The first year after a baby is born can be a complete blur for new parents – I’ve been there twice, and I feel like I was delirious for about 90% of it.
Between the sleep deprivation, the constant state of high alert and the mental and physical recovery, it’s really no wonder so many new parents feel so exhausted.
Those who choose to breastfeed might also notice this makes them feel more wiped – even after months of milk production. (I breastfed for two years and felt just as exhausted by year two than I did earlier on in my journey.)
Google searches for “does breastfeeding make you tired?” have gone up by more than 5,000% recently, according to analysis by Proceive Breastfeeding. The answer is certainly, yes. But why?
Dr Nikki Ramskill, a GP verified on the healthcare review platform Doctify, and founder of The Female Health Doctor Clinic, told HuffPost UK: “Firstly, your body is doing a huge amount of work behind the scenes. Prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production, naturally has a calming, sleepy effect, and levels rise overnight.
“Producing breast milk also requires extra energy, roughly 300-500 calories a day, at a time when your body is still recovering from pregnancy and birth.”
Broken sleep will also play a part. “It’s not always about how many hours you’re getting in total. If you’re waking every couple of hours to feed, you’re repeatedly being pulled out of the deeper, restorative stages of sleep,” Dr Ramskill explained.
“You can technically have had six or seven hours of sleep across a night and still wake up feeling absolutely shattered.”
There’s the nutrient loss to consider, too. Registered nutritionist Charlotte Grand, who works with Proceive, said: “The mother’s body prioritises the baby above all else. Breastfeeding actively draws critical micronutrients, including B vitamins, vitamin D, zinc, and iron, directly from the mother’s tissue stores to ensure the milk is perfectly balanced.
“Because this continuous nutrient loss drains her internal reserves, it can quickly lead to systemic depletion and profound fatigue if those vitamins are not actively replenished.”
And as if all of that wasn’t enough, there’s another factor that can be fuelling breastfeeding fatigue over the summer – and that’s the hot weather. In Japan, summer exhaustion has an actual name: “natsubate”.
“During a heatwave, your body has to work much harder to keep your core temperature in a safe range,” Dr Ginni Mansberg, a GP and co-founder of ESK, previously told us. “That means diverting blood to the skin, increasing sweating and making your heart work a little harder.”
When it’s hot, you’re at risk of dehydration – and breastfeeding increases your fluid requirements, so it becomes even easier to become dehydrated. Dr Ramskill noted even mild dehydration can leave you feeling tired, headachy and generally wiped out.
Thankfully, there are a few ways to help try and ease the feeling of fatigue.
Dr Ramskill suggested keeping a bottle of water next to you every time you feed, and making sure you’re eating enough. “I’d favour small, regular meals or snacks containing protein and iron rather than trying to keep yourself functioning on caffeine and sugary snacks,” she added.
Source: Read the original article on www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
