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Menstruation Within a Month of Delivery

05/24/2010

Question:

Dear Doctor, I am from india, I delivered a boy on the 26th of Feb this year and continued ot have blood flow for 15 days however, on the 26th of march i got my periods and the 2nd period again came on 6th may. I wanted to know: 1: IS this normal and does this affect my milk production as i am exclusively breastfeeding 2: Does My diet directly affect my baby as i notice him having increased flatulence when i consume peanuts in my diet 3: sometimes he suckles for a little time but sleeps happily for a long time waking only for a nappy change. Hes wetting atleast 20 nappis a day.. so i can assume the milk is enough? 4: will heavy household chores, sex affect my milk production 5: ive heard old wives tales from my mother in law that if a pump is used to extract milk, the milk supply will be reduced please guide me on these points

Regards curious mom

Answer:

To answer your question about breastfeeding I am going to address them one-by-one.

1.  Periods do not directly affect milk flow.  Just be sure that you are eating your normal diet and drinking enough water.


2. What a mother eats definitely can affect the baby when breastfeeding, however, only change your diet if the flatulence, or other symptom is causing a problem for your baby.


3. With 20 wet nappies a day, your baby is definitely getting enough milk; weight gain is the gold standard for proving this.


4. Chores and sexual activity will not negatively affect milk production unless you do not eat and drink enough to cover the calories used in these activities.


5. Pumping actually INCREASES milk production, and if properly stored, gives baby a feeding when you might be shopping, etc or would allow your husband or other family members to feed baby.

I hope my answers help.

For more information:

Go to the Newborn and Infant Care health topic.