Transcript: How Stress Affects Your Breastfeeding Relationship

View Episode

The Boob Group
How Stress Affects Your Breastfeeding Relationship

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

REBECCA MAHAN: Did you know unusual amounts of stress can impact the breastfeeding relationship you have with your baby. Stress triggers hormones that have a direct impact on both the brain chemicals responsible for emotional wellness and also milk production. What can we do about it?

I’m Rebecca Mahan, a retired police officer focused on helping victims overcome traumatic events. Today we’re talking about: “How stress can impact breastfeeding.” This is The Boob Group.

[Intro/Theme Music]

LEILANI WILDE: Welcome to The Boob Group, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. The Boob Group is your weekly online, on-the-go support group for all things related to breastfeeding. I'm your host, Leilani Wilde. I'm also an IBCLC and owner of Leilani’s Lactation and Doula Services. A special thanks to everyone who’s listening to our show on our show app available Android, IOS and Windows.

We also have a new network app where you can listen to all of your favorite New Mommy Media Podcasts. So be sure to check that out. Would you like to be part of The Boob Group? Here’s Sunny to tell us about some ways you can get involved.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay. Hi everybody! We love to hear from our listeners. We love for you guys to be part of our show. There’s a couple of different ways you can do that. We have various segments that you guys can participate in. If you go to our website at www.NewMommyMedia.com you go to The Boob Group and you scroll down. You’ll see a section that says:”Segments.” If you click on that, you’ll see all the various segments. But I’m just going to highlight a couple today.

So we have one called: “Ask the Experts.” You can ask our experts any breastfeeding related question you have. We have tons of the IBCLCs that are waiting to hear from you guys.

We have a really fun segment, it’s called: “Boob Oops.” I love it because it is where we all get to share our funny breastfeeding Oops Stories or could be pumping to not just breastfeeding. So we’re just looking for you guys to submit and be part of this with us. So you can go to our website. Go to the Contact Link and you can submit via e-mail there.

If you want to actually tell your story yourself, you can submit via voice mail. So the number there is 619-866-4775. No one’s actually going to pick up the phone. All you have to do is leave a message and again, you can actually tell your own story.

LEILANI WILDE: Today we’re going to introduce our panelists.

CRYSTAL ALLEN: I’m Crystal Allen. I’m 29. I’m a stay at home mother to five kids. My oldest is six and five, three, 16 months and three weeks.

BETHANY DUNN: Hi. I’m Bethany Dunn. I am 28. I am an inside sales rep for a promotional product company. I have two kids, 16 months a boy and eight years a girl.

LEILANI WILDE: He’s here in our studio with us.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: Okay. So before we start our today’s episode which is all about stress and breastfeeding, I thought I saw a relevant article online. It’s about the Army and they have a brand new breastfeeding policy. Apparently, this is a really big deal. I don’t think that they’ve had anything in the past and other you know branches of the military may have had something. But this is brand new for the army.

The policy actually took affect September 29th. So it’s already in effect. What it says is that: “Commander should provide a designated now this is in quotes here – “Privates space with locking capabilities, an electrical outlet, an access to safe water for soldiers to express their milk. It needs to be fully enclosed.” If the private space is within a restroom it says, “It needs to be fully enclosed and a separate area needs to be designated for breastfeeding not just a bathroom stall.”

So they’re not saying: “You have to go in a stall.” They’re saying that: “There’s going to be a private area that happens to be somehow attached to the bathroom.” If that is what’s best in that.

REBECCA MAHAN: The only option they have.

SUNNY GAULT: Yes. If that’s the only option they have. So it says that the soldiers do have to supply their own equipment to pump and store their breast milk. So I don’t know that-that’s really any different than any other type of situation.

So I wanted to just kind of toss this out there and see what you guys thought about the article and about the army coming out and finally having some sort of policy about this. Leilani, what do you think?

LEILANI WILDE: Well, I’m happy to hear that every time we turn around, we are seeing more openings. More doors are opening for the moms’ breastfeeding and supporting their breastfeeding relationship with their children. I’m glad that the army has stepped it up.

SUNNY GAULT: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: Yes for us.

SUNNY GAULT: Rebecca, I’d love to hear your take on this being a retired police officer. It’s not the same thing as the military.

REBECCA MAHAN: Well, I’m also a veteran, a United States Marine Corp. So coming from two spots – as a mother and as a marine I have to say that I can see a couple of different things that can be both advantageous and a hindrance. Because I don’t know how a female military personnel member is going to be able to continue breastfeeding for the length of time that from the time that they actually have off to be able to have that bonding process and then to actually return to work.

