Red Head Breast Feeding

kshampeny · March 2014

Just found out last night from the nurse at our birthing class that apparently red heads have a harder time with breast feeding because we are more sensitive and it can hurt a lot more. Great. :P

And apparently according to this paper from the Journal of Perinatal Education throughout history red heads have been eschewed as wet nurses because:

"Breastmilk was deemed to possess magical qualities, and it was believed that breastmilk could transmit both physical and psychological characteristics of the wet nurse." i.e. fiery temper, stubbornness, and general level of crazy.

"...the wet nurse should not have auburn hair because redheads were known to have a hot temperament that was harmful to their breastmilk." i.e. my breast milk is poison.

Any other red headed mama's want to weigh in? Gifs would be a fantastic way to respond.

dragossoul84 · March 2014

I tried my hand at breast feeding it didn't hurt me. I was unsuccessful at it though I never got my milk to really come in. My peditrician at the time beat the hell out of me about breast feeding and not supplementing but after a short time my son had lost half his birth weight and I told her to go to hell and gave him formula he bulked right up.

Miles2Go · March 2014

angelita11 · March 2014

My DS was only 5 lbs when he was born so I did a combination of breast feeding and formula. The formula was a lot more successful for me but I still did some breast feeding for about 9 months. It didn't really hurt me but that could have been because I wasn't exclusively breast feeding. I don't really think it has anything to do Witt my red hair.
I hope to breast feed and pump this time around. I was on the mag last time and DS spent the first night in the NICU so he actually had a bottle before I tried to breast feed. I think that might have had more to do with it than my red hair. I hope I have better success this time.

Peaceb0ne · March 2014

Miles2Go · March 2014

QOTR · March 2014

Interesting.... My mom was a fiery redhead and didn't have any problems. Until I had 4 teeth come in at 4 months old that is.

Kaylee524 · March 2014

Well, darn.

LeeLee86 · March 2014

Lol I have no GIFs but this sounds along the same lines as all the other stuff I've heard. There are a lot of diff shades and that has something to do with it as well. Ya know "science n stuff".
My OB told me I'm a bleeder so I will most likely faint and will have at least 3 nurses on me anytime I am mobile in L&D. Was also told an Epi prob wont even work on me bc of my drug threshold. (Brighter) Redheads are much less receptive to drugs than others. I found this to be very true at the dentist and the other 2 major surgeries I have had.
Any other gingers experience this? They had to come back 3 times for extra doses of anesthesia to knock me out last time.

kshampeny · March 2014

Loving all the red head gifs.

@LeeLee86 Definitely less receptive to anesthetics as well. Need twice as much numbing at the dentist and woke up twice while having my wisdom teeth taken out on general anesthetic. Now I make sure to let them known that before any procedure. It's actually been scientifically proven that we require more pain juice. Here's a link to the article:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362956/

Probably something to keep in mind if your planning on pain meds during delivery.

Edited due to sucky mobile formatting.

softservecity · March 2014

I had a horrible time with DS! But... I was 19 and really didn't try very hard either. It hurt so I quit. I'm not giving up this time!

jenb_99 · March 2014

Well, I am a redhead and BF was a big fail for me the first time around, but not because it hurt. It actually wasn't all that painful or uncomfortable for me. We failed because DS spent 4 days in the NICU, where his very first feeding (and every feeding every 3 hours after that) was a full 2oz Similac bottle. I had a pump in my room, but it was just tossed in there one evening without a word. No help, no suggested schedule. So my milk didn't come in till Saturday (DS was born on Tuesday), and by then he was used to the ease of the formula bottles.

lavendergiraffes · March 2014

Well according to South Park gingers don't have souls so they probably would have a hard time breast feeding right?
*insert creepy ginger south park children gif*

kat8805 · March 2014

kshampeny · March 2014

@libbylu7 South Park got it wrong.

lavendergiraffes · March 2014

kshampeny said:
@libbylu7 South Park got it wrong.

My mistake.... That's fabulous! Ha!

Junebug060609 · March 2014

A friend of mine has red hair (ironically her name is Ginger) and is still nursing her almost 29 monther. She EBF for extra long, too, since the baby wasn't interested in regular food until close to a year.

gypsymystic · March 2014

I think this is an OWT about the sensitivity. I had no problem the short amount of time I breastfed my DS1. I have worked for a dentist, and both my second sister (I have 3) and I have red/auburn hair naturally, according to books I read in Dental School and some other sources, redheads have a higher pain tolerance. They are also purportedly more resistant to pain killers and other prescription drugs. My sister, for instance can't be numbed by novacain or lidocane at the Dentist, she will feel everything. There are some drugs that have no effect on me at all.

gypsymystic · March 2014

LeeLee86 said:

Lol I have no GIFs but this sounds along the same lines as all the other stuff I've heard. There are a lot of diff shades and that has something to do with it as well. Ya know "science n stuff". My OB told me I'm a bleeder so I will most likely faint and will have at least 3 nurses on me anytime I am mobile in L&D. Was also told an Epi prob wont even work on me bc of my drug threshold. (Brighter) Redheads are much less receptive to drugs than others. I found this to be very true at the dentist and the other 2 major surgeries I have had. Any other gingers experience this? They had to come back 3 times for extra doses of anesthesia to knock me out last time.

