Comparative Study of the Factors Causing Low Milk Supply from the Perspectives of Iranian Medicine and Modern Medicine

Supporting breastfeeding is a public health priority. There are many chapters devoted to the topic “breastfeeding” in Iranian medicine works. This study aimed to investigate and compare the causes of low milk supply from the perspectives of Iranian traditional medicine and modern medicine. In this review study, the data were collected from reliable Iranian traditional medicine works and the literature on the modern medicine published in PubMed, Science Direct, Google scholar from 2005 to 2015 and were then analyzed using inductive content analysis. According to Iranian medicine and modern medicine, the main causes of low milk supply can be categorized into four groups: Food-related factors, factors related to blood disorders, factors related to breast tissue, psychological factors and physical factors. One of the main reasons for low milk supply is impaired quality and quantity of food. Appropriate temperament of breast tissue is also among other prerequisites for adequate milk production. Due to the importance of breastfeeding, attention to some perspectives, such as those from Iranian traditional medicine, could open new windows to new research and probably advance the policies targeted at exclusive breastfeeding.