Depression after stopping breastfeeding

Should I feel guilty for stopping breastfeeding? Did you lose weight after stopping breastfeeding? Does weaning help mothers with depression? Does exercise help with postpartum depression?

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Over the years, I have heard from many women whose postpartum experiences were just fine until they stopped breastfeeding. It is rare, however, for me to find any research on the topic of depression after weaning, or a personal story about it. After talking to her doctor, she found out that it was common for women to experience some depression after weaning due to a shift in hormone levels. It feels like the worst PMS that I have ever experienced. All after stopping breastfeeding.

Much of the piece focused on the connection between failed lactation and depression , citing estimates that only percent of women in the U. Some women even experience clinical depression as they wean.

And it’s no wonder—breastfeeding stimulates the production of the hormone oxytocin, which is commonly referred to as “the love hormone” because of its feel-good qualities. When breastfeeding stops, so does the oxytocin. I have read about a sort of residual postpardumm depression that occurs when you stop breastfeeding and YES it is hormone related.

Within a couple of days after I had completely stopped breastfeeding , it was as if someone had flipped a switch in my brain and my world turned upside down. To conduct this review we searched PubMed and PsycINFO using the keywords: breastfeeding with postpartum depression , perinatal depression , postnatal depression. I was wrestling with anxiety. Breastfeeding , also known as nursing, is the feeding of babies and young children with milk from a woman’s breast. The anxiety came back after stopping breastfeeding each of my other children but the depression never did.

However, sometimes sadness along with the hormonal changes in your body can lead to more severe depression. There are several treatments for depression that are compatible with breastfeeding including prescription antidepressants. The ‘right’ time to stop breastfeeding or to wean comes at a very personal and unique time for every mother and baby pair.

Depression is a major risk factor for stopping breastfeeding. They were also more likely to stop breastfeeding by two months after giving birth. Discontinuing the breastfeeding relationship can trigger feelings of depression in the mother.

As the milk production decreases, hormone levels begin to fluctuate.

Prolactin is the hormone responsible largely for lactation. I had resurfaced and my head had come back out of the water, and I could see the. After a few days in a slump, I took to the internet, as one does, in search of other mothers who also felt what I. But continuing to breastfeed is both good for both you and it protects your baby.

Usually it’s possible to end breastfeeding gradually. However, a mother may find herself in a situation where she needs to stop breastfeeding straight away, for example to start treatment for a serious medical condition such as cancer, or, sadly, if her baby has died. Sudden weaning Stopping breastfeeding suddenly can lead to potential problems— weaning gradually allows time both for milk. But I truly believe stopping breastfeeding and stopping the. The oxytocin from breastfeeding made me feel over the moon for my son.

I set small accomplish-able goals for breastfeeding. First I set my goal for weeks. The second type of postpartum depression is more extreme, but still not uncommon. About of moms experience this moderate depression.

The symptoms are basically the same as ‘baby blues” but they are more severe and longer lasting – typically beginning soon after birth, and usually lasting a few weeks. When a mother stops breastfeeding , her hormones fluctuate and can lead to developing depression. When Miles was born months earlier, I anticipated a bout of postpartum depression or anxiety, since I had had debilitating panic attacks after my first son was born.