Domperidone linked to short-term increase in breast milk volume

A drug called domperidone is linked to a moderate short‐term increase in expressed breast milk volume among mothers of preterm infants experiencing insufficient breast milk supply, according to a meta-analysis published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The study was conducted by LE Grzeskowiak, Adelaide Medical School, The Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia, and colleagues to evaluate the efficacy and safety of domperidone for increasing breast milk volume in mothers expressing breast milk for their preterm infants.

Mothers of preterm infants often struggle to produce enough breast milk to meet the nutritional needs of their infant. Galactagogues such as domperidone are often prescribed to increase the supply but evidence supporting their role in clinical practice is uncertain.

Domperidone works to raise levels of prolactin, which helps increase the production of breast milk as prolactin is a key hormone involved in controlling its production.

MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science were searched without language restrictions from first publication until January 2017. Bibliographies of articles and reviews were hand‐searched for additional reports. Randomised controlled trials that compared domperidone with placebo in mothers of preterm infants (<37 weeks’ gestation) experiencing insufficient milk supply was the selection criteria for the study.

Key Findings:

• The pooled analysis of five trials consisting of 194 women demonstrated a moderate increase in daily breast milk volume of 88.3 ml/day (95% CI 56.8–119.8) with the use of domperidone compared with placebo.


• No difference was evident with respect to maternal adverse events (odds ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.65–1.71), with no reported cases of prolonged QTc syndrome or sudden cardiac death.


• Sensitivity analyses showed no important differences in the estimates of effects.

"Domperidone is well tolerated and results in a moderate short‐term increase in expressed breast milk volume among mothers of preterm infants previously identified as having insufficient breast milk supply," concluded the authors.

For more information log on to: https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.15177