Breastfeeding is one of the most natural things in the world. But most new mothers find themselves constantly exhausted. Many chalk this up to little sleep and postpartum recovery. Others ask themselves, “Does breastfeeding make you tired?”
While nightly feeds contribute to exhaustion, the hormones involved in milk production increase your caloric needs and may also leave you feeling tired! So, when it comes to the question of “Does breastfeeding make you tired?” the answer is a resounding YES!
In this article, we provide evidence-based strategies to help manage breastfeeding fatigue while maintaining a healthy milk supply. Our practical solutions help you boost energy levels, improve sleep quality, and recognize when constant fatigue may indicate underlying health issues.
How Does Breastfeeding Make You Tired? Postpartum Fatigue
While most mothers experience no lack of fatigue while their children are little, postpartum fatigue is something else. It is a severe exhaustion that affects a substantial percentage of women, especially in the first months after giving birth.[1]
When experiencing postpartum fatigue, you may find you lack energy. This could affect your ability to focus and also your physical abilities. This deep fatigue may not improve even with more sleep.
Although common during the first few weeks after childbirth, some women may experience postpartum fatigue for up to a year or longer. The most common symptoms experienced during this time include:
- Sleep disturbances
- Concentration issues
- Mental health issues
- Extreme fatigue
- Lack of energy that does not improve after sleeping
Causes of Postpartum Fatigue
The birthing process, whether natural or via a C-section, can trigger postpartum fatigue. But taking care of a newborn is also a full-time responsibility. And if you nurse, you cannot take turns with your partner or someone else when feeding time comes around.
Sleep-Loss
As a mother, you may find your sleep time severely compromised. Taking care of a newborn baby is hard work! Changing diapers and breastfeeding while trying to look after all the other demands on your time, other child(ren), and home could severely impact the time you have to rest and take care of your own needs.
Challenges also come from a disrupted sleep cycle. You may find yourself not only feeling tired but also experiencing cognitive and memory issues, an inability to perform as normal, emotional stress, mood swings, and, of course, constant fatigue.
An interesting fact to consider about “Does breastfeeding make you tired?” is that the act of breastfeeding uses up to 25% of your body’s energy. In other words, just feeding your baby breastmilk can significantly tire you out!
So, if you need to sleep, take a midday snooze while your baby sleeps. You’ve earned it!
Nutritional Issues and Tiredness When Breastfeeding
Producing breastmilk can also make you tired. On average, you can burn up to 500 additional calories a day while you breastfeed.[2] This is a significant amount of expended energy.
Nutrition plays a key role in maintaining your energy levels. Because of the extra calorie expenditure while breastfeeding, a breastfeeding mother should make sure to replenish these lost calories. But you also need to focus on nutritious foods, because fatigue can result from mineral and vitamin deficiencies.
Anemia could also play a role in fatigue. Postpartum anemia affects up to 80% of women after childbirth to some extent.[3] The causes of anemia include an iron, vitamin B12, or folate (vitamin B9) deficiency. Other possible causes include kidney disease, inherited disorders, or bone marrow issues.
When you take into consideration that new mothers often do not have the time to practice self-care or to make nutritional snacks, their risk of nutritional deficiencies significantly increases.
Hydration and Tiredness While Breastfeeding
Water plays a key role in nutritional needs, energy levels, and milk production. Water makes up 80% of breast milk content. This means that producing breast milk results in water loss for the mother. A breastfeeding mother thus needs more water than usual just to stay hydrated.
Along with drinking more water, you can also boost hydration by eating highly hydrated foods, like watermelon or soup, and drinking other liquids. Electrolyte mixes are an excellent choice.
Poor hydration while breastfeeding can lead to a decreased milk supply, headaches, increased fatigue, and muscle weakness.
Increased Stress During the Postpartum Stage May Promote Breastfeeding Fatigue
Stress may also interrupt your sleep and deplete your energy levels, as can any medical complications, whether known or not. Given all the demands on your time and attention as a mother to a new baby, it’s no wonder many postpartum mothers experience high levels of stress hormones.
The Role of Hormones When Breastfeeding Makes You Tired
The act of breastfeeding stimulates the release of the hormone prolactin. Prolactin plays a key role in milk production, milk flow, and inhibiting ovulation. Prolactin also increases your body’s dopamine and oxytocin levels. This could leave you feeling more tired.
Stress and Hormonal Imbalance In the Postpartum Period
Having a baby comes with all types of stress. This stress has a significant impact on the question of ‘Does breastfeeding make you tired?”
