BF article in the Times yesterday

[Lazylion]

Did anyone see 'What it feels like to breast-feed for too long' in the Times Style magazine yesterday?
The writer says that bf her dd until 2 and a half had kept her heavy and spaced out. What do you think?
I bf my first 2 until a year old but my dd is now a year old and definately doesn't want to stop. I feel thick, slow and exhausted all the time (in the article the writer blames oxytocin for this feeling). I have a demanding job and I'm struggling with my lack of intelligence - could this be due to to bf do you think? Should I persuade my dd to give up or carry on?

I BF my last dd until her 3rd birthday and never noticed feeling sluggish or spaced out. I did notice that as soon as I stopped I caught every cold/stomach bug under the sun while I always seemed to be immune (even when vomited on) when BF.

At the moment my 4 month old on a growth spurt is making me feel very tired but to be expected I feel.

I suppose I'll never know unless I stop, by which time if I'm wrong it's too late!

It's most likely iron deficiency rather than breastfeeding itself. Breastfeeding can cause iron deficiency in mothers, I think? And I guess if you are feeding at night you might not be sleeping as deeply which could cause some feelings of sluggishness.

But attributing it to oxytocin makes no sense at all! And it's not as if these things are insurmountable

Bertiebotts - I have never heard of iron deficiency being caused by bfing. I don;t think breastmilk even contains much iron.

In fact breastfeeding is likely to prevent iron deficiency by delaying menstruation. Menstruation - ie. the loss of blood - is one of the biggest causes of iron deficiency and as breastfeeding delays menstruation in many women, it will also help prevent iron deficiency.

I started a thread about this today as I am a bit slow due to the BFing haze .

I did also think it was sensationalist etc, but then found myself reluctantly agreeing. A bit. And feeling at agreeing.

I weaned DS3 when he was 14 months old, obviously NOT babyled, and he never asked for boob again after the last feed. I was v relieved about that as I had visions of having to fend him off.
And I did feel mentally and physically better.

Oh dear.

I probably am iron deficient, but not due to bf. I had a mc just before the baby and was low in iron all through the pregnancy. I started on the floradix today but I'm not convinced that all my problems are due to lack of iron / sleep.
Things I wrote or read a couple of years ago (with 2 small dc) now seem impossibly complicated, I have no mental sharpness at all.
PacificDogwood, that is useful to know even if I didn't want to hear it. Am a lecturer and am bluffing my way through at the moment - not nice.

Also I think what oxytocin does is relax you. If you are working, moving house, looking after small children, then it is likely you are tired anyway and you are running on adrenaline. Breastfeeding will counteract the effect of this adrenaline, and make your body realise that you are in fact tired and that you need to rest more. So rather then making you tired, bfing makes your body realise that you are tired from all the other stuff going on in your life.

That makes sense Belgo - you definitely feel the tiredness when you relax for any reason.

Sorry about the iron deficiency mistake - I think I had heard it somewhere but probably a bonkers HV or similar.

TBH BertieBotts that is only my own theory on why you feel tired while bfing - your body is telling you you need to rest, and this should not be ignored. But of course, in modern life, we do ignore what our bodies are telling us because we have to continue working, providing, moving house etc, doing all the things that will exhuast us when we are looking after a small baby as well. And ofcourse bfing is the easiest thing to blame and the easiest thing to go in many circumstances, and that is understandable.

BTW Bertiebotts I will never look at PeppaPig the same way following your post on that other thread

I know! Someone pointed it out to me and now I can't watch it in the same way either!

Lazylion, I'd guess that the iron thing gets steadily worse over time with more DC. I read somewhere that most women haven't regained their pre-pregnancy iron levels by the time their second baby is born. And a m/c has a similar effect - that was why my levels ended up low.

I take iron tablets or a multivitamin with iron (was taking Pregncare) which weren't too unpleasant.

belgo your theory about why oxytocin makes us feel tired makes a lot of sense to me. :)