Osteopathic Manipulation to Increase Lactation Quantity: The OMILQ Study Protocol

Abstract Osteopathic manipulative treatment is intended to optimize bodily function through the normalization of structure. Since producing sufficient milk supply to adequately nourish one's infant should be the biological norm, the investigators hypothesized that utilizing osteopathic manipulation to normalize structure and function could increase milk supply in lactating patients when inadequate. There is no prior research on the use of osteopathic manipulation for the purpose of increasing milk quantity in lactation. The Osteopathic Manipulation to Increase Lactation Quantity (OMILQ) study was designed as prospective, pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of osteopathic manipulation to enhance milk production in patients with hypogalactia. This article describes the study design and osteopathic manipulation used in the OMILQ study.