The actual birthing process puts stress on your body. You may also suffer from mental stress after your baby is born. Your eating habits may change. And let us not forget the massive hormone changes your body goes through during pregnancy, after pregnancy, with the very act of breastfeeding, and due to the lack of sleep.
These all add to your body’s stress load.
We associate times of stress with the activation of your body’s NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. This means an increase in stress hormone production, an increase in certain body processes dealing with the stressor, and a decline or deactivation of body processes not deemed essential to immediate survival.
This is fine. But your stress levels may not return to normal once your baby is born. Certain factors may cause an increase in stress, like worry about the baby’s needs, missed sleep, and even your body’s healing process post-delivery.
Stress can cause a dominance of certain hormones, while others are put on hold or decline. This could result in a hormone imbalance that leads to one of the main symptoms of a condition known as Adrenal Fatigue.
While the fatigue should pass as your stressors diminish, some women may find that their fatigue persists for a much longer period. If your fatigue persists after your baby is a year old, you should discuss the issue with your primary healthcare provider. Underlying issues may cause this fatigue.
Tips for Restoring Your Energy Levels When Breastfeeding
So, when asking yourself, “Does breastfeeding make you tired?”, the answer is a resounding yes, for numerous reasons. But what can you, as a new mother, do to manage the situation?
Fortunately, the answer is a lot:
Make sure your diet is rich in essential nutrients. This means balanced meals and snacks that include lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Do stay away from sugary or processed foods and drinks. They may provide a quick burst of energy in the short term, but they add to your body’s stress load in the long term.- Make sure you are getting enough iron, vitamin B12, and folate to help prevent anemia.
- Engage in physical activities to boost your energy level and reduce fatigue, like going for a walk with your baby or trying mommy-and-me yoga.
- Because breastfeeding reduces your body’s fluids, staying hydrated is key. Electrolyte-rich drinks will also provide your body with a healthy energy boost.
- Reduce your stress by practicing relaxation techniques. Examples include deep breathing or meditation. Soothing music can also help.
- Accept the help of family and friends to help with tasks around the house, cooking, or babysitting for a few hours between feeds. This will give your body and mind a break while allowing you time to rest.
- Don’t worry about housework, meals, or keeping up with your usual standards, and do the bare minimum.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding
While breastfeeding has some downsides – like fatigue, sore nipples, engorged breasts, blocked ducts, cramping, and temporary bone density loss – the benefits may outweigh any of these side effects by far.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding for Babies
- Promotes healthy weight and a stronger emotional bond between mother and child.
- Breastfeeding may encourage a higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) performance in children and adolescents.[4]
- Breastfeeding means a lower risk of diabetes, certain cancers, and obesity later in life.
- A breastfed baby has a lower risk of developing asthma and eczema.
- Breastfeeding may lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).[5]
- Breastfed babies receive antibodies from their mothers through breastmilk. This supports the baby’s immune system and reduces the risk of respiratory, ear, and stomach infections.
- Breastmilk contains all the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals a baby needs for healthy development.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding for Mothers
- Convenience – Milk is always free, available, and at the correct temperature. You do not need to buy formula or disinfect bottles.
- Mothers who breastfeed have a faster postpartum recovery. Oxytocin, one of the hormones released while breastfeeding, helps with uterine contraction. This means the uterus returns to its normal size at a much faster rate.
- Breastfeeding may help with weight loss because it burns extra calories.
- Breastfeeding may reduce the mother’s risk of certain conditions, including osteoporosis, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
- The bond between mother and child forms faster and more easily with breastfeeding. Furthermore, the slower pregnancy hormone decrease associated with breastfeeding lowers the mother’s risk of developing anxiety and depression.
Does Pumping Make You Tired?
Many mothers opt for pumping their milk and storing it in the refrigerator for later use. But just like breastfeeding directly, pumping also requires extra calories, lowers hydration levels, and can lead to fatigue. Pumping also comes with the added difficulty of less oxytocin production and bonding with baby.
However, the upside to pumping breast milk is that someone else can feed your baby from a bottle and give you a little time to rest or engage in an activity without the baby.
In Closing
The answer to the question of “Does breastfeeding cause tiredness?” is a resounding yes – on various levels. Do not let anyone make you feel bad when you need to rest! Breastfeeding, with all its wonderful benefits, still impacts the mother’s body while messing with her sleep patterns.
The correct nutrition, exercise, employing stress reduction techniques, and accepting help may all help you during this time that leaves you feeling chronically fatigued.
If you still have questions about ‘Does breastfeeding make you tired?’, please contact Lam Clinic. At Lam Clinic, we believe in Rooted Care that transforms lives and empowers futures.
