# ‘What to Know About Depression and Anxiety While Breastfeeding’, 2021 > [!cite] > ‘What to Know About Depression and Anxiety While Breastfeeding’. Healthline, last reviewed 22 September 2021. [https://www.healthline.com/health/breastfeeding/dysphoric-milk-ejection-reflex](https://www.healthline.com/health/breastfeeding/dysphoric-milk-ejection-reflex). > [!abstract] > Dysphoric milk ejection reflex is described as a flood of negative emotions during breastfeeding that corresponds specifically to milk letdown (milk ejection). --- ‘When these negative feelings correspond with your milk letting down during a feeding, you might be going through something called dysphoric milk ejection reflex, or D-MER.’ [[Healthline, ‘What to Know About Depression and Anxiety While Breastfeeding’, 2021|(Healthline 2021)]] ^fd2ab8 ‘Parents who have dysphoric milk ejection reflex usually feel a rush of negative, depressing feelings right before their milk lets down. Often, parents don’t know what’s happening, are quick to blame themselves for feeling this way, and may feel that they’re the only ones going through this.’ [[Healthline, ‘What to Know About Depression and Anxiety While Breastfeeding’, 2021|(Healthline 2021)]] ^5fa55f ‘D-MER usually includes feelings of depression, anger, and anxiety. Everyone experiences it a little differently, but the main characteristics are negative, unwanted feelings. Some of the other feelings described by breastfeeding parents include: hopelessness feeling homesick or wistful feeling panic or paranoia self-loathing feelings of dread or a sense of impending doom anger or irritability thoughts of suicide’. