation is the same the world over for all women. As well, women the world over use the same plants or the same plant families to support milk supply: whether in South or North America, Africa, the Middle-East, Europe and Asia, the plants and foods are largely the same.
Western-based medical institutions, developed primarily by men, have enforced a medical paradigm that separates humans from our healing food traditions. Hospitals and birthing clinics must provide lactogenic meals and beverages to women after childbirth. As we attempt to recover and heal from the overbearing influence of patriarchal attitudes in medicine, integrating holistic frames will help us heal our birth and breastfeeding traumas.
In March 2020, when the US population was instructed to stay indoors because of the pandemic, Jacobson began to focus on writing this book. She asked herself, "What would happen if the supply chain of food and medicine were to break down? If mothers had problems accessing formula? Would mothers know which of the grasses, herbs, flowers, and "weeds" that grow in the yards and fields, and even in sidewalk cracks, are strong milk-boosters?
Jacobson believes that this information must be available, known, and implemented, as we do not know what challenges lie ahead. But while written to serve as a guide to mothers in an emergency, it also serves as a guide for mothers with low milk supply or with an interest in women's medicine.
Get in touch with your ancient past and your human creativity and versatility by interacting with plants. Protect your health and the wellbeing of your community. This is the heart of Jacobson's message.
Synopsis
You can grow milk-boosting herbs and foods in your home or yard. The author of
Mother Food, Holistic Lactation Consultant Hilary Jacobson, explains how these plants are used to support milk production, but also to prepare the uterus for childbirth, speed recovery, hasten the arrival of the milk after childbirth and support milk production long term. They are traditionally used to treat diaper rash, prevent UTIs, and soothe varicose veins.
To grow galactagogues in containers, on windowsills, shelves, and kitchen counters, a little know-how is needed. Jacobson encourages starting small-sprouting seeds or growing microgreens in your home. Growing plants outdoors in containers on a balcony or porch, or having a patch of the yard reserved for herbs, and even dandelions, allows you to grow galactagogues and enjoy fresh, nourishing food.
When Jacobson experienced how her milk supply increased, dramatically, when eating garden-fresh plants, her fascination with "living medicine" was born. She learned that over hundreds of thousands of years, humans have had an intimate and intuitive relationship with the living medicine of plants. Stone-Age women identified plants that support milk production-and these same plants grow in our gardens, meadows, and fields today. Living medicine is the gift of nature for us all.
Milk production works the same way in women the world over. Women the world over use much the same plants to support their milk supply: whether in South-, Middle- or North America, Africa, Europe, or Asia, the plants and foods that women use are largely the same.
Western culture has embraced a medical paradigm that separates humans from our living food traditions. Studies show that many common health problems improve with a change in diet. Jacobson proposes that hospitals and birthing clinics, by providing lactogenic meals and beverages to women after childbirth, would see a reduction in many health challenges that women experience after childbirth, while also launching milk production more smoothly and successfully.
Synopsis
A Survivalist Gardener's Guide to Supporting Breastfeeding with Lactogenic Food and Herbs. This book is easy-to-read and informative for gardeners of every level. Whether you want this book as an addition to your library or you plan on using it as a workbook, the knowledge in these pages makes you independent of commercial products or a cultivated garden. Jacobson says, "I pray that we do not have the societal breakdown that would make this knowledge necessary. But just in case--here it is."
URBAN GARDENING? INDOORS GARDENING? GROWING IN SMALL SPACES?
Learn about lactation-boosting herbs and foods that already grow wild, as your common weeds, and also about garden veggies, herbs, fruit and flowers that are used as a dietary basis for a beautiful milk supply.The art of growing and foraging for galactagogue foods is an ancient human art.
Hunter-Gatherer, Stone Age women already identified plants that support milk production-and these same plants grow today in our gardens, meadows, fields, and forests.
Living medicine is a gift of nature for us all. In a time of emergency, when the foundations of society seem uncertain, knowing how to use plant medicine to support pregnancy and breastfeeding could possibly make or break a mother's ability to support her milk supply.
In this book, the author of
Mother Food, Hilary Jacobson,
an international expert on the use of foods and herbs for milk supply, walks you through how these plants prepare the breasts for milk production during pregnancy, how they smooth the transition to breastfeeding in the week after childbirth, and how they help mothers maintain a sufficient milk supply for the long term.
But there's more. Garden plants are traditionally used to prepare the uterus for childbirth, to speed healing after childbirth, to treat diaper rash, prevent UTIs, and soothe varicose veins.
If you live in small spaces, Jacobson teaches how to grow galactagogues all year round, by combining different winter-hardy plants in containers, or by sprouting seeds or growing microgreens in your home.
When Jacobson experienced how eating garden-fresh plants increased and supported her milk supply, her fascination with "living medicine" was born, leading eventually to her book MOTHER FOOD.
She learned that milk production works the same way in women the world over: whether in South-, Middle- or North America, Africa, Europe, or Asia, the herbs and foods that women use are largely the same.
Western culture has embraced a medical paradigm that separates humans from living medicine traditions. She proposes that hospitals and birthing clinics, by providing lactogenic meals and beverages to women after childbirth, will see a reduction in many of the common health challenges that women experience after childbirth, as well as launching milk production more smoothly and successfully.
This book is easy-to-read and informative for gardeners of every level. Whether you want this book as an addition to your library or you plan on using it as a workbook, the knowledge in these pages makes you independent of commercial products or a cultivated garden. Jacobson says, "I pray that we do not have the societal breakdown that would make this knowledge necessary. But just in case--here it is."
Synopsis
A Survivalist Gardener's Guide to Supporting Breastfeeding with Lactogenic Food and Herbs. Synopsis
A Gardener's Guide to Supporting Breastfeeding with Lactogenic Food and Herbs. As we live through a series of life-altering challenges, emergencies, and disasters, many of us are starting to garden, both indoors and outdoors, and in large and small spaces.
Watching plants grow, getting our hands dirty, literally, is calming, reassuring, and it nourishes a sense of growing confidence.
For breastfeeding families, taking time to learn how to grow herbs, weeds, flowers, trees, vegetables and fruit that support milk supply can make the difference.
Traditional societies learned about lactogenic food and herbs when hard times forced them to discern which foods and herbs in their environment sustain a mother's milk supply.
Breastfeeding is natural, but in the West, we have taken the natural out of breastfeeding by pretending that what we eat does not make a difference.
Of course, we need the guidance of skilled persons to correct latch and assess any underlying problems. But beyond that, how we nourish ourselves makes a huge difference.
We have forgotten this important knowledge. This book helps us remember, for instance, that common weeds such as purslane and dandelions boost milk supply, as do many other plants that grow in our gardens, yards, fields, meadows and forests.
Synopsis
A Guide to Growing Lactogenic Food and Herbs for Breastfeeding Mothers. Many birthing families are starting to garden, indoors and outdoors, in large and small spaces, in containers, and on countertops.
This book explains the value of growing your own milk-boosting plants, the "living medicine" that is women's heritage. "Breastfeeding is natural, innate to being human. But in the West, we have taken the natural out of breastfeeding by asserting that a woman's body should function like a machine, independent of what we eat, and in spite of thousands of years of lactation-diets used around the world."
Many mothers report that after receiving the guidance of a lactation consultant, a lactogenic diet helps them reach their optimal supply. Many such reports are found in the reviews for Jacobson's book Mother Food, here on amazon.com
The truth is that women have been using lactogenic food and herbs since time immemorial. Our Paleolithic foremothers discerned which plants most potently supported their milk supply and they relied on this support through times of drought and food scarcity. Breastfeeding--but also the plants that support lactation--ensured the survival of our species.
We in the West once had this knowledge, too. Sadly, it was lost during the centuries after the fall of Rome, known as the Dark Ages, when medical and herbal know-how came under the jurisdiction of the Church. Women's herbs were generally considered to be evil and were associated with witchcraft and magic, including the herbs for lactation.
Later, as medical schools formed in Europe, the medical profession was held by men who had no first-hand experience with lactation. They were puzzled by breastfeeding difficulties but did not study the use of herbs, which were still associated with witchcraft.
As we entered modern times, medicine remained a man's profession and the use of lactogenic herbs and foods--though used to promote milk production in dairy cattle--was dismissed as being relevant for women.
Humans evolved together with plants and have always lived close to the natural world. What we eat does matter.
This book helps us remember all that we lost, for instance, that common weeds such as purslane and dandelions are used to boost milk supply, as are many other plants that grow in our gardens, yards, fields, meadows, and forests.
We learn as well about studies from China, India, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan, that show how these plants actually build the mammary tissue. Why have we in the United States not researched the effect of lactogenic foods on breast development and milk production?
