Small menstrual flow during breastfeeding

When a woman is breastfeeding, there will be many changes both mentally and physically. The mental changes need a process to adapt slowly, but the physical changes often vary because of the different physical conditions of each person. Many mothers will not have their periods during breastfeeding, and will not have their periods until they stop breastfeeding their babies. Some mothers will also have their periods during breastfeeding, but the amount of menstruation will be relatively small.

Is it normal to have less menstrual flow during breastfeeding?

Just like scanty menstruation during other periods, scanty menstruation during lactation requires treatment and is an abnormal phenomenon. In addition, one of the dangers of scanty menstruation is that it will affect the fertility of patients. The author recommends that if you need to have children, it is best to get timely treatment. For all of you patients with scanty menstruation, please remember to eat more iron-containing and nourishing foods, supplement enough iron to avoid iron deficiency anemia, eat more nourishing foods such as black-bone chicken, mutton, fish roe, shrimp, prawns, pig and sheep kidneys, mussels, black beans, sea cucumbers, walnut kernels, etc.

Does breastfeeding affect menstrual flow?

Breastfeeding will affect the amount of normal menstruation. Since all the nutrients in a breastfeeding woman's body are concentrated and secreted into the breasts to produce nutritious food for the baby, many women's menstruation is abnormal during breastfeeding. However, don't worry about this phenomenon, it will return to normal after weaning.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Low Menstrual Volume During Lactation

1. Syndrome differentiation is based on kidney deficiency and blood deficiency. For late menstruation and scanty menstruation, traditional theory believes that syndrome differentiation should be divided into deficiency and excess. Deficiency includes kidney deficiency, blood deficiency, yin deficiency, and yang deficiency. There is cold stagnation, qi obstruction, and phlegm stagnation. Based on my long-term clinical experience, I believe that although scanty menstruation in the late menstrual period can be divided into deficiency and excess, deficiency is the main symptom, and kidney deficiency, blood deficiency, and Chong and Ren disorders are the main pathogenesis. Because menstruation is regulated by the kidney-tiangui-chongren-uterus axis, any abnormality in any link will lead to menstrual disorders. The fullness of kidney essence and qi is the driving force and material basis for the production of menstruation and maintaining a regular and constant period volume, so the role of the kidney is particularly important. Clinically, the common causes are late menstruation or oligomenorrhea due to congenital deficiency, weak constitution or multiple childbirths, multiple curettages damaging Chong and Ren meridians and wasting kidney essence, or blood deficiency, long-term illness leading to Qi and blood deficiency, weak spleen and stomach, insufficient Qi and blood, and failure to fill the blood sea on time.

2. Treatment regulates the kidney and replenishes essence, treats the root cause, nourishes blood and replenishes qi, and cultivates its source. In response to the above-mentioned pathogenesis and syndrome differentiation, I have formulated a treatment method based on regulating the kidney and replenishing essence, warming and moistening the menstruation, nourishing blood and replenishing qi, based on the basic formula for regulating menstruation, with additions and subtractions to the formula. The combination of these medicines can regulate the kidney, improve essence, replenish qi and nourish blood. It can make the kidney essence sufficient and the qi strong, the qi and blood overflowing, the Chong and Ren meridians be nourished, and the menstrual blood will naturally be full and flow out on time. The formula focuses on kidney deficiency and blood deficiency, and regulates the kidney mainly by invigorating essence, while nourishing blood while not forgetting to invigorate qi. At the same time, when using medicine, pay attention to warming the blood, activating blood circulation, and cooling blood such as Cortex Moutan, Red Peony Root, Salvia Miltiorrhiza, etc. Do not use yin-softening, nourishing, and cold products to avoid blood stasis and blood circulation affecting the circulation of Qi and blood.

3. Understand the whole picture. Ovulation should also involve removing phlegm and dampness, promoting blood circulation and unblocking collaterals. In the late menstruation, scanty menstruation is generally considered to be related to poor follicular development or anovulation. Therefore, ovulation induction is the main part of menstruation regulation treatment. In addition to the basic prescriptions of regulating the kidney and benefiting the essence, nourishing the blood and invigorating qi, I believe that the medication should be added or subtracted according to the patient's physical factors. Understand the whole picture and use collateral-unblocking products based on syndrome differentiation to promote ovulation. If the patient is obese, has much phlegm, or is hairy, expectorant drugs should be combined and added or subtracted to remove phlegm, remove dampness and unblock the collaterals; if phlegm and dampness turn into heat or if there is exogenous damp-heat, products that clear away heat, remove dampness and unblock the collaterals should be added appropriately; if the patient is depressed and irritable by nature, products that soothe the liver and unblock the collaterals should be added; products that promote blood circulation and unblock the collaterals can be used in the middle of the menstrual period or throughout the entire period.