Talking about D-MER

I wanted to do a post on something that I personally wasn’t aware of until I started experiencing it while breastfeeding Anthony.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I did a poll a few weeks ago asking if anyone had experienced D-MER (Dysmorphic Milk Ejection Reflex), and a very small amount of you did.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There isn’t too much information about it, but basically it’s a condition (that affects some breastfeeding women) characterized by an abrupt onset of negative emotions right before your milk ejection reflex takes place (milk let-down). Basically, it’s a physiological response to milk release, in which inappropriate dopamine activity leads to negative feelings experienced by the mother. I won’t get into all the physiology of it - but I’ll leave some resources in my stories if you want to check them out.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Not all moms experience the same feelings. I personally read about one mom who described it like this:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“If you have read Harry Potter, they talk about the creatures that suck the soul out of you, and when they are around, it makes you cold and you start to focus on negative things and fall into this abyss of negative thoughts — that is how D-MER was for me at times.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And, for me, it’s the same way. I feel overwhelmingly negative and anxious, when I’m usually a positive person.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It is not the same as postpartum depression.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It is not a general dislike of breastfeeding.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Mine will come on about a minute before I feel my let-down, and it’ll be gone within 30 seconds of it. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but to me it is. Knowing what it is, and knowing that there’s a reason for my feelings, has helped drastically. I hope that this can help someone else who has noticed these feelings and hasn’t figured out why.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Did you experience D-MER? Comment below ⬇️: