Shining Light on Dysphoric MER in Breastfeeding Women

Dysphoric (Depressive) Milk Ejection Reflex is a condition causing a surge of negative emotions before the milk ejection reflex, or letdown, in a lactating woman.

A key piece of D-MER is that a mother with D-MER feels absolutely fine except just before her milk starts to flow. D-MER is a brief feeling - not more than 30 seconds to 2 minutes - only and always beginning before let-down. This is not postpartum depression, and most of these mothers feel perfectly fine except for that pre-milk moment. A brief interval after the negative feelings hit, the milk flows. Every single time. Unless a mother has postpartum depression in conjunction with D-MER, a mother with D-MER feels absolutely fine until just before her milk flows.

D-MER can easily go unrecognized since some mothers have many letdowns per feeding, and perhaps do not physically feel a letdown in their breasts, and given the fact that D-MER happens with spontaneous letdowns as well, when a mother is not nursing her baby, a mother may not immediately connect the way she is feeling to the milk release.

Another common variance on D-MER would be a mother who has so many letdowns in one feeding that she may not even be able to feel the feeling of D-MER subside before the next D-MER starts, making her feel that she experiences one long D-MER throughout the whole feeding.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• breastfeeding
• lactation
• nursing.
• milk
• ejection
• reflex
• depression
• depressive
• MER

[CamillaCalamity]

One of my in-laws had this I think. She'd feel nautious and unpleasant before breastfeeding, so she'd eat something light like some raw spinach. I wonder if this could be related to a deficiency in folic acid or some other nutrient.

[henndri]

NICE

[llGetDownll]

Boobs giggity giggity giggity goo haha

[jamesarongray]

I'm guessing it's just a hormone imbalance when the breast feeding glands are activated... but that's just a guess... i have normal depression, so i can kind of relate to this... it's pretty interesting... i just clicked coz i wanted to see some tits though lol

[sexylexi1172]

I had the same feeling but i looked in my daughters eyes while she was drinking and i tried to change the feelings in my head and i just got over it. Now i dont have any problems no more. I think its just in your head and if you are strong you can get over it too.

[bedabug0]

LOL sounds like a personal prob.

[Phreequey]

omg, i get something exactly the same feeling, but just before having sex, not before breastfeeding (i love breastfeeding, gives me feeling of well-being)... Depressive intercourse reflex?? i dont know!

[fergie620204]

i was looking for this answer everywhere,nobody could explain what was happening to me, it´s better to know that my problem has a name, i thought i had ppd, i am not breastfeeding too much because of this, is horrible, i listen to mthers who says how happy they are breasfeeding and i just feel envy. thx so much for the info.

[SmokingJoePot]

I didn't know that. What causes this though.

[routex7044]

well the let down is PAINFULL of course you feel shit. i can't believe someone is after putting a name on it haha it hurts of course yopu havenegative emotions its called self preservation