The Brain Feels a Bit Drained
If you’re pregnant and think your mind isn’t quite as sharp as it used to be, it isn’t all in your head. You aren’t losing intelligence though (no matter what pregnancy or parenting jokes you hear), you’re just tired. Even driving in the second trimester has been found to be more dangerous for pregnant women because of issues relating to fatigue.
I’ve recently felt like my own IQ has been plummeting precipitously, more so than occurred during my pregnancy. I hope I found the cause.
My daughter is just over three months old, and I’ve been feeding her breast milk. She spent three weeks in the NICU, and during that time, the NICU staff had me freeze the excess milk that I was producing. I am starting to run out of that reserve supply. I started out producing more than enough milk, so why am I having so many issues? I’ve tried pumping more often, up to every hour and a half. I still can’t keep up with her.
I have been on progesterone-only birth control, though, so that may be the culprit. I will be coming off those immediately and hopefully returning to having enough milk for my baby. There are so many wonderful reasons for breastfeeding, despite the hassles, that figuring out the cause is worth the effort and, yes, even pumping or feeding every hour and a half. I will be glad when I no longer have the breastfeeding leash, though.
Can you imagine being able to go to even a regular length movie, in the theater, without having to worry about pumping immediately beforehand and immediately after? Bliss!
Resources and Further Reading:
- Brown University. “MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies’ brain growth.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 June 2013.
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “Breastfeeding fraught with early challenges for many first-time mothers.” ScienceDaily. 23 September 2013.
- Wiley-Blackwell. “Breastfeeding tied to stronger maternal response to baby’s cry.” ScienceDaily. 21 April 2011.
- Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. “Brain FAQ.” Zerotothree.org. 2014.
