# Breastfeeding and mini-pill NOT OK (IMO)



## laurencita (Feb 1, 2008)

Hey there,
If I didn't think about everything that passes through my breastmilk to my ten month old, I do now. I had no succes with the Mirena last June after dd was born so I started the mini-pill in mid-July. This is the progesterone only pill that doctors say is "safe" when breastfeeding. Beside the fact that the progesterone was affecting ME negatively, I believe it also affected my dd. She was exclusively breastfed until I went back to work. At that point she was getting some formula, too. In August, about two weeks after I went on the pill, she began getting severely, chronically constipated - going maybe once a week and it was painful for her. Not normal baby poop. She was so backed up and gassy. I immediately thought it must be the formula and we changed brands. That didn't work. The doctor had us doing all kinds of remedies. Some worked, but only sometimes and not consistently. In November we were considering Miralax and even seeing a specialist to rule out a serious problem.

In the beginning of December I went off the mini pill for personal health reasons. In one week, DD began to go 4-7 times a day - loose, very wet copious amounts of poop. All different colors. I immediately thought she had diarrhea, but the doctor ruled that out. It eventually slowed down and she goes 1-3 times a day now - normal baby poop. She can now eat whatever she wants without worry of backing up (bananas, rice, applesauce . . .) and is less bloated, actually more happy. I REALLY BELIEVE that the progesterone in the pill was causing her to have the severe constipation. After I went off the pill, her body eliminated probably weeks and weeks worth of poop. I can't believe she would go from being so severely constipated to normal overnight for no reason. PROGESTERONE IS THE HORMONE THAT CONSTIPATES PREGNANT WOMEN! Of course it could do that to her!!! The timing is way to accurate for it NOT to be that. So, think twice about what meds you take when nursing, despite what the doctors say! I am so happy she is feeling better and all is normal again.


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## guestmama9916 (Jun 24, 2006)

OMG!! That is the exact same experience I've had with DD except the constipation wasn't quite as severe. I thought it was the formula this whole time. I supplement too ever since I started back to work which also coincided with me going on the mini pill. I recently went off the mini pill because I didn't like the way it made me feel. I have been scratching my head trying to figure out why on earth DD's poops were so different and so infrequent compared to her brother's at this age. This makes alot of sense because now DD is pooping normally. Again I thought it was normal because I switched formulas trying to help with her constipation. Thanks for posting this because I would have never made the connection. Now I know to avoid the mini pill next time.


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## laurencita (Feb 1, 2008)

Thank you SO much for responding! Now I am even more sure! Aren't you so happy your dd is feeling better? This is how I feel:







:

What formula do you use? We started with Similac and now use Goodstart. Nothing made a difference! It was the mini-pill, truly, but I googled it with no success. But now I have you and your experience, too! Hooray!


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## Individuation (Jul 24, 2006)

I never had a problem with constipation and the mini-pill, and I know a lot of people who used it successfully, so I still think it might be worth a try if someone is looking for BC options.


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## laurencita (Feb 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Individuation* 
I never had a problem with constipation and the mini-pill, and I know a lot of people who used it successfully, so I still think it might be worth a try if someone is looking for BC options.

Of course it may work for some people (and be ok for their babies) but it should also be considered as a problem for some babies with constipation as a possible cause.


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## guestmama9916 (Jun 24, 2006)

We were using Similac then I tried Baby's Only organic. She had so much poo around this time that I thought it was the Baby's Only causing diarrhea but this may have been around the time too that I stopped taking the pill. I will have to think back on this. I started back on the pill briefly because I was trying to make up my mind about what to do. We went back on Similac shortly after trying Baby's Only. Her constipation returned but at some point in Nov or Dec I stopped taking the mini pill again for good. That's when I started getting lots of dirty clothes sent home from daycare due to blow out poops. LOL She has been on Similac with the probiotics since Jan and goes even more frequently now but in a healthy breastfed baby kind of way like her brother when he was an infant. It all makes perfect sense to me. It has really been bothering me about her constipation. Her dirty diapers back then were really foul smelling too. Now it smells like normal breastmilk poops. It is AWESOME to finally have an explaination. Thanks again for posting about this and kudos for making the connection!!


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