Will poor sleep affect breast milk?

The first thing women face after giving birth is how to feed their babies. Some mothers have good milk and choose to breastfeed, while some mothers do not have enough milk and can only feed their babies with milk powder. Many mothers have very good milk supply at the beginning, but one day their milk suddenly stops because they did not get enough rest, and they and their families become very anxious. Will poor sleep affect breast milk? Let’s learn about it together~

1. Breast development

Whether or not milk is secreted after delivery and how much milk is produced are determined by whether the mammary glands are fully developed. Experts' research has shown that every breast, regardless of size, has dozens of lobules and millions of mammary alveoli. Therefore, all pregnant women have the ability to lactate. Some people have large breasts and poorly developed mammary glands, with not many glandular cells; some people have small breasts, but have many mammary gland cells, which suddenly increase in size during breastfeeding and provide plenty of milk.

2. Breastfeeding time and feeding frequency

Some mothers have reduced milk secretion because they start breastfeeding too late or breastfeed too infrequently. Allowing the baby to suck the nipple irregularly and frequently as early as possible after birth is the driving force for stimulating milk secretion, and the number, intensity and duration of sucking are closely related to the amount of milk secreted. Milk is secreted as you suck, and the more you suck, the more milk you produce.

3. Neurohumoral regulation

Some mothers are overly nervous and are often in a state of anger, fear, sadness or anxiety, or are busy with housework and lack of sleep, all of which can reduce milk secretion. Therefore, if you want to have sufficient milk, you must always stay happy and relaxed. The nervous state and body fluids are closely related. Only when the nerves are relaxed can the body fluids flow smoothly and the milk will naturally be sufficient.

4. Mood swings

When breastfeeding mothers are angry, anxious, nervous, or tired, it is easy to cause liver depression and qi stagnation, and even blood stasis, which will lead to less milk supply or even discoloration. In this case, the baby's heartbeat will speed up after drinking the mother's milk, and the baby will become irritable and restless, and may even have trouble sleeping at night, cry a lot, and have symptoms such as digestive dysfunction. These are manifestations of internal heat.

Whether you are a breastfeeding mother or a normal person, you should control your emotions, otherwise it will have unhealthy effects on your body, and it will also more or less affect the breastfeeding mother's body's milk secretion.

5. Foods that affect breast milk quality

1) Foods that inhibit milk secretion: such as leeks, malt water, ginseng and other foods.

2) Irritating things: Postpartum diet should be light, and you should avoid eating irritating things, including spicy seasonings, peppers, alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, etc.

3) Fried foods and high-fat foods: These foods are difficult to digest and are high in calories, so they should be consumed in moderation.

4) Cigarettes and tobacco: If a breastfeeding mother continues to smoke while breastfeeding, nicotine will quickly appear in the breast milk and be absorbed by the baby. Studies have shown that nicotine has adverse effects on the baby's respiratory tract. Therefore, it is best for breastfeeding mothers to quit smoking and avoid inhaling secondhand smoke.

5) Medication: For breastfeeding mothers, although most medications will not affect the baby at normal doses, it is still recommended that breastfeeding mothers tell their doctors that they are breastfeeding before taking medication on their own so that the doctor can prescribe suitable medications and choose medications with shorter duration to minimize the amount of medication that passes through breast milk.