So I’m wondering what the stipulations are, how long do they have? Is this they start going back to work? They are slowly going to be re-introduced into the work sector and they’re still allowed to have their child with them. They are going to a child care center.

Then picking up their baby in the mean time, I’m wondering as some of the different components on how that would work. But I think it’s absolutely healthy. It’s one of the best things that we can do for our children for many, many reasons. But I think that if they are able to take their child with them and they have the facilities to do that-that is absolutely important. Otherwise, they do think in the meantime that they should be able to have the ability to pump.

LEILANI WILDE: Right.

REBECCA MAHAN: For as long as they can.

SUNNY GAULT: Now with your children, were you a marine like when your babies were younger, did you have to deal with anything like this? Even as a police officer, was that a struggle being able to breastfeed and do your job?

REBECCA MAHAN: My transition from finishing my contract with the marine corp. was about the same time that I had gotten pregnant. So it wasn’t an issue. So it’s pretty close to the same time period plus I was enlisted as a reserve.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay.

REBECCAH MAHAN: During that period of time, I was not on any type of deployment which I had never ended up having to go overseas. Thank God. But I was also not on any type of active for training status or anything like that. So I had my child with me all the time.

As a young child, my daughter – I was having her with me everywhere. The first year so I didn’t go back to work and so that wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t until she was somewhere around six or so that I went through the police academy. So that wasn’t a concern for me. But looking at it on the flip side, I could see definitely the challenges but the advantages to it as well.

LEILANI WILDE: Right, for sure.

SUNNY GAULT: Yes. I mean there’s a lot of stuff going on right now on social media about this. So I’m sure you guys probably seeing it and we’ll put a link up on our Facebook Page if you want to check it out.

[Theme Music]

LEILANI WILDE: Today on The Boob Group, we’re discussing: “How stress impacts breastfeeding and our milk supply.”

Our expert, Rebecca Mahan, a retired law enforcement officer who spent over 20 years studying domestic violence and working with victims of various traumatic events. She is an author and host of two radio shows. She is created a successful program called Vote – Victims Overcoming Traumatic Events in San Diego, California. Thank you for joining us Rebecca and welcome to the show.

REBECCA MAHAN: Thank you for having me today.

LEILNAI WILDE: Rebecca, what are the hormones that affect breastfeeding?

REBECCA MAHAN: What I have found and have done some research on in the stress relation into breastfeeding is very interesting. The hormones that are produced – there’s actually a number of hormones that we have that flow through our bodies all the time too. That we think of most commonly in breastfeeding right – Prolactin and Oxytocin.

But we don’t think about how insulin also plays a component into this and also Cortisol. So all of these interact and you’ve kind of have this chain of things that are going on within the body. I don’t know if one starts first or another does. But they all interact together. So the Prolactin you have for milk production, right and Oxytocin is for the let down.

LEILANI WILDE: How much does stress play apart in the way our hormones respond?

REBECCA MAHAN: It plays a huge part; one example, the role of Cortisol. This affects a number of different areas of our body because Cortisol increases your blood sugar levels and insulin reduces it right? So what ends up happening is: “When these are off especially if we have more insulin that what we should have, it can affect the Cortisol specifically will affect a number of things like depression, weight gain.”

Just if you think about those two components in itself, we as new mothers are concerned about both of those things. When they are out of balanced, it will create a whole different set of issues for the mother which can affect the baby because we bond with our children. They feel us. They are receiving what we are feeding them.

LEILANI WILDE: Emotionally as well as virtually too

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes, exactly.

LEILANI WILDE: Yes, right. Crystal, have you experienced any level of stress that you can like remember how it may or may not have impacted your breastfeeding?

CRYSTAL ALLEN: I’ve gone through a lot of stress with nursing. So my last one, my husband was deployed when she was born. So that was and then I have four kids aged – my oldest will just turn five. So I don’t know if that actually made any difference.

But I know that I didn’t experience let down with her which was different from all of my other kids. I’m not sure if that had anything to do with the stress going on.

REBECCA MAHAN: Well stress affects Cortisol. So when you are thinking about all of the different insulin and how it works, that’s going to affect the Oxytocin levels. So they have

LEILANI WILDE: Which is responsible for their let-down.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes. So what ends up happening to for some mothers – they have done a study that has taken certain hormones prior to child birth. They end up having a direct response in where they count let down. So this is really interesting when you think about the correlation of hormones and how all this is interconnected.

