Health Archives

Answering Your Breastfeeding Questions

December 20, 2007

I've been doing some guest writing on The Nest Baby, a cool site for new moms. Readers have been submitting questions about breastfeeding and I've been answering them. You can check out all of the answers on this link. You can also jump right to the specific questions from these links:
Breastfeeding Positions
Breast Lumps and Nursing
Dealing with Thrush
Inverted Nippes
Milk Blisters
Newborn Eating Enough?
Getting Help At Home
Prepping to Nurse?
Prepping to Pump?
Pumping and Work
Pumping Problems
Storing Breastmilk
Travel while Nursing
Weaning and Milk Supply
Pumping Extra Milk

If you have a specific question, feel free to email me any time at mamaknowsbreast@yahoo.com.

Does Breastfeeding Make Your Breasts Sag? New Study Says No

November 14, 2007

From December 2003 to March 2006 I was either pregnant or breastfeeding. Not a day off. I got pregnant with The Bear while still breastfeeding The Bortski. So for a while I wasn't quite sure how things would look in the boob department once I was all done with the baby feeding thing. So what happened? Let's just say my bra size has changed. I won't tell you which way it went....up or down. But let's just say that it's different. And almost any mom will tell you something similar.

All the literature I've ever read says that breast changes are due to the pregnancy itself, weight gain, weight loss and heredity. Breastfeeding has nothing to do with it. Now a study that came out last month confirms that breastfeeding doesn't make your boobs sag. Here's some information from WebMD.

"Expectant mothers should be reassured that breastfeeding does not appear to have an adverse effect upon breast appearance," report University of Kentucky plastic surgeon Brian Rinker, MD, and colleagues.

They interviewed 132 women who came to their plastic surgery clinic to get breast augmentation or a surgical lift for sagging breasts.

The women were 39 years old, on average. The majority -- 93 patients -- had had at least one pregnancy. Most of the moms -- 58% -- had breastfed at least one child.

Rinker's team noted the women's medical history, BMI (body mass index), pre-pregnancy bra cup size, smoking status, and other factors.

The bottom line: "Breastfeeding does not adversely affect breast shape, beyond the effects of pregnancy alone," conclude Rinker and colleagues

However, four other factors were linked to breast sagging:
* Older age
* Cigarette smoking
* Larger pre-pregnancy bra cup size
* Greater number of pregnancies
Age and cigarette smoking both hamper skin's elasticity, note the researchers.

When I first learned about this study, and realized it was done by some plastic surgeons, I was a bit skeptical. Their ultimate goal, obviously, is to plant the idea in women's heads that a boob job is the way to go post-baby. But put that aside for a moment, and focus on the study's bottom line. Breastfeeding is not going to change your figure. I guess it's nice to get a thumbs up for breastfeeding, no matter where it comes from.

Exhaustion

May 29, 2007

My husband coined a new term last week, "Exhaustitis Mamatosis." Definition: (noun) a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue experienced by moms. Symptoms include falling asleep during car rides, misplacing keys, self-inflicted injuries and circles under the eyes.

My most recent manifestation of E.M....a terribly clumsy fall last night. I tripped on one of the childproofing safety gates in the apartment, fell forward, knocking the gate off the wall and sending my plate (food and all) flying across the floor. I landed on top of the gate. Fortunately I only bruised my knee and ego.

So there you have it. Exhaustitis Mamatosis. In truth, my husband called it Exhaustitis Milfitosis, but I figured that required another level of explanation altogether. So let's keep it more PG.

Are you too suffering from E.M? What have you done, or forgot to do as a result of E.M? And if you've got a cure, please let me know.

Drinking Water and Breast Feeding

January 07, 2007

We've all heard the general advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day. But if you're pregnant or breast feeding you need even more fluids. Personally, after both kids were born I was always thirsty. Constantly. I always had a glass of water on my night stand. If I didn't, I found myself begging my husband to get me a glass.

So how much water should you be drinking? Dr. Sears, in "The Breastfeeding Book," recommends drinking at least ten 8 ounce glasses of water a day (page 74). He says try to drink a glass of water every time your infant feeds. Then add in a few more glasses during the day.

But if you're like me, and you easily lose track of what you've had, here's another way to gauge if you're getting enough water. DrSpock.com says:

Breastfeeding mothers may feel thirstier than usual. You can gauge your fluid intake by looking at your urine; if it's dark, you need to drink more liquids. No scientific studies have found that drinking more fluid will result in producing more breast milk; however, not getting enough to drink can affect how much milk is produced.

Dr. Sears, on the other hand, says (p. 74): "Because milk-making hormones help your body conserve water, failing to drink enough water will not affect the fluid content or volume of your milk. But not getting enough fluids can contribute to maternal constipation, fatigue and impaired concentration." Also, remember, anything with caffeine is actually a diuretic and fruit juices have extra caolories.

Given all this, it makes sense that Jennifer at The Lactivist started a new blog chain, asking other bloggers to post a picture of their preferred mode of consuming all that water. She showed us her big huge blue mug.

