chatwithketch

Q: Good day, ma’am. My baby is 4 months old and anytime, I breastfeed my baby, I feel sad. I don’t know the cause. Should I stop breastfeeding? Looking forward to your sweet reply.

A: Congratulations on your new baby 
Everyone talks about how fleeting the pain of childbirth is once the bundle of joy is held in the arms of the mother. It then appears ‘somewhat’ unnatural when mothers experience sadness in taking care of the baby or as this mother says, sadness when breastfeeding. This was a previously unknown situation and mother who experienced this felt alienated from family, friends and even their medical personnel as nobody appeared to understand what they were going through. Was this postnatal depression? Was this a psychological problem? I daresay in our environment, people would have asked if the woman was demon-possessed ;D

Well, recent researches have shown that this situation is called D-MER (Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex). The term dysphoric refers to dissatisfaction. Usually, when a baby latches on to the nipple of his mother for breast milk, the hormones, oxytocin and prolactin are released. Prolactin acts on the milk producing cells of the breast and the oxytocin acts to let the breast release the milk (let down reflex). At this same time, the level of dopamine decreases. In D-MER, the level of decrease in dopamine is extreme leading to sadness, feelings of negativity etc. This feeling is fleeting though, lasting seconds to few minutes as the level of dopamine normalizes. This feeling may also be precipitated at times when the milk ejection reflex is activated like when you think about feeding your baby or when he cries etc. Now it is important to note that while this does not happen to everyone, it is not a psychological problem, neither is it post natal depression.

So, what can you do? Stopping breastfeeding may not be the answer as you will be depriving your baby of all the vital nutrients he needs in his first few months of life. In some instances, just understanding what is going on is sufficient to help the mothers cope with the situation as they can identify when the symptoms start and stop. I hope this works for you.

In more extreme cases, there may be need to prescribe drugs which increase the level of dopamine in the body. Your doctor will determine what makes sense. Anti-depressants have not been found to be useful in this situation. I daresay more work will be done on this condition to better understand and provide relief for it shortly.

I hope understanding what’s going on helps you deal with this. If not, please see your doctor about options open to you. This too, shall pass 

Have a great evening, y’all 

Most people stock up on Vitamin C tablets as soon as they suspect they have a cold. Is this a useful practice or not?

Read!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/cold-and-flu/can-vitamin-c-prevent-a-cold

Q: Hello, I am getting sick for one or two weeks and I vomit blood when I am on my menstrual period. And when I menstruate, I am on heavy flow with thick clots. My period doesn’t stop on the fifth day. I continue to menstruate for more than 10 day

A: A ‘regular’ menstrual cycle is supposedly one in which the cycle (the length of time from the 1st day of a menstrual period to the first day of the next menstrual period) is about 28 days but there is nothing abnormal about cycles that fall outside of this range. It could range from about 24 days to 34 days with ovulation happening at mid cycle. Indeed, in some women each period appears to have a different cycle. For young girls who have just started menstruating, skipped or irregular periods may occur. So, if you have a 24-day cycle, technically, you could see your period twice in a month.

There are also people with irregular periods. What do people refer to as irregular periods? Well, if the time between each period changes, or the length of days of the period changes or indeed when the quantity of blood lost during each period changes, the period is termed irregular. What can cause these changes? They include:

• Changes in hormone levels, as is common in the puberty period or menopausal period.
  • Stress
  • Excessive weight loss or excessive weight gain
  • Fibroids
  • Problems with the thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
  • Polycystic Ovary Disease (PCOD)
  • Scarring from previous surgery in the uterus
  • Pregnancy cannot be overlooked as a cause of irregular bleeding and has to be checked out.
  • Breast feeding mothers may also experience irregular periods as the hormones released may delay return of menstruation. Remember, however, that this is not an effective means of contraception.

So, it’s always a good idea to keep a record of your periods: length of cycles, number of days the period lasts, presence of pain etc. If you keep a chart of this over time, you would be able to know what is normal for you.

Treatment of irregular periods depends on cause: fibroids, PCOD, hyperthyroidism all have to be treated. If irregularity is due to stress, learning coping mechanisms or relaxation techniques may help. Reduce weight or go easy on your exercise routine, if weight issues are a problem.

However, be sure to see your doctor if your period is consistently below 21 days or more than 35 days, if you menstruate for longer than one week, bleed in between periods or experience severe cramps.

For related topics, please click on https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/06/27/daily-health-tips-why-do-i-have-scanty-periods/

Daily Health Tips: Are There Other Treatment Methods For Fibroids Other Than Surgery?

For clots, there are usually differences from one woman to the other and even from period to period in the same person.

The uterus (womb) usually prepares to receive a fertilized egg every month and when that fails, the thickened lining of the uterus which had prepared to receive a baby is shed. Usually, this blood does not contain clots as anti-coagulants in blood ensure that this doesn’t happen.

However, if the blood is flowing faster than the anticoagulants can work, then clots appear. This would usually happen on the heaviest day of the flow as appears to be the case here. So, clots do not necessarily suggest a problem.

But, if this appears to be the case on all or most days of the period, or you find that you’re using a sanitary towel per hour for several hours, please see your gynaecologist. Conditions that may lead to excessive bleeding and therefore, clots in blood during a menstrual period include a miscarriage (of a pregnancy), fibroids, dramatic recent weight loss, thyroid problems, large uterus etc If this is further accompanied by feeling of faintness, tiredness and paleness, you should head to the hospital immediately.

Vomiting during periods is not strange. It is due to one of the hormones released during the menstrual cycle, prostaglandin. It causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. Vomiting blood though is a symptom of something completely different eg bleeding gut. Please check it out in the hospital immediately.

I hope this helps 🙂

Hello Ma’am, I’m having a serious problem, I had my periods from the 9th till the 13th of October, the 14th I slept with hubby.  After 5 days, on the 18th, I saw drops of blood. On the 21st I went to the clinic because there were drops of blood and I found out I was pregnant, it stopped on the 26th of October. I need to know what could have been going on with me.  Thanks in advance 🙏🙏

A: Bleeding during pregnancy can be worrying whether it’s a little or a lot. But, it may not necessarily be the sign of a problem.

Bleeding can occur in early pregnancy, close to or about the same time as the menstruation would and thus be mistaken for a period. This bleeding could be due to implantation as the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus (womb).

Implantation bleeding is typically a small amount of light bleeding that occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception. It could last anything from a couple of hours to three days. This is thought to be due to implantation as the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus (womb). This usually occurs in early pregnancy, close to or about the same time as the menstruation would be seen and is thus often mistaken for a period. But, it is usually lighter than menstrual…typically without clots. It would stop on its own and does not require further treatment. If the bleeding is heavier, associated with cramps or any other complication, please see your doctor.

Some tips to help distinguish implantation bleed from menstruation:

• Menstrual bleeding may have clots. Implantation bleeds have no clots
• Menstrual bleeding can fill sanitary towel(s). Implantation bleeds are usually described as spotting, as they just stain the panties
• Menstrual blood is typically bright to dark red. Implantation bleed is light pink to dark brown
• Implantation bleeds are usually shorter in duration than normal

As a rule of thumb really, any bleeding in pregnancy should be investigated as they may be due to more serious conditions like ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and infections.

I hope this helps.

Good night y’all 😀