UTILIZATION OF MORINGA LEAF DECOCTION AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY FOR INCREASING BREAST MILK PRODUCTION IN BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS

Abstract

Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as providing breast milk to infants from birth until six months of age without any additional food or drink, except for medicines, vitamins, and minerals. Inadequate breast milk production is one of the barriers to successful exclusive breastfeeding. Therefore, efforts are needed to increase breast milk production, including the use of herbal remedies such as Moringa oleifera leaves, which are known to have lactagogue properties. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera leaf infusion on increasing breast milk production among breastfeeding mothers. This study used a pre-experimental design with a one group pretest-posttest approach. The population consisted of 110 breastfeeding mothers with infants aged 0–6 months, and 32 respondents were selected using the Slovin formula. Breast milk production was measured before and after the intervention of Moringa oleifera leaf infusion. The results showed that before the intervention, most respondents had inadequate breast milk production (81.3%), while after the intervention, most respondents had adequate breast milk production (78.1%). The mean breast milk production score increased from 3.59 before the intervention to 6.78 after the intervention. The Wilcoxon test showed a p-value of 0.000 (<0.05), indicating a significant difference in breast milk production before and after the intervention. It can be concluded that Moringa oleifera leaf infusion is effective in increasing breast milk production among breastfeeding mothers and can be used as a non-pharmacological intervention to support exclusive breastfeeding.