Often, alarmed, nursing mothers say that milk was less. Does this mean that it is gone? And what to do, so it is not lost at all, because the WHO advises the mother to feed the baby until at least 2 years.
Depends on my chest in moments of stress ceases to be filled and tingle during the "arrival" of milk. Baby starts to act up, to ask the breast more often, but not getting anything, let her cry and bends. At this point, caring relatives or friends endure mom verdict: "You have the stress had no milk! All burned out! Translation into a mixture of! "Let's look at how stress affects lactation and that this can be done.
Milk can be lost at all: truth or myth?
Why milk is lost and what is happening at the physiological level of stress at the moment? During the process of lactation hormone responsible 2:
- prolactin
- Oxytocin.
- prolactin responsible for milk production
- oxytocin - for the expulsion of milk from the breast to the crumbs it was easier to extract.
- When the mother is nervous, another hormone appears in the body - adrenalin, Mutual oxytocin antagonist.
That is, they reduce the effect of each other. And it is justified evolutionarily. When women live in the jungle, and with the baby in her arms fled from the tiger, their bodies, as well as our today (if scary, sad or need to be rescued), singled out the adrenaline, but then he wanted to run fast feet and hands holding baby stronger.
And still need adrenaline to reduce oxytocin and milk have not been allocated and does not drip to the smell of the tiger did not find mother and child. Just ran into a safe cave, the mother could relax, calm down and feed the baby. The amount of the hormone adrenaline decreased and oxytocin - increases. In all this process prolactin is responsible for the amount of milk is not involved. That is, when the amount of stress in breast milk old! Just a kid it more difficult to get, because the hormone oxytocin does not help him.
How stress affects lactation nursing mothers / istockphoto.com
How stress affects the milk?
Mom may actually feel that breasts become softer and less milk is poured. You need to understand, to analyze the situation, and do not close your eyes to it. So, what affects the mother's milk?
1. Incorrect operations while reducing oxytocin reflex. To repeat: the milk actually has not decreased, it did not disappear, the kid just gets harder to extract milk from the breast. If he begins to cry and protest, sometimes mom amenable to persuasion and gives an artificial mixture. And it can play a negative role in reducing the amount of milk.
2. Reducing the number of feedings per day. naturally, are under stress for a person to go into the experiences, thoughts, as if disconnected from the outside world. Breastfeeding mothers are no exception. They can also withdraw deeper into themselves and begin to respond to the baby only when he was already crying, flowing with the earlier signals readiness to eat. Plus short attachment "between times" becomes smaller. So, the kid and the day begins to eat less milk.
3. Mom less focused on the child. Our thoughts and emotions are closely related to hormones. A lactation - is completely hormonal process. The mother more "disabled" by the kid, the smaller the brain receives a signal that the baby is here, it is necessary to feed and to fully take care of him.
How to return the milk?
often recommendation "You just need to calm down" to nothing lead.
How stress affects lactation nursing mothers / istockphoto.com
As the mother cope with stress?
- Check the correctness of applying Sometimes, if the mother is strong waves, this alarm is sent and the kid, he cares and takes the chest so that it is impossible to suck anything. Sometimes the situation can change had already done sucking milk effectively. Good attachment looks like this: the baby's mouth is wide open, lips turned outwards, chin pressed firmly against the mother's chest and nose - barely As for her, from chin baby took more breast than from the spout, my mother does not hear suction and clatter of sounds and does not feel pain.
- Improve milk outflow If crumb correctly applied intensively sucks, but does not swallow, you can gently compress the chest at the base so that the shape of the breast near the baby rotika not changed, but you did not hurt.
- Often change the chest feed in one feed from both breasts, shifting several times.
- hot drink also improves the flow of milk.
- Lie down on the bed with the baby, make a "day off" Sometimes a hug with the baby, play games tactile, and during sleep the crumbs do not pick up his chest, and lie with him. Using the fact that oxytocin reduces the effect of adrenaline can be a long period of feeding to distract from the problems, imagine a place where you can be comfortable.
- Talk about your worries Progovorennaya aloud problem may be not so terrible. It may already be in the process of scoring and the decision there. You can complain about a friend, relative, or write to a forum where like-minded mother support, share their experiences, those who find themselves in a similar situation, or simply sympathize and wish success.
- Pay more attention to the child Examines crumbs, touch him, study his every eyelash, every micromotion explore his facial expressions. This will help to escape from the stress and switch to the baby. mother body will get more signals that the baby close, it was amazing and should give him a piece of themselves in the form of another portion of the milk. In this case, oxytocin become more and it will lower the adrenaline.
And remember that the stress caused by the temporary difficulties that go with some effort. A baby, breastfeeding, joyful moments of life, the memories of his childhood - remain. And they will be filled with pleasant feelings in other difficult moments.
Also you will be interested to read this:how to relieve stress during pregnancy
