Some women notice that they become aroused during breastfeeding. Although this sensation is similar to a sexual response, it is not sexually driven. It is your body's way of preparing the breast for breastfeeding. Talk with your partner about your feelings, concerns, and expectations.
One issue rarely mentioned is that the breastfeeding experience is very sensuous in itself and some mothers may become aroused during breastfeeding (Hotchner, 1979; Lawrence, 1989; Mueller, 1985; Reamy & White, 1987). This is a normal phenomenon. Yet, mothers may feel guilty if they have these feelings.
Breastfeeding's good feelings are often emotional as well as physical. Many women report a relaxed, calm state, helping them bond with their babies. Others even say they experience euphoria, a breastfeeding high brought on by the release of the hormones oxytocin and prolactin that accompanies baby's sucking.
The combination of increased prolactin and oxytocin may make you feel great pleasure from breastfeeding. Your emotional and physical intimacy needs may be met by breastfeeding your little one, so your sex drive may decrease. You may not feel the need or desire to seek affection from your partner.
It is perfectly safe for your child that you have sex while breastfeeding – as long as the person you have sex with is healthy. What I mean is that sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, can, of course, harm your child (and you!), but the sperm will not in any way destroy the breast milk or harm your child.
When you breastfeed, your body makes the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. Oxytocin produces a peaceful, nurturing feeling that allows you to relax and focus on your child. It also promotes a strong sense of love and attachment between you and your baby.
Waiting the recommended six weeks will give your body plenty of time to heal, so as long as your partner is gentle, you shouldn't have to worry about tearing or causing further damage to the area.
According to Baby Centre, you need to wait because you're losing lochia as your uterus heals, and penetration before the bleeding halts could quickly lead to an infection. So, as a result, the general wait time before penetration, including fingering, is four to six weeks or when your doctor's given you approval.
Heighten Arousal
Some people are sensitive to breast or nipple stimulation and may experience sexual feelings while breastfeeding their partner. Breastfeeding your partner could bring about an unexpected and enjoyable aspect of your sexual relationship.
Myth: Babies who have been breastfed are clingy.
All babies are different. Some are clingy and some are not, no matter how they are fed. Breastfeeding provides not only the best nutrition for infants, but is also important for their developing brain.
An infant's intestinal tract responds to its mother's milk by sprouting receptors that detect the hormone, activating neurochemical signals that can travel all the way to the brain. These signals may influence a baby's stress response and the development of brain regions that regulate emotions such as fear and anxiety.
Breastfeeding was positively associated with IQ performance in children and adolescents. On an average, more breastfed participants had high IQ scores than non-breastfed participants (19). These findings agree with ours to some extent.
It seems that babies following birth innately search for the breast as long as they are not interfered with.
Babies are drawn to attractive people
A baby may be staring at you because they think you're beautiful. We're not kidding! A decades-old experiment found that newborns and young infants spent more time staring at faces that adults deemed attractive.
A baby who's exclusively breast-fed gets about half of his or her daily calories from the fat in breast milk. As a result, caloric restrictions aimed at reducing weight are not recommended for babies 2 years and under. Excess fat and calories can still be a concern, though.
There is absolutely NO evidence that a large breastfed baby will become a large child or adult. In fact, there is good research to indicate that breastfed babies are less likely to be obese children or adults than babies who were formula-fed.
Early nutrition influences infant growth and body composition, which may play a role in the infant's metabolic programming. Breastfed infants appear to have higher fat mass than formula-fed infants, but most comparisons have been cross-sectional, and evidence is scarce.
You can soothe, bathe, change, dress, cuddle, and burp your baby. You can also keep your partner company during feedings and make sure that she has plenty to eat and drink. Watch for hunger signs. Learn your baby's hunger cues so that you can bring your baby to your partner for nursing sessions.
Not only are you dealing with lower estrogen, but you're producing a hormone called prolactin that stimulates breast milk production — but can further dampen your sexual desire. Some new moms are also self-conscious about their post-baby bodies.
The pelvic floor muscles elongate during pregnancy and are stretched with birth. As a result, after birth “the muscles usually tighten up in response,” Mortifoglio says. Extended pushing, tearing, stitches, or an episiotomy only increase the tension, with additional inflammation and pressure to the area.
In her book Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet, Amy Bentley argues that distaste for public breastfeeding in the US began with the sexualization of female breasts in the 19th century and was accelerated by the rise in processed baby food occurring around the same time.
An infant's intestinal tract responds to its mother's milk by sprouting receptors that detect the hormone, activating neurochemical signals that can travel all the way to the brain. These signals may influence a baby's stress response and the development of brain regions that regulate emotions such as fear and anxiety.
The research group concluded that breastfeeding had no significant effect on intelligence (18).
A baby who's exclusively breast-fed gets about half of his or her daily calories from the fat in breast milk. As a result, caloric restrictions aimed at reducing weight are not recommended for babies 2 years and under. Excess fat and calories can still be a concern, though.