Here are some other moms who have been tagged along the way: Natural Moms want a glass that won't break so often. Nature Moms has a great shot of her mug in the desert where she hikes every day. Sinead at Breastfeeding Mums drinks so much water her doctor was worried she had diabetes (she doesn't). BabyTalkers has one enormous bottle that she sips at all day while her son works on his sippy cup!

Now you can see my hydrating attempts in the photo above. I've got the Brita and glass of water on my desk at all times. And when I'm out doing errands or taking the boys to the park, I've always got a bottle or two of Poland Spring water stashed under the stroller.

In reality, I find it hard to drink enough water. Sometimes half a day goes by before I realize I haven't had anything except a cup of coffee. So this post has actually been a good way to remind myself to drink up! And now it's my turn to remind a couple of other bloggers. I tag...Haiku Mama and The Mommy Blawg.

Breast feeding and Thyroid Problems

October 25, 2006

Have you ever tried to take a baby with you to one of your doctor's appointments? It might seem practical. You don't need a sitter. You don't have to worry that the baby will get hungry while you're away...especially if he won't take a bottle. So I do it all the time. Maybe not one of my smartest moves.

Invariably, there are the steps to drag the stroller up, a narrow examining room and the challenge of keeping the baby from trying to grab the stirrups in the Ob's office. Lovely. As always, there's the perfectly timed crying. Just as the doctor prepares to examine you, the screaming starts. And let's not forget the last time I took The Bear (our now 7 month old) to the doctor with me-- a plane crashed into a building a few blocks away. The appointment was cancelled.

So I had pretty low expectations when I went back to the doctor to try the appointment again. I was seeing an endocrinologist because it turns out my thyroid has decided to go haywire after this pregnancy. I have something called Hashimoto's. Basically it's an auto-immune condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid. This creates hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid. So now I'm taking thyroid replacement medicine.

Of course my questions were: (1) is the thyroid imbalance bad for the baby if I'm breastfeeding? (2) is it ok to take the medication, Synthroid, if I'm breastfeeding? As any good former reporter (or anal mom) would do, I checked multiple sources. I found this link about breastfeeding and thyroid conditions. And per the pediatrician, my general practitioner, my endocrinologist and my gynecologist (oh and a second endocrinologist I saw after The Bortskerini was born), Synthroid is just fine if I'm breastfeeding. In fact, it should make me feel better.

Now to be fair, I didn't really feel all that bad. Just VERY tired. But then again I have two kids, and a baby who doesn't sleep through the night. So we'll see if the thyroid medication will help. (Exhaustion and depression are hypothyroid symptoms).

In the meantime, maybe The Bear will start to take pity on us and stop waking up at 4 in the morning...a mere two hours before his big brother, The Bortskerini decides to yell, at the top of his lungs, "HELP!!!"

If you're concerned about any medication you may be taking while breastfeeding, check here.

Breast feeding Videos

October 23, 2006

Welcome to my new weekly feature...The Boob Tube...or You Boob.

We've all been hearing a lot about YouTube lately, you know the company that Google bought for $1.65 billion.

To see what all the fuss was about, I checked out YouTube, and did a test. I did a search for "breast feeding" videos and found 72 clips. They range from home movies to television commercials. Some are funny, some are serious. And so, starting today, I'll do a YouTube breastfeeding video of the week.

To kick things off, I'll salute my inner francophile and show you a clip of a breastfeeding commercial from the 1970's. Click here to see the clip.

Now my French is not so great, but here's a rough translation:
Gesture of love, Promise of health, Give them your milk, To feed better is to live better.

Wouldn't it be a different world if we had commercials like this on the TV in the U.S?!?! And by all means, if your French comprehension is better than mine, please let me know!

Grey's Anatomy-- BreastFeeding and Breast Cancer

October 20, 2006

Last night on Grey's Anatomy one of the story lines follows a young mom who has breast cancer and is going to have a mastectomy. She arrives in the hospital with her husband and baby in tow. The husband tells the doctors she's having a hard time, that she had to stop nursing and the baby won't take a bottle. Talking amongst themselves, one of the doctors says she probably thought the lump was a plugged milk duct.

Hurray to Grey's Anatomy for highlighting breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is television at it's finest! A subtle reminder to all women, even breastfeeding moms, to take any lump seriously.

I wrote an entry last week about a Seattle mom who first found a lump while breastfeeding her twins. She now runs an organization called Check Your Boobies, which promotes doing regular self breast exams. If you sign up, you can get a montly email reminder to do a check.

Grey's Anatomy has been noted before for promoting breastfeeding. One of the main characters, Dr. Bailey, is a new mom. Not only did we get to see her endure some wonderful (imagine sarcastic tone here) labor pains, but we also got to see her breastfeeding. I actually missed that episode, but ProMom.org (another breastfeeding website) encouraged people to write letters to the show commending the writers.

And who said the "boob tube" wasn't educational?!?!