PND and milk production

[exiledmancityfan]

I have been diagnosed with mild PND and DS2 is bottle fed using ebm I have noticed that my yield is down. is this a symptom or just my boobs stopping working.

Hi exiled, sorry to hear about your depression. More than likely your drop in expressed milk is neither a symptom of depression or a sign that your boobs have stopped working :) The amount you can express is not a reliable indication of how much milk you are producing. Are you exclusively expressing or just giving the odd bottle? How old is your DS2?

I think a chat with a breastfeeding counsellor could really help, is there anyone locally either through the hospital or one of the charities (LLL, NCT etc)?

I am exclusively expressing as he refused to latch he is 11 wks. TIA

Are you getting much support from people knowledgeable about breastfeeding? You might need someone who has had special training, like an infant feeding co-ordinator, lactation consultant or breastfeeding counsellor.

How often are you expressing?

no not getting much support and I am expressing 4 times a day for 20 minutes each side. That usually gives me 25oz and then he has one formula bottle. I am about 5-6 oz down at the moment so he is having to have another formula bottle.

How would expressing more often work for you? If there's no NCT or LLL counsellor nearby then you could try one of the phone lines, they are very supportive and can chat through things you could try.

Are you happy with expressing long term or are you looking to get back to breastfeeding?

I think that as he has been fed this way since he was a week old I will be feeding him by expressing until he is weaned. I will find it difficult to fit another one in as he is DS2 and I have an 8yr old to help with homework etc. I will see if there is s councillor locally if not I will dig out some numbers.

Sorry to hear about your pnd - I can't offer advice on that but I exclusively express due to similar reasons and know if I am feeling a bit down or stressed my yield is a lot less. So to me it makes sense that pnd might cause issues. I actually find expressing so frequently can be very hard work and mentally draining. So well done. Try and find a way to relax more when pumping- hard with another child in the house. I sometimes just need to hide away with music covering the sound etc) Try the helplines but I have found them useless for exclusively expressing advice but if you google I think there are a few specific exclusively expressing forums in the states which may be helpful. I think it may be on ivillage. If I can find the link ill post.
Hope you find some support.

Thanks janee I am going to see Hv tomorrow so I will ask her.