LEILANI WILDE: Bethany, what about you?

BETHANY DUNN: It’s funny that you’ve mentioned the no let-down thing because with my daughter, I experienced it. At the time, I was not in a good relationship and I was a lot of support but I still had it because I knew I had to be happy for her. This time around with him, I’m in a very supportive relationship. Someone who supported breastfeeding and no let-down at all.

I was stressed because I’ve gotten weight and we measure transfer and it would be – I know. It would be 1 ½ ounces for both after 20 minutes, it was just not enough. He wasn’t gaining weight. So you have the stress of that. So there was a lot of stress in my child’s not growing; the potential of not developing things like that. So there was a lot of stress for me in that. Then knowing: “I’m counting down the days until I have to go back to my job.”

For me, it’s funny that you’ve mentioned the part about transitioning back into working because you can’t really do a clean break like that. For me, it was really stressful knowing I was going to have to do a clean break for my son. So we unfortunately had to start supplementing because it was just what was best for him. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on what else to do other than supplementing. Even with just the supplemental system, pumping and doing it with the tube feeding.

Stress definitely played a big part of it knowing that I feel guilty that I couldn’t provide for my son with something that my body is supposed to be able to do.

LEILANI WILDE: Right. When we come back, we will discuss with Rebecca how fear and anxiety affect the bonding between the mother and child and what we can do to help avoid disrupting their relationship. We will be right back.

[Theme Music]

Do you know you can listen to episodes of The Boob Group anytime, anywhere? Just download the apps available on the iTunes and the Amazon App Store. My mommy loves to listen on her iPad as she’s feeding my baby sister who makes the funniest noises when she eats. My mommy knows exactly what to do. Thanks to The Boob Group. She’s a member of their special club so she can listen to all the episodes; get extra bonus content, discounts and more. Take my mommy’s advice and visit www.NewMommyMedia.com today.

[Theme Music]

LEILANI WILDE: Welcome back to the show. We’re here with Rebecca Mahan and we’re discussing: “How stress can impact breastfeeding.” Rebecca, if you a mother is experiencing fear and it creates anxiety, how does that affect the bonding relationship between the mother and the child?

REBECCA MAHAN: Well, it depends on the mother’s involvement with the child. So whatever the situation is – for example Bethany you have a transition concern and that can affect too as far as the breastfeeding and things like that. But as far as bonding goes, I think that-that connection isn’t something that can be broken.

LEILANI WILDE: That really is a lot to do with how much she is physically around that baby. When there’s like baby-mama separation sometimes out of fear that maybe they’re going to lose their baby. Sometimes moms will be out of their fear, stress and anxiety will not attach right to that baby. They’ll be pushing away emotionally with I don’t even realize that they’re doing it. Maybe subconsciously, what do you think about that?

REBECCA MAHAN: I absolutely think that-that’s possible. There are so many different factors that come into play with our relationship with our children. It can have a lot to do with things like stress about work. It also can have a very huge impact between us and our children when it comes from the relationship that we’re involved with – so the baby’s father for example.

If there’s some unhealthy traits going on in the relationships specifically something that’s either mentally or emotionally or physically violent, this can be very, very impactful. Because the concern maybe that I don’t want to hold my baby because if he ends up acting out violently, the baby could get hurt. I don’t want my baby to hear a screaming. So the baby’s spending more and more time in a day care or at a friend’s house or at a relative’s house. So there can be a separation there.

Which in turn later on, you can have your child such as Attachment Disorder and then separation anxiety. The first 18 months of life is the most important time for a mother and child to really connect and make that bonding just solid.

LEILANI WILDE: That’s a lasting relationship.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes. Usually it’s that first 18 months that affects the life time of that relationship. Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: Crystal, have you experienced any difficulties in bonding with your child the way that you would like to during that stressful period?

CRYSTAL ALLEN: You know I don’t really think I have any problems with any of my kids bonding with them no matter the stress that I was under. I think that’s just I don’t know. I always have them with me on me and my kid never leave my side. Thankfully, I have never had issues in bonding with them since birth. My oldest

LEILANI WILDE: So you kind of gravitated more towards your baby’s during that more stressful period.

CRYSTAL ALLEN: Yes, it kind of like I actually have a completely different kind of relationship with Harlow – the one that I had when my husband was deployed; kind of just because I clung to her more than my others I would say. During that stressful period, she was who I talked to at night more.

