Breastfeeding What If's...
"What if I have an unhappy feeling when my milk lets down?"
Some women will complain of a homesickness feeling, nausea or unpleasantness, hopelessness, restlessness, anxiety, tension, agitation, or anger when they experience the milk ejection reflex. This physiological reflex, and not a psychological response, to breastfeeding and is called Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex or D-MER. The experience is usually brief and begins just prior to the milk ejection reflex and usually does not last more than several minutes.
This phenomenon was unnamed, misunderstood and was rarely ever discussed until 2007 when it was finally identified and described. In 2008 a team of lactation consultants worked together to do more investigation and an in-depth study of D-MER . It is now more widely known and is an accepted condition.
The cause of D-MER is believed to be a drop in dopamine when milk is released. It is thought to either drop too far or somehow differently, causing negative feelings. D-MER is not postpartum depression or a mood disorder as was once believed.
Treatment for D-MER is rarely needed. Anything that raises and maintains dopamine may be helpful, but at this time there is no one product that is medically approved to do this. What has shown to be most effective is awareness, education, and understanding. If a mother realizes this is a physiological condition and learns more about this condition, she is less likely to wean.
Additional Resources:
A case report of D-MER can be found here.
Or watch this helpful YouTube video.
The facebook page may be helpful.
And the website has much of the information available on this condition.
Written by Angela E. Swieter, RN, BSN, IBCLC, ICD, ICPE, ICPD
"What if I have an unhappy feeling when my milk lets down?"
Some women will complain of a homesickness feeling, nausea or unpleasantness, hopelessness, restlessness, anxiety, tension, agitation, or anger when they experience the milk ejection reflex. This physiological reflex, and not a psychological response, to breastfeeding and is called Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex or D-MER. The experience is usually brief and begins just prior to the milk ejection reflex and usually does not last more than several minutes.
This phenomenon was unnamed, misunderstood and was rarely ever discussed until 2007 when it was finally identified and described. In 2008 a team of lactation consultants worked together to do more investigation and an in-depth study of D-MER . It is now more widely known and is an accepted condition.
The cause of D-MER is believed to be a drop in dopamine when milk is released. It is thought to either drop too far or somehow differently, causing negative feelings. D-MER is not postpartum depression or a mood disorder as was once believed.
Treatment for D-MER is rarely needed. Anything that raises and maintains dopamine may be helpful, but at this time there is no one product that is medically approved to do this. What has shown to be most effective is awareness, education, and understanding. If a mother realizes this is a physiological condition and learns more about this condition, she is less likely to wean.
Additional Resources:
A case report of D-MER can be found here.
Or watch this helpful YouTube video.
The facebook page may be helpful.
And the website has much of the information available on this condition.
Written by Angela E. Swieter, RN, BSN, IBCLC, ICD, ICPE, ICPD
