Breastfeeding mums, when you get dehydrated (from illness, bad diarrhea, etc) what happen to your milk supply?
Will it dry up quickly but temporarily, or will there be no effect, or can you dry up completely?
Any experience? Thanks.
Tagged with: experience thanks
Filed under: Diarrhea
Even if it feels like there is no milk in your breasts, carry on feeding. The suckling action with stimulate the milk supply so that even if you are dehydrated the supply will continue! I have suffered with two bad stomach bugs whilst breastfeeding and although I seemed to have no milk, my baby put on plenty of weight and my milk did not dry up. Also, even if the milk does disappear, putting the baby on the breast regularly should ensure that it returns. Every mum and baby id different. If you need further advice, contact your health visitor or GP. Saying that though, my doctor advised my to drink Coke because it had a high sugar content and would hydrate me and reenergise me quickly. Failing that, dry something like diarolyte which is designed to rehydrate you quickly. Lastly, make sure you look after yourself!
x
You will produce less depending on your level of dehydration. Your milk will still be high quality though.
if your producing milk, and have bug in your system, if the doctor hasnt advised you to stop breast feeding. it will not stop producing due to dehidration, you will get organ falier but it will not stop, it will slow down though (the production of it)
generally if you are dehidrated and have diorrea you should drink a lot lot more water or you could die, or serverely damage your organs.
It depends on the circumstance. In some cases, where mom is very dehydrated, her milk supply can dip.
Now, when a mom is both dehydrated *and* she is nursing less or not at all during that period, her supply can diminish. This is why it is so harmful for moms to follow the advice that you need to stop nursing when you are sick.
It’s important to keep going 1. to keep supply, and 2. because your milk will pass along antibodies to your illness to protect your baby from it.
will become milk powder
the same as what manda said , just keep nursing even if you don’t feel like it because it will protect or baby from getting ill .xx good luck
from a breastfeeding mum to a 9 month old
When my son was about 3 weeks old i contracted some kind of bug from being in hospital with my son when he was admitted. The nurses told me to keep to myself as there was a nasty bug going around and trust me to get it!!
Anyway i was throwing up everything from morning till night for about 5 days and could only manage to sip a drink of water every now and then. But my milk supply never seemed to change, your body will use ANYTHING to make milk for your baby even if it leaves you undernourished and i think this is true because i was really dehydrated by the end of the 5 days but my son was fine! (And i also managed to perfect the art of being sick into a bowl whilst breastfeeding which i think takes skill!!)
Your milk will not dry up as long as you keep drinking and eating as much as you can.
If you have any problems you should see your health visitor or your local breastfeeding support group.
trainee breastfeeding councilor and mommy of three