When I was stressed, I would just hold her and she calmed me down a lot. But I think I have a different relationship. I never had any issues with bonding personally.

LEILANI WILDE: It’s good that you didn’t have any issues with you.

CRYSTAL ALLEN: Yes, thankfully.

LEILANI WILDE: Turned it around in a positive way.

CRYSTAL ALLEN: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: What about you Bethany?

BETHANY DUNN: I would actually say the same because I was in a mentally, emotionally, abusive relationship with my daughter’s father. It seemed for me easier just to say: “You know what? I got this. I need to be strong for her and I’ll just deal with it when she’s asleep.”

For me, I just again always on me wearing her. Everywhere I went, she was with me because it was just I knew that now as a parent, she’s what I need to worry about. I need to worry about myself and myself too. But if I let her see it, this is going to reap effect. If I don’t deal with it on our off time then it’s never going to be a healthy relationship.

With him, he’s so uplifting and upbeat and everything. He keeps me happy. So any time I’m feeling down, let’s just go play a day. You know he just keeps me happy. He is exciting.

LEILANI WILDE: That’s really great. Rebecca?

REBECCA MAHAN: I just think that this is such an important time for the joy both for the parent and the child that as we were saying, it lasts a lifetime. So when we are thinking about the stress and other things in relation to this, we have to think about: “What kinds of things are actually happening.” Also look at something called postpartum depression because those things can absolutely be critical in the bonding process.

LEILANI WILDE: And recognizing more about that, can you explain that for those listeners that haven’t heard of that or don’t know enough about that?

REBECCA MAHAN: In postpartum depression, it usually affects pretty much right after birth. I don’t know the specific time period that it can last and I’m sure that it can be different for individuals depending on if they’re seeking resources to get assistance and how they are dealing with that.

If you want to talk about having to go back in relation to the hormones then it causes another cycle. So you have a release of Cortisol because there’s Cortisol and depression are linked. Cortisol causes that, causes weight gain. Then you have issues with insulin and a number of other things; so all of these come into play.

The most important thing a mother can do though is be healthy and get educated, know these things are available. That it’s not her, she’s not going crazy. Because part of the things in depression is: “What is wrong with me? I don’t like this.” It can be very, very severe. We heard some really extreme cases.

So just being educated about the things that are going on and that just the fact that there is a possibility that our hormones can be a little bit off, we’re not sort of these crazy women out there.

LEILANI WILDE: It’s nothing wrong with us.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes. People say: “Gosh. But no, there isn’t anything wrong.”

LEILANI WILDE: We need to could be able to talk about it. We need to maybe even recognize it and maybe our family or friends of someone else’s experiencing it, kind of staying in-tuned because sometimes you’re not even aware you’re going through it. You think that this might be normal when it’s actually getting more extreme.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: When you’re actually facing it, you might be blaming someone else because you think that it’s all them.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: Really it is something that’s going on inside you. If someone’s not paying attention to it, it can take off and go extreme.

REBECCA MAHAN: Most definitely. Yes and that will create a whole series of problems because of the way that these all worked together – all of these hormones.

LEILANI WILDE: The bouncing out our hormones are important.

REBECCA MAHAN: It is. All through life, there are things that we don’t talk about from mommy time to aging time but they’re all important. If we learn them early on, these make things very solid for us as good moms, balanced moms. Our children get to see that and feel that.

LEILANI WILDE: Rebecca, how would a mom recognize that she needs help?

REBECCA MAHAN: This is something that is extremely important. That is: “She starts listening to her thoughts because most of us know well ahead of time before something actually comes out either in our behavior or in something that we say verbally.”

So what’s going on inside? What are we thinking? Are we thinking: “I don’t feel good today? Everyday’s I don’t feel good. I don’t feel good. Am I feeling this? What is going on?” If we’re hearing some unhealthy, negative self-talk, this is a flag that says: “I needed to do something to change my frame of mind because it will affect everything else that’s going on.”

LEILANI WILDE: It’s important self-evaluation.

REBECCAH MAHAN: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: Sometimes in an hourly basis.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes. Its small steps that are the first things to change but understanding that and recognizing it is absolutely important.

LEILANI WILDE: How do you help moms deal with removing the stress or the fear and anxiety from their lives? What is it that you can do to help them through your program or just through your work?

