Gastro really affected my milk supply

by Michelle
(Auckland, New Zealand)

I went back home recently for a funeral and ended up catching a gastro bug. Vomiting, diarrhea the whole thing. So badly that I couldn't even go to the funeral. My poor little 11 month old was pretty unsettled (though thankfully he didn't get the bug, thank god for antibodies in my milk) and wanted to feed really frequently.

I think this was mainly to do with him not getting much milk each feed though. My milk supply really dropped off while I was sick. I kept feeding my little guy because I didn't want it to be a permanent drop in milk production, but it was tiring.

Everyone else in the family who was affected only had the bug for 24 hours, but I had it for a good 8 days. I lost a fair bit of weight during it.

Thankfully I'm coming good again now, although my energy levels dropped a fair bit.

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Low milk supply can really pick up quickly, so persevere with breastfeeding if you can
by: Rebecca

Having problems with low milk supply after having any kind of illness is really common and just makes you feel even more fragile and stressed.

Some tips for coping during the stressful time are:

Use any stored expressed milk to supplement your breast milk, but only while you are really unwell, and keep breastfeeding if possible, as not breastfeeding exacerbateslow milk supply

As soon as you start to feel a little better start breastfeeding every hour or so, and if not breastfeeding use hand expression or a pump for a few minutes to help stimulate your breasts

If you need assistance from a doctor, make sure they now you are breastfeeding - some antibiotics aren't safe for breastfed babies

If you do need antibiotics that aren't safe, try to express around times your baby would have/is feeding from a supplement so you can maintain some supply

Generally, rest as much as you can, drink plenty of water and eat as healthy food as you can afford

Take supplements such as vitamin C if you need to and look after yourself

Enlist the support of those around you so you can recover as quickly as possible

Good luck xxx

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