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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Severe anxiety about feeding

12 replies

tak1ngchances · 08/10/2014 09:39

Help.

Our baby will be two weeks old on Friday and she is absolutely great. Good feeder, good sleeper, loads of wet & dirty nappies...

I am breastfeeding with one bottle of aptamil which DH gives her at 3/4 am to give me a break and some sleep. Am on penicillin for infected nipples.

However last Saturday I was feeding her and she choked on my milk. She went a funny colour and didn't breathe for a bit. I absolutely freaked out and had panic attacks and cried all day.

Since then she has not choked per se but she does pull off and cough & splutter a fair bit. I've been told I have a fast letdown and to express a bit of milk by hand before a feed, which I'm doing. Milk just pours out of me during the feed though.

So I now wake up dreading the day ahead, dreading feeds, petrified of the baby choking and quite paralysed by the whole thing.
DH is still on paternity leave and sits with me while I feed but he's going back to work v soon and I get even more anxious thinking about being on my own with a choking baby.

Helllllp. What can I do to try and control the milk flow? Is there any point expressing with the pump or will that make things worse? Any other suggestions?

OP posts:
tiktok · 08/10/2014 09:59

Chances, that must have been horribly scary.

This sounds like fast letdown coupled with over-supply - these are features of some 'generous producers' of milk which tend to settle down in time, and which the baby tends to cope with better, in time. Your baby is only 12 days old, so it really is early days

If you call any of the breastfeeding helplines, they will discuss options to deal with it better - things like block feeding, feeding more upright, the hand expressing you are already doing so prob carry on, and maybe more.

Hope it settles down soon.

nappiesandnaptimes · 08/10/2014 10:03

Did you see anyone after she'd stopped breathing and gone a funny colour? What did they say? I have a very fast let down but express a small amount before feeds dd2 coughs and splutters a?ot but has improved as she's got older.

tiktok · 08/10/2014 10:10

I agree with nappies - the choking incident does need checking out.

tak1ngchances · 08/10/2014 10:24

We phoned our midwives and they asked if she was a normal colour & breathing ok now and said no need to come in.
Do you think it's still worth getting her checked out? GP?

OP posts:
nappiesandnaptimes · 08/10/2014 10:27

I suppose it depends if it was breath holding and going red or stopping breathing and going blue. If it was the latter I would definitely have her checked (but I am not a health professional.)

UntamedByName · 08/10/2014 11:04

OP, my baby did exactly the same thing and he's now one and thriving! Like you, however, it did cause me panic attacks and terrible anxiety at the time. It's so frightening while it's happening.

OK, so first of all, as she did go a bit of funny colour, I'd recommend getting her checked out by a GP. This isn't because I'm concerned (I'm not a health professional), but because if babies have any episodes of turning pale/grey/blue (I don't know how long yours lasted?), it's a routine recommendation to get them checked out. Again, this is not to worry you - it's so your doctor can put your mind at rest!

I'll share my experience, as it sounds like why my DS did. What probably happened is that she swallowed the wrong way and, in response, had what's called a 'vasovagal syncope'. Basically, the shock of having swallowed the wrong way caused her to stop breathing, which caused a drop in blood pressure (hence the funny colour), which caused her to briefly pass out. This is what my doctor explained to me when I got my DS checked out. She was very reassuring. She said it's not uncommon and some babies are more prone to it than others. She said babies DON'T die of it (I asked!). Don't think of it as 'choking' - it's more of a funny response to swallowing the wrong way. I also asked whether swallowing milk the wrong way could lead to actual choking. She said no. She told me that the airway is structured in such a way that even if some milk got into the lungs, he's still be able to breathe well enough for me to have lots of time to get him some medical attention. And she also said I'd know if milk had got into his lungs, as their breathing goes funny. Anyway, my DS never did need any further medical attention and eventually grew out of both the vasovagal syncopes and the swallowing-the-wrong-way.

If she does have another episode, just gently put her upright and rub her to remind her to start breathing again!

I never managed to stop the swallowing-the-wrong way while breastfeeding. We tried feeding more upright, expressing before feeds, pinching the areola, but nothing solved it, other than time! For us, it got a lot better around the 2 month mark. It's definitely worth getting some technical help, though, and seeing if anything does work better for you. We found he coped better with bottles and gave him ebm for a while before transitioning back to the breast.

Anyway, again, I'm not a medical professional, but this was my experience. I hope that helps!

UntamedByName · 08/10/2014 11:05

Cross-posted, OP. I'd get her checked out by your GP for reassurance.

UntamedByName · 08/10/2014 12:22

Also, OP, as I say, it caused me terrible anxiety at the time, especially when my OH went back to work and I was on my own, so I understand exactly how you're feeling right now. Please don't worry on your own! I'm often on MN during the day, so please come and chat if you're feeling panicky. Let us know how you get on.

tak1ngchances · 08/10/2014 13:09

Hi everyone
You are so kind & helpful thank you. Untamed it is so reassuring to hear that it is unlikely to kill the baby. I honestly thought she would die. Anything else I can handle!

Health visitor came today and thought she sounded a bit mucousy so we're going to the GP to have her chest listened to.

Onwards & upwards I hope!

OP posts:
UntamedByName · 08/10/2014 14:15

Yes, yes, onwards and upwards! Glad your HV came today - let us know how you get on at the GP's.

UntamedByName · 22/10/2014 14:16

OP, how are things going with your DD?

LaurieMarlow · 22/10/2014 19:24

OP, I had similar issues with oversupply and fast let down. I haven't experienced anything as scary as your choking incident, but have had DS gag, splutter and struggle to breathe. I know how horrible it is to feel so anxious all the time, but the following helped me a lot.

  1. getting advice on how to handle a choking baby and practising my response so I can react quickly without thinking if it happens.

  2. expressing a little before each feed, just to get rid of most of the 'spurts' of foremilk

  3. unlatching baby during the first let down and catching it in a towel

This helped me feel much more in control. Also, the babies get better and better at dealing with it - and eventually your supply calms down (at about 6 weeks and then more dramatically at 4 months for me) so it will improve pretty rapidly.

Good luck!

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