IUDs, Hormonal Birth Control and Milk Supply-Updated December, 2021

Cross cradleAbout 6 weeks to 2 months postpartum, your health care provider will bring up the subject of birth control. Even though sex may be the farthest thing from your mind! Your doctor has your mental and physical health in mind when he talks to you about a birth control method. It can be devastating emotionally and physically to get pregnant again before you are ready.

There are many birth control methods that are compatible with breastfeeding and have absolutely zero risk of harming milk production. Condoms and other barrier methods are safe and effective when used appropriately. But these methods are considered “risky” to many doctors because they rely on patient compliance and errors can occur. More and more doctors, therefore, are encouraging new mothers to use an IUD for birth control.

There are some relatively new IUDs on the market, that can create problems for breastfeeding individuals. The Mirena., Skiyla, Liletta and Kyleena all contain small amounts of synthetic progesterone. Progesterone is the hormone that keeps you from lactating during pregnancy. It follows that progesterone, even a small amount, could cause a reduction in milk supply for a breastfeeding mother. Continue reading

Guest Post–When Nursing Makes you Sick

When a woman thinks of birth and breastfeeding she expects it to be the happiest time of her life. Occasionally, to a mother’s dismay, she finds that breastfeeding brings on new challenges, feelings and experiences. She may experience feelings of pain with breastfeeding, or an unexplainable twist in her gut when her milk lets down. Unable to justify or validate what she is feeling leaves her at a loss and feeling confused. These feelings may be the result of a condition known as D-MER. D-MER stands for Dysmorphic Milk Ejection Reflex and it is treatable.

D-MER is caused by a drop in dopamine activity when oxytocin rises which creates a feeling of dysphoria in the mother (D-Mer.org). It is a physiological disorder, not a mental disorder. To understand D-MER better I have interviewed Renee Beebe, IBCLC. Renee Beebe is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant who works with mothers who may be exhibiting symptoms of D-MER.

A mother asked Renee the following questions:

Continue reading

Tongue Tie: More than “Just” a Breastfeeding Problem

 

Tongue-tied newborn

Tongue-tied newborn

Let’s assume for a moment that breastfeeding is not important. That the oral development that breastfeeding provides is inconsequential. We will ignore, for just a moment, the fact that the act of breastfeeding helps develop the baby’s jaw, his facial muscles and properly shapes the palate to make room for his future teeth. We’ll ignore all of that so that I can give you a few other reasons to agree to have your baby’s frenulum clipped. Just in case the possibility of pain free, effective breastfeeding is not a good enough reason for you.

The reason I’m being just a bit sarcastic is because there are plenty of health care professionals out there who do not “believe in” freeing a tongue tied baby’s tongue “just” so he can breastfeed. “After all,” they say, “..you can just feed your baby pumped milk or formula from a bottle.” Continue reading

My Baby is Tongue Tied?

 

Type I tongue tie–tip of tongue “tied” to floor of mouth.

My lactation consultant told me my baby is tongue tied and she needs to get her frenulum clipped so she can breastfeed. What is a frenulum? Why does my baby need this procedure?

The frenulum is a (usually) thin, fibrous band of connective tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. The mere existence of a lingual (tongue) frenulum is not an indicator of a problem. The important thing is whether the frenulum restricts the movement of the tongue in a way that interferes with its normal functions.  If it does, your baby has a condition known as tongue tie or ankyloglossia. Continue reading