REBECCA MAHAN: I help those dealing with fear. So if you look at an onion and you peal it down, just about everything comes down with one or two emotions. It’s either love or its fear. You can even say: “Some people will say – no. There’s one more. It’s anger.” But if you really peal down the anger, you go what’s behind that? There are some type of fear. We react to that.

So I help people identify what types of fears are going on. Sometimes they don’t even know. They can say: “Well, I’m not afraid of anything. But there is something going on.” So it’s identifying that and then taking different steps on how to move forward through that because the fear of the unknown is far more scary than we begin to experience.

A lot of times people stay in an unhealthy thought processes or relationships because they know it.

LEILANI WILDE: That’s familiar.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes.

LEILANI WILDE: That’s how a lot of people repeat abusive relationships or stressful types of environments because it’s familiar territory. They don’t know how to react to something that’s not unhealthy.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes, exactly.

LEILANI WILDE: Because they think that might be not normal.

REBECCA MAHAN: True. It’s very true. It’s awkward and you get

LEILANI WILDE: You’re being nice to me.

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes. What did I do? What do you want?

LEILANI WILDE: That’s exactly right.

REBECCA MAHAN: Then what happens is if someone is in that pattern for a really long period of time, it’s really hard to bridge these trust components with people that we just meet. That’s very scary thing. So if somebody’s nice to you, they say: “Well, what do you want from me?” So it can be a challenge. So the first thought going back to this is what’s going on? What’s going on inside?

LEILANI WILDE: Okay, good.

REBECCA MAHAN: Bethany, do you find that this information is helpful?

BETHANY DUNN: I feel like you’re basically telling my first five years of my 20 years right now with: “Having someone break you down and having someone not supportive and then getting out of that finally after all this time. Meeting someone and having them treat you the way I don’t know. Maybe people should treat you. But treating you well and being good to you like – what do you want? Why are you doing this? I don’t deserve this.

It takes so long and so much effort and so much kind-heartedness from that other person to say – you know what? You are worthy. I’m sorry if that happened to you but you have to trust me a little bit.” That’s the kind of relationship I mean at least for me that I always wanted to be in and I never had. Now I do have it.

So I’m happy now that I have a supportive partner because I’d never have that before. So for me, you’re saying all these stuff. I’m just like: “My gosh! That’s my life. Not what is or was.” It’s hard. It took so long for me to really say: “Do you know what? I can do this. I don’t deserve it. She doesn’t deserve it.” I knew it broke me down and I knew it was affecting things like my kids.

You really have to self-evaluate like you guys are saying. You have to do it all the time. Because if you don’t recognize and even if you say at one time, what’s going on? What’s wrong with me? Reach out because that one reach out could be to someone that can help you with so many things not just breastfeeding or anything like that. It could be so many things in your life that could help.

LEILANI WILDE: Absolutely! Would you say that the first thing you started noticing was what you’re saying to yourself inside? What was it for you?

BETHANY DUNN: You know to be honest; I was in denial for a really long time. It was my family. My family was telling me: “There is something wrong.” I’m like: “No. There is not.” I have a home and I have a nice car. We have money to spend. It didn’t matter. Looking back, it didn’t matter.

I have all those things now but I’m happy now and there is no way that I was happy then. I was so stuck inside my house with my kid. I wasn’t allowed to do anything. It really had to take a step back after a while and be like: “I’m not doing this. I don’t.”

LEILANI WILDE: Yes.

BETHANY DUNN: You have to look at your happiness because if you’re not happy, your kids are unhappy and you can’t take care of your kids.

REBECCA MAHAN: That’s exactly right. You said it just right on the nose.

LEILANI WILDE: Right on the nose, yes. How about you Crystal?

CRYSTAL ALLEN: So it’s interesting that you say the first thing you’ve noticed is how you talk to yourself. So when I was 17, I was actually raped and I had a baby. Then I had her for eight months and then I placed her for adoption.

In that time, I nursed her and then I actually end up hunting and sending my milk to her family until she was about 18 months old. But I started noticing that and that I had no help from my family. I was pretty much alone. I was working three different jobs trying to support her and me. That’s the first thing I’ve noticed is: “When I started like noticing my thoughts and what I was kind of neglecting myself.” Of course, I was taking care of her. She was my number one.

But that’s the first thing I noticed was when I was talking to myself like: “Okay, well. These thoughts aren’t right.” This can’t be. What’s normal and you have a baby. So that was the first like thing on why I reached out and why I ultimately decided that adoption was the way to go for her. It wasn’t fair she was being raised by daycare providers, nannies because I was always at work trying to provide for her. It wasn’t any sort of life that she should have living.

