Concerns of breastfeeding mothers

Fatigue
You may find that fatigue interferes with your let-down and contributes to an inadequate milk supply. Check your expectations. When you're nursing a baby around the clock, don't expect to be able to do everything you did before the baby arrived. There is no pat solution to new-mother fatigue, especially if you don't have family help close by. But if a friend offers to take your older kids to the zoo for the day, say yes. If there's a choice between vacuuming and taking a nap, crawl between the sheets.

Smoking
If you smoke, you may feel more motivated to cut down, if not quit, since nicotine passes into breastmilk. Smoking more than ten cigarettes a day has been associated with decreased milk production and decreased ejection as well as with infant irritability and poor weight gain. heavy smoking may give your baby nausea or diarrhea or it may cause her to vomit. Breastmilk is still the best choice for your baby, so try to reduce the harmful effects on your baby by smoking only after Breastfeeding, not before. To reduce the risks of second-hand smoke, don't smoke or allow others to smoke near your baby, since it increases the risk of SIDS.

Contraception
Breastfeeding may offer some protection against pregnancy if the mother is exclusively breastfeeding the baby day and night. However, it is not reliable as a method of birth control. New mothers start ovulating as early as eight weeks after the baby's birth, so if they don't wish to conceive, they should use a contraceptive method. An IUD, diaphragm, or condom with spermicidal foam are the preferred choices. The progesterone mini-pill, implants, and injections increase milk secretions. For some mothers, the estrogen-progesterone pill occasionally reduces their milk production.

Should breastfeeding feel this good?
Here's the best-kept secret about breastfeeding. Women's hormones for lactation and the sexual cycle are similar. Nursing can be sensually stimulating, if not sexually arousing. Health Canada has given its blessing on these feelings by stating that they are "normal."