Ooops, guess I didn't read far enough down. A few people already mentioned this before I did.

artichoken · March 2014

I watch that girls vlogs all the time!!! I love Karen alloy

spinsoffresonance · March 2014

At least your milk doesn't have mad cow disease like mine does!

kat8805 · March 2014

You suppose it's strawberry or cherry flavored milk?

lavendergiraffes · March 2014

kat8805 said:
You suppose it's strawberry or cherry flavored milk?

Guess that depends on the color of the red hair; Strawberry Blonde or that dark red color. Does that mean brunette a have chocolate milk??? Jackpot for my LO!!

kat8805 · March 2014

libbylu7 said:

kat8805 said:
You suppose it's strawberry or cherry flavored milk?
Guess that depends on the color of the red hair; Strawberry Blonde or that dark red color. Does that mean brunette a have chocolate milk??? Jackpot for my LO!!

Borderline black my brown is so dark. We've been joking about chocolate milk from my chocolate nips for a while now.

dragossoul84 · March 2014

LeeLee86 said:

Lol I have no GIFs but this sounds along the same lines as all the other stuff I've heard. There are a lot of diff shades and that has something to do with it as well. Ya know "science n stuff". My OB told me I'm a bleeder so I will most likely faint and will have at least 3 nurses on me anytime I am mobile in L&D. Was also told an Epi prob wont even work on me bc of my drug threshold. (Brighter) Redheads are much less receptive to drugs than others. I found this to be very true at the dentist and the other 2 major surgeries I have had. Any other gingers experience this? They had to come back 3 times for extra doses of anesthesia to knock me out last time.

I need tons of anesthesia when I am being operated and am a bleeder. I did not faint though and although they had to up my epi a couple times it did work wonders I am a darker red head though

hdchafin · March 2014

The local they gave me for my epi wore off fast. He waited for a few seconds for it to take effect, and by that time it was like I had nothing. He tried 5 times to numb me and it just never worked. I felt the entire epi process, which sucked. My pain tolerance is pretty high because the locals just dont work well for me. This time, Im just planning to forego the epi, and pray I dont need stitches after. But like pp said, the stuff they give at the dentist doesnt work well, and I end up feeling alot more than I should. Some drugs I am super sensitive to, and others simply do nothing.

Pirincessamberjoy · March 2014

I had a ton of pain and issues nursing my oldest. I am hoping that a better support system and more research (me being more prepared) makes a difference with this little one.

I have odd reactions to medications. Some doses of mess are perfectly fine, and others (Valium for example) have absolutely no effect at all. I am also allergic to codeine and morphine, so my options are pretty limited.

I am also a bleeder. I hemmoraghed with my oldest and nearly had to have emergency surgery. I am having a csection this time, and they are aware of the issues I had last time.

BabyCafe · April 2014

The city recently started a free service to help moms with breast feeding (no matter what color hair you have). If you need some help, feel free to stop by the Baby Cafe.

We will offer the following FREE services to all breastfeeding mothers in Bexar County:

Group support
International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC’s)
Access to a Registered Dietitian
A place to talk and share experiences
Help with latching
Help with increasing milk supply
One-on-one assistance and counseling
Lactation management
Refreshments
A comfortable environment
Literature and other resources
Computer access for breastfeeding related information

4538 Centerview Drive, Suite 151 · San Antonio, TX 78228
Phone: 210.207.7138 · Fax: 210.207.7186
Hours: Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

https://www.sanantonio.gov/Health/HealthServices/BabyCafe.aspx

spacepotatoes · April 2014

@ErBear1010 and @kitchencolors I think we've got ourselves a spammer. Only three replies on TB and they're all the same as the above.

BabyCafe · April 2014

I'm not a spammer, I promise. The Baby Cafe is just new and we are looking to reach out to people locally that can use our services, but I will admit that I copied and pasted my response to recent posts where local moms mentioned having trouble with breast feeding to save a little time.

spacepotatoes · April 2014

BabyCafe said:

I'm not a spammer, I promise. The Baby Cafe is just new and we are looking to reach out to people locally that can use our services, but I will admit that I copied and pasted my response to recent posts where local moms mentioned having trouble with breast feeding to save a little time.

When you join a forum and do nothing but bump up inactive threads for the sole purpose of promoting a service, it does look a lot like spam. Especially when your screen name is the name of the service you are promoting.

Jillzy86 · April 2014

My mom is a red head and nursed all three of her children. My DH's cousin is a red head and she is nursing her daughter. No problems for either of them. Your nurse is an idiot for making that comment. On a personal note, I hope I get a ginger baby! My DH has a red beard and my mom is a red head. I don't know much about genetics but I think I have a shot.

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