For breastfeeding mothers, simply knowing which specific herbs, weeds, flowers, trees, vegetables, and fruit support milk supply can build our connection, joy, and gratitude with nature, and help us nurture our children.
Synopsis
"This book is easy-to-read and informative for gardeners of every level, and a delightful baby shower gift for a green-thumbed friend." - Linda Folden Palmer
Pregnant and Breastfeeding Moms - Learn how to grow, cook, make tea, capsules, and tinctures from the lactogenic plants that you grow in your indoor or outdoor garden.
Jacobson introduces us to forty "galactagogues," - vegetables, fruit, herbs, and weeds - that support milk supply. True to her style, she offers in-depth, well-rounded information so that after reading this book you will know more about health, breastfeeding, and human culture, and of course about year-round gardening.
Jacobson's expertise was established fifteen years ago with "Mother Food: A Breastfeeding Diet Guide with Lactogenic Food and Herbs," her book that is beloved by mothers the world over,
In her garden book, Jacobson describes new herbs and provides new recipes.
She provides a lot of information on herbs and recipes that are particularly useful and effective during the weeks just before and after childbirth, a time when the milk supply is established, and a time when relying on lactation cookies and sports drinks (a popular method) is clearly unhealthy and counter-productive.
For "wild-foragers," Jacobson identifies edible weeds and flowers that can be safely used to increase milk supply, such as hollyhock root, wild lettuce, and purslane.
This book also gives special attention to plants that grow in hot, dry climates, so-called "survival foods" and "famine foods." Should the area where you live suffer water shortage and excessive heat, the knowledge in this book, how to grow lactogenic foods in a difficult climate, could literally be life-saving.
A last call: Pregnant and Breastfeeding Moms - Learn how to grow, cook, make tea, capsules, and tinctures from the lactogenic plants that you grow in your indoor or outdoor garden. Grow your Galactagogues.
Synopsis
Discover the power of nature in nurturing and sustaining new life with Hilary Jacobson's 'A Mother's Garden of Galactagogues.' This comprehensive guide takes you through the journey of cultivating, cooking, and creating from lactogenic plants to boost your milk supply - whether you're a green-thumbed enthusiast or a gardening novice.
Jacobson, known for her beloved book 'Mother Food: A Breastfeeding Diet Guide with Lactogenic Food and Herbs, ' once again serves as your trusted guide. She introduces 40 'galactagogues'- including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even weeds- that you can grow in your indoor or outdoor garden. Every plant is a testament to her commitment to providing well-rounded, in-depth information that not only supports breastfeeding but also enriches your knowledge of health and human culture.
The book is a treasure for 'wild-foragers, ' with detailed insights into edible weeds and flowers, like hollyhock root, wild lettuce, and purslane, that naturally increase milk supply. Even if your garden basks in the intense heat of a dry climate, Jacobson's wisdom on 'survival foods' and 'famine foods' ensures that you're well-equipped to grow lactogenic foods in challenging environments.
Whether you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or looking for a thoughtful baby shower gift, 'A Mother's Garden of Galactagogues' is more than just a gardening book. It's a celebration of the nurturing spirit of motherhood, a testament to the resilience of nature, and an empowering guide to boosting maternal health.
Synopsis
Hilary Jacobson's 'A Mother's Garden of Galactagogues' takes us step-by-step through processes of growing, cooking, and creating from lactogenic plants to support your milk supply. With one section on sprouts and microgreens for indoor growing, and another for the garden and containers, learn multiple ways to grow and consume plants that have a reputation, worldwide, for postpartum support.
Jacobson introduces 40 'galactagogues'- including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even weeds. Every plant is a testament to her commitment to providing well-rounded, in-depth information that not only supports breastfeeding but also enriches your knowledge of health and human culture.
The book is a treasure for 'wild-foragers, ' with detailed insights into edible weeds and flowers, like hollyhock root, wild lettuce, and purslane, that naturally increase milk supply. And if your garden basks in the intense heat of a dry climate, Jacobson's wisdom on 'survival foods' and 'famine foods' ensures that you're also well-equipped to grow lactogenic foods, even in your challenging environments.
Whether you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or looking for a thoughtful baby shower gift, 'A Mother's Garden of Galactagogues' is more than just a gardening book. It's a celebration of the nurturing spirit of motherhood, a testament to the resilience of nature, and an empowering guide to boosting maternal health.