I’ve picked out her families in this big stock of portfolios and it just felt right with us the first thing I was saying to myself.

REBECCA MAHAN: I want to share with both of these ladies that the courage that you took to make those steps for change are one of the most important things you can do. A lot of times, we don’t realize that telling someone or getting assistance is really the most beneficial thing that we can do for us and for our babies, right?

A lot of time, we feel ashamed because of the thoughts that we’re having. So that can sort of prolong the issues that we’re experiencing and further create problems.

LEILANI WILDE: Yes because it doesn’t get better, right?

REBECCA MAHAN: No.

LEILANI WILDE: Once you start getting help

REBECCA MAHAN: Yes, it’s absolutely crucial and support all the way around is the best thing that we can do always. I mean emotionally and mentally with our children, breastfeeding – sometimes we do it alone. But when you learn from other mothers, it really helps us.

LEILANI WILDE: Yes. Well, thank you so much Rebecca and the panelists for sharing this helpful information about how stress impacts breastfeeding and how you can resolve it and protect your breastfeeding relationship with your baby.

For our Boob Group Club Members, our conversation will continue after the end of the show. As Rebecca will share with us her personal story and how this changed her life and the lives of others because of it. For more information about our Boob Group Club, please visit our website at www.NewMommyMedia.com

[Theme Music]

ROBIN KAPLAN: So here’s a question from one of our listeners. This is from Heather Nichols.

This is what she wrote to us:

“I hope that you can help me with this. I have tried-and-tried since the beginning to get a good latch with my son. He is now five weeks old and I’m still trying; although, I’m not sure if it’s even doable at this point.” He will latch for a moment but it’s really short. He seems very excited at first and then gets really frustrated and stops. I know there’s milk readily available because I can see it.

I think the problem is the shape of my nipple. It’s very flat and I have tried ice, massage, nipple shields etcetera to get my nipple to stand that attention and nothing seems to work. Right now, I’m pumping but my milk doesn’t seem to flow very well with the pump as it does when my baby latches. So I’m trying to Fenugreek to help with that. I’m becoming very frustrated and outright sad because I can’t seem to get this. Please help!”

-Heather Nichols

I understand why you must be so absolutely frustrated with this whole process. First and foremost, when I read this the first thing that came to mind is: “It’s definitely worth your time to look for an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in your community to help assess the situation more fully.” Not being able to see your baby in person, I really can only give general advice. But it definitely won’t solve any issue. I would have imagined.

So the first thing that I would recommend is: “Having International Board Certified Lactation Consultant assess your son for tongue tie.” While some babies have difficulties latching on when a mom has flat nipples, this often can be remedied with the nipple shield. If your son is having a challenging time creating an effective suction with the nipple shield, it could actually be caused by a tongue tie which limits a baby’s range emotion and suck effectiveness.

It is also possible that your little guy has figured out that if you fuss’ enough, he’ll receive a bottle which will totally satisfy him. Of course the main goal is to feed the baby. So sometimes, bottles in that case of supplementation are really helpful if the baby’s having a challenging time at breast. However, babies are incredibly smart and often figure out how to hold out for the bottle making it very frustrating for mom. So depending on if he does have a tongue-tie or if you’re just holding off with the bottle will definitely determine what would be the best course of action.

So again, I can’t highly recommend enough seeing an International Board Certified Lactation consultant for this situation as there are many reasons why this is maybe occurring which she would really help you get to the bottom off. My advice is only that this IBCLC should be looking for tongue-tie during this feeding time with your baby especially since I can’t give accurate advice without having seeing you and your baby.

But I hope that this is somewhat helpful. We do have an episode called: “Breastfeeding in tight Frenula” and it would be worth it to take a look at to see if the symptoms that are described in this episode are accurately describing your son as well. So I hope that’s a helpful thing. Thanks so much.

[Theme Music]

LEILANI WILDE: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to The Boob Group.
Don’t forget to check out our sister shows:
• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Newbies for newly postpartum moms and their babies
• Parent Savers for moms and dads with infants and toddlers
• Twin Talks, for parents with multiples.

Thanks for listening to The Boob Group: “Your judgement-free breastfeeding resource.”

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series or if you’re a business or an organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com.

[00:35:38]

[End of Audio]

View Episode