Infants with reflux disease often have issues related to food long past weaning, they often avoid eating as they associate food with pain and are slow to gain weight. Reflux babies sometimes nurse in a way that keeps moms milk supply down in order to limit their intake, so as to avoid the discomfort of reflux. It is such a vicious circle, baby needs to eat to grow, baby does not enjoy eating as it causes pain. Mom needs baby to nurse to keep her milk supply up to the baby s current needs, baby doesn t nurse in such a way to encourage more milk. Baby s weight goes down, moms milk supply goes down.
Baby needs more food, but is resistant to eat.
This is the heartbreak of reflux for many moms and babies. Reflux is not the only challenge to breastfeeding that can result in a nursing strike of course. I ll go over a couple of other situations that can cause a nursing strike. Sometimes it s the milk flow that slows down. This can happen when a baby does not nurse for pleasure as well as food.