Introduction
If flatulence is a common complaint in pregnancy, excessive gas formation in the intestine can continue or reappear even during breastfeeding. This is very individual and is caused by numerous possible foods. It is important to find out the tolerance of individual foods and their effect on your own body. This is best done by carefully recording the foods consumed and by deliberately omitting or replacing certain products in order to assess their effect on digestion during the breastfeeding period.
Why do I get flatulence when I am breastfeeding?
While the more frequent flatulence during pregnancy may be caused by the hormone progesterone, there is currently no generally valid explanation for flatulence during breastfeeding. It is therefore reasonable to assume that flatulence can occur in the context of hormonal changes during the breastfeeding period and due to exhaustion with the gradual recovery of the female body after pregnancy and childbirth. Reduced exercise during breastfeeding may affect the maternal digestive tract.
Lack of exercise slows down digestion and causes food components to remain in the intestine for longer. This leads to increased gas formation. In addition, the birth of the child and the new demands of everyday life can be a stressful situation, which can also lead to flatulence for psychological reasons.
Many women take iron supplements during the breastfeeding period to treat their anaemia. These drugs also frequently cause digestive problems and can lead to flatulence. Flatulence during breastfeeding can also be caused by food.
This can even involve eating foods that have not previously caused digestive problems. The examples of flatulent foods are discussed in the next section. Furthermore, food intolerances can reappear at any time in life or their symptoms can become worse.
For this reason, a more detailed diagnosis of persistent complaints can occasionally be useful in the case of lactation despite food modification. Flatulence in the context of food intolerances can occur, for example, in lactose and fructose intolerance. Increased gas formation also frequently occurs in the context of gluten intolerance. Often the flatulence caused by intolerance is associated with diarrhoea.
What can I do if I have flatulence while breastfeeding?
The most effective measure to prevent flatulence is to carefully consider your dietary plan. In doing so, possible triggers for increased gas formation in your own diet should be detected and avoided by temporary skipping. In addition, one should remember that drinks can also be possible causes of flatulence, especially if they contain carbonic acid.
Even lemonades in the light version can have a flatulent effect due to the sugar substitutes they contain. In addition, smaller meals that are regularly eaten throughout the day can be more digestible than the rarer food intake in large quantities. In addition, care should be taken to chew thoroughly and, if possible, not to speak while eating to avoid unnecessary air ingestion.
If flatulence already exists, various herbs and spices can help. Caraway, fennel and aniseed are known to help, have a flatulence-relieving and relaxing effect. They can be taken in the form of herbal infusions or teas.
In addition, fennel in particular can also be used in cooking and thus increase the digestibility of the food. Exercise can also be helpful to release gases more quickly, relax the bowel and prevent flatulence. In addition, massages of the abdomen with circular movements can have a relaxing effect.
Heat in the form of cherry pit pillows or hot water bottles can also be helpful. In addition, it is important to allow gas to escape in the case of flatulence and not to keep it cramping, as this can worsen the symptoms and make the abdomen painfully tense. Exercise can also be helpful to release the gases more quickly, relax the bowel and prevent flatulence.
In addition, massages of the abdomen with circular movements can have a relaxing effect. Heat in the form of cherry pit pillows or hot water bottles can also be helpful. In addition, it is important to allow gas to escape in the case of flatulence and not to keep it cramping, as this can worsen the symptoms and make the abdomen painfully tense.
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