Every month, you miss work because of your period.
Every month, someone tells you, “It’s normal. Just endure it.”
Period pain is common. But pain that regularly stops you from working, sleeping, eating, or carrying out your normal activities should not be dismissed simply because it arrives with your period.
So, when does period pain need more than another painkiller and reassurance?
“PUT THAT COLD WATER DOWN. YOU’RE ON YOUR PERIOD!”
Who warned you about this?
Many women grew up believing that cold water makes menstrual cramps worse or prevents menstrual blood from flowing properly.
But there is no convincing evidence that drinking cold water causes or worsens menstrual cramps.
What about warm water? Well, drink it if you find it comforting, but it has not been shown to treat cramps better than cold or room-temperature water.
But, applying heat is different. A warm compress or hot-water bottle placed on your lower abdomen can help relieve period pain.
Gentle movement and suitable pain medication may also help.
If period pain stops you from working, attending school or doing your usual activities, please do not dismiss it as something every woman must endure. Get checked, especially if the pain is becoming worse or comes with heavy or irregular bleeding.
Welcome to ’30 Days of Women’s Health with Dr Ketch’. This September, we will have honest conversations about the questions women ask about their bodies.
Were you warned against drinking cold water during your period? Do you still avoid it?
“We’ve reached six months. So tomorrow, what exactly do I feed this baby?”
Pap is probably the first suggestion you’ll hear. But must it be pap? Can you give a whole egg? And does starting food mean stopping breastfeeding?
For our final Breastfeeding Month post, let’s answer the question that comes next: ‘what actually goes in your baby’s bowl?’
“My baby is big and plump on breast milk alone. Surely that means she is getting everything she needs?”
Not necessarily, especially after six months.
A baby can look well fed and still be short of iron. From around six months, breast milk alone no longer meets all your baby’s nutritional needs.
That does not mean your milk has become bad or that you should stop breastfeeding. It means it is time to introduce food alongside it, including iron-rich foods.
If your baby refuses food, stopping breastfeeding is not automatically the answer.
“My child is three and still wants to breastfeed. I am tired and ready to stop. Does that make me a bad mother?”
No.
The recommendation says breastfeeding can continue for two years or beyond. It does not say that a mother must continue after she is ready to stop.
Your child may not welcome the decision, but you do not need to wait until your child chooses to stop. You can end breastfeeding gradually and with reassurance.
“Put pepper on your nipples. Once she tastes it, she will stop breastfeeding.”
Please don’t do this.
Pepper or an unknown bitter substance can irritate your child’s mouth, skin or eyes. It turns breastfeeding, a familiar source of food and comfort—into a frightening experience.
If you are ready to stop, you do not need to shock your child into it. Drop one breastfeed at a time and allow both your child and your breasts time to adjust.
“One breast is now much bigger because that is the only side my baby will suck. My mother says it could cause breast cancer.”
No, it will not.
When your baby feeds more frequently from one breast, that breast receives a stronger signal to produce milk. It may therefore become fuller and noticeably larger than the other.
But why would a baby suddenly choose one breast and should you try to change it? Read!
Q: Doc, good evening ma’am. Please, I have some questions for you. I am a 1st time mom and my baby is 2months old. She sucks from one breast and this has made 1 breast to be bigger than the other and my mom said it will make me have breast cancer when I stop breastfeeding. Please, ma’am, how true is this? Thanks and God bless you ma’am
A: Congratulations on your new baby 😀
Is there any particular reason why you are breastfeeding from one breast only? Or is it that you breastfeed more from one side? This could actually lay you open to developing blocked milk ducts. You should be breast feeding with both breasts.
When baby has fed on breast A, during the next feed, switch to breast B to ensure that both are being ‘emptied’ and ‘filled’ up equally.
Some people switch from one breast to the other during one feed, but the problem with that is that the baby may fill up on the watery fore milk and this means he will get hungry pretty soon as he didn’t get any hind milk.
Will one have breast cancer if one is not breast feeding with one breast? Studies suggest that breastfeeding may help protect against breast cancer.
This means that not breastfeeding is a risk factor for breast cancer. Now, you have to remember that having a risk factor does not necessarily mean that one will come down with the disease. It just means that, all things being equal, the person with a high risk factor, has a higher chance of getting the disease in question.
I would not focus on this…really. Instead, let’s get you to start breastfeeding with the other breast so that your baby eats sufficient amounts of food. Remember that your baby should spend about 20-45 minutes on the breast during each feed.
Have you experienced this in your own breastfeeding journey?
“Don’t do family planning while breastfeeding. It will dry up your milk.”
How many mothers have avoided contraception because someone gave them this warning?
The truth is that breastfeeding mothers have several family-planning options. But safe for breastfeeding does not automatically mean the best method for every mother.
Where in doubt, always check with your healthcare provider.
Your period returns and someone tells you to stop breastfeeding until the bleeding ends because the milk is now “dirty.”
Please don’t.
Menstrual blood does not mix with breast milk, and having your period does not make your milk harmful to your baby.
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