Symptoms of menstruation while breastfeeding

 The menstrual cycle is related to the ability to have children as it is a sign of ovulation, but the menstrual cycle stops during pregnancy and sometimes even during the breastfeeding period for some time and returns again, and in this article, we will learn about the symptoms of the menstrual cycle during breastfeeding.

Symptoms of menstruation while breastfeeding

We must differentiate between bleeding after childbirth and the return of the menstrual cycle, which is a mixture of blood, mucus, and some tissues and remains of the uterus after childbirth. Minor bleeding may continue after birth for up to 6 weeks and is not related to the menstrual cycle.

But after the end of those 6 weeks, the menstrual cycle can be expected to return at any time, which varies from one woman to another, and when the period returns, this does not mean refraining from breastfeeding the child and thinking about weaning it because it will never affect breastfeeding, milk or the health of your child.

Some of the symptoms that appear in a breastfeeding woman before the first menstruation after childbirth are as follows:

•  Breasts become more tender due to higher levels of estrogen and progesterone.
• The rate at which breast milk is secreted is slightly reduced.
• Temporary numbness in the breast area and nipples.
• The taste of breast milk changes, which is what the mother notices in the baby by refusing to breastfeed a little.
• Sodium and chloride levels in breast milk rise while milk sugar, lactose, and potassium decrease, so breast milk becomes saltier and less sweet during this time.
• Inflammation of the nipples due to low levels of calcium in the blood after ovulation.

Menstruation symptoms stop while breastfeeding

Breastfeeding raises the levels of prolactin hormones, which in turn prevents the process of ovulation and the menstrual cycle, and therefore when the child is weaned, the menstrual cycle returns to normal due to the lack of levels of the hormone prolactin in the body. That ovulation does not occur and you are surprised by a new pregnancy, and when the menstrual cycle returns, the mother must consider herself ready for pregnancy to occur at any time, so she must take the necessary precautions against pregnancy if you wish.

Treating PMS symptoms while breastfeeding

Effective treatment for PMS symptoms is the addition of calcium supplements at a concentration of 1500 mg, and magnesium at a concentration of 750 mg, from the second or third day of the menstrual cycle.

Causes of delayed menstruation after childbirth

The period after childbirth may be delayed by several months due to hormonal changes that occur in the uterus and in the proportions of sex hormones in women, which takes a long time to return to normal, and breastfeeding affects hormone levels, fertility, and ovulation rate, and an analysis conducted in 2011 found AD that most women had their first menstrual period between 45 and 94 days after childbirth, and therefore the average occurrence of the first menstrual cycle after childbirth is the 74th day after childbirth.

But after childbirth, the doctor must follow up to follow up the postpartum bleeding and determine its severity, as not all bleeding is normal, but maybe a warning bell for the presence of a postpartum problem, depending on the amount of bleeding, the method of delivery and the medical history of the woman. The most dangerous factors are:

• Excessive bleeding at the rate of the need to change the female nappy every hour.
• High temperature with bleeding.
• The presence of large and unusual blood clots.