Does breastfeeding stop mum getting ill?

[anna matronic]

I stopped breastfeeding all but one feed per day about 6 weeks ago. Since then I have had a terrible cold constantly. It started around the time of the Royal wedding (April 29th) when I got a blocked ear, then it turned into a cold, which Evan got and recovered from, then turned into a terrible chesty cough.

I was not ill once whilst I was breastfeeding from October to April, plus hadn't been ill since last Easter either.

So can my illness and failure to recover be to do with stopping breastfeeding? Or could it be that my immune system is shot to shit and I'm really run down?

 

[kelly29]

i reckon its your immune system hun go get some pick me up vits xxx

 

[Lightworker]

Not in my experience. I have been ill alot during these last few months. I think my immunity is low due to lack of sleep though x

 

[freckleonear]

I've also been wondering this for a while. Whenever I get colds I seem to recover much faster when I'm breastfeeding and this week I had food poisoning which was horrible but only lasted half a day.

 

[MissCurly]

I havnt heard any science behind this, but i've experienced something similar. I would generally pick things up quite easily, but since pregnancy and breastfeeding, its been cut down massively.

I mean i still get the odd cold but its never been to the point where i am soo ill i cant do anything, (and this happened to me atleast 4 times a year!). so im wondering too if there's a link?