Did exercising effect BF or your supply?

[CatherineL]

I feel like the biggest pain in the @$$... I seem to have a question a day! ROFL..

Well my sweet girl is now 6 weeks.. and I can finally return to the gym!!! I've dreamt of this day.

I'm wondering though whether it could affect my supply? I'm not really a cardio or class type of lass. I prefer to use weights just to tone and give myself shape otherwise i'm just a scrawny bit of wire.

Can anyone tell me if they have returned to gym without interruption to BF?

TIA.

[razzle]

Hi I had the same question a few days ago, so I called my sister who is a personal trainer. I had heard that too much excercising can interfere with milk production. Anyway, my sister told me that moderate exercise shouldn't affect supply. You can get more info here http://breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/excercise.html

[christy]

I found that when I started swimming and doing more than walking basically my supply dwindled a bit. It maybe I wasn't keeping up my fluids but I started to increase water & still had issues...

[MamaPan]

Catherine
i have been back at gym from 6 wks - i do about 3 classes a week inc reasonably intense cardio and weights - i have not had any BF or supply issues.
I have heard some bubs dont like to feed when yuo are sweaty - Noah doesnt seem to mindif i wipe myself down well and feed him (I guess he is such a guzzlerhe isnt too fussy LOL) but to avoid this bc i think it is a bit yukky i feed him just prior to the exercise so he can wait for me to come home and shower before his next feed.
i also swimand have heard the same thing wrt the smell of chlorine so i do this before a swim as well and have a good shower before i feed.
enjoy your workout!!

BEWARE i was shocked how UNFIT i was/am - and i did exercise through my preg!!!

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

I guess by now you have read the ABA article. Excercise will have no effect on your milk supply but will be enormously good for your fitness and mental health

Regards
Barb

[CatherineL]

Thanks guys... I have indeed read that link provided. But Barb, do you think it is just a coincidence that Christy lost her supply when she started to exercise more? I'm really frighten to mess with it... I feel like we've worked so hard to mess things up now... I want the satisfaction of her self weaning!

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

usually reduction in milk supply is complicated, and there are a whole lot of factors involved. I won't comment on Christy's situation, because I don't know enough about it. But, most of the world's population don't lead the somewhat cushy lives we lead today. For most of history and in most parts of the world women have to do hard physical work and they breastfeed just fine.
Milk supply reduces when the baby feeds less. It may be that when mothers go back to exercising a lot they don't feed their baby enough. Most often babies start to behave differently - could be a period of physical or emotional growth - and we and people close to us read that as "she must be hungry" Many people have fairly rigid views that a woman's milk supply will fail at X months - it can become a self fulfilling prophesy. It is a myth that "milk just dries up". It is usually shorthand for a long culmination of a whole lot of factors.

Barb

[Ngala]

Hey Catherine

I think I am living proof that nothing happens while exercising! LOL But everyone is different.....

I started back at the gym when my DD was 5 weeks old. I started to get really serious about my exercise when DD was 8 weeks old. I was going to the gym up to 7 times, I was doing 3 classes (2 x cardio classes and 1 x weight class) and the other days I was in the gym and I definitely didnt go easy either!! DD is now over 4 months old and breastfeeding is still going strong!! In the mornings I express milk cause I am stocking up for my wedding and over the past 2 weeks I have gone from expressing 90mls to 120mls from one side. I know I can do more but cause DD feeds 3hrly I tend to leave some in there...

So go ahead and start exercising!! You will feel so good for doing it. Just make sure you eat nice and healthy and keep the fluids up.

Have Fun!

[~kellie~]

is it true that breast milk can have lactic acid in it after we exercise which can give bubs tummy pains?

[Barb Glare]

No. Not true! Old wives tale. You would need to be doing extremely strenuous olympic athlete style excercies and even then it causes no problem for the baby.

Barb

[~kellie~]

thanks Barb!

[blueflower]

Heheheh I was going to say PM Ngala as she went to gym and I didnt think it affeced her supply.

Exercise also didnt affect mine, I started playing netball 3x week and had no effect- much to MIL's suggestion that my supply will go away.

I just feed more frequently just in case she was right (she wasn't). I asked here also.

Good luck and congratulations on your little girl!!!

[CatherineL]

Thanks everyone!