>From:    Virginia Wall <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: LACTNET Digest - 17 Oct 1995 to 18 Oct 1995 - Special issue
>
>Let me see if I've got this straight:  from what I've been reading on the
>LACTNET, it looks like the rare but possible maternal "side effects" of
>lactation are:  nausea,* diarrhea, sweating,* headaches,*hot flashes,* dry
>eyes, anxiety attacks, ANYTHING ELSE?

Can't resist, Virginia:

1.      healthier baby
2.      happier baby
3.      less cancer in mother and child
4.      warm fuzzies in mother
5.      rested mother
6.      mother able to cope because maternal hormones normal for post-partum
7.      able to eat more food without gaining weight
8.      less chance of post-partum hemorrhage
9.      priceless memories



Diane Wiessinger writes, for the mother concerned with taking
anti-depressant drugs:

*Talk up prolactin as a substitute for paroxetine, since the mother is
>somewhat reluctant to give up a medication that she feels is working well
>for her.  Describe the relaxing, mellowing role prolactin plays.

It is oxytocin that has anti-depressive effects (rather than prolactin).
Apparently oxytocin is also the hormone responsible for suppressing
ovulation.  In studies of rats (I know, I know) oxytocin shots worked just
as well as standard rat anti-depressant medication to make the rats feel
better.
Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Specialist in infant feeding and growth of children
Texas A&M University
e-mail to [log in to unmask]
(409) 845-5256
(409) 778-4513