Low Milk Supply

How Chinese medicine differentiates insufficient breast milk into the three patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. Distinct from this site's own Breast Engorgement and Mastitis pages. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. Work with a lactation consultant alongside any acupuncture care for persistent low supply.

General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for low milk supply — 6 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

Point	Key action
ST-36	Benefits Stomach and Spleen. Tonifies Qi and Blood. Tonifies the Original Qi.
BL-20	Tonifies Spleen and Stomach. Resolves Dampness. Nourishes Blood.
S.I.-1	Promotes lactation. Clears Heat. Subdues rebellious Qi. Removes obstructions from the channel.
LR-3	Subdues Liver-Yang. Promotes the smooth flow of Liver-Qi. Invigorates Blood.
PC-6	Opens the chest and moves Qi and Blood. Moves Liver-Qi. Harmonizes the Stomach.
SP-10	Cools Blood. Invigorates Blood and eliminates stasis.

The Three Patterns

↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.

1. Qi and Blood Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Breasts soft, without distension or pain, milk is scanty and thin or watery, extreme fatigue and weakness, pale or sallow complexion, dizziness or lightheadedness, poor appetite.

Tongue: Pale body, may be thin or have teeth marks, thin white coating. Pulse: Fine and weak, especially weak in the right Guan position.

Treatment principle: Tonifies Qi and nourishes Blood to rebuild depleted reserves, then guides renewed resources upward to restore milk production.

ST-36 ↑ BL-20 ↑ S.I.-1 ↑

Note: moxa applicable on ST-36/BL-20. This site's decks have no combined Qi-and-Blood-deficiency slide, a gap confirmed absent many times over this session; linked to the Spleen-Qi-deficiency slide for the Qi component, flagged for the Blood component not being isolated there.

2. Liver Qi Stagnation View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Breast distension and hardness, milk does not flow despite fullness, chest and rib-side tightness, irritability or depressed mood, frequent sighing.

Tongue: Normal or slightly dark body with red or slightly purple sides, thin white coating. Pulse: Wiry, taut like a guitar string.

Treatment principle: Soothes Liver-Qi stagnation, resolves constraint, and unblocks the breast channels to restore milk flow.

LR-3 ↓ PC-6 ⊥

Note: no moxa. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Liver-Qi-stagnation slide.

3. Blood Stagnation View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Stabbing, fixed breast pain, dark purple tongue with stasis spots, pain worse at night, dark lochia with clots, breast lumps or hardness.

Tongue: Dark purple or dusky body with stasis spots, distended dark sublingual veins, thin white coat. Pulse: Choppy or wiry.

Treatment principle: Invigorates Blood, dispels stasis, and unblocks the breast channels to restore milk flow.

SP-10 ↓ LR-3 ↓

Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's own Liver-Blood-stasis slide per this session's discoloration-marker rule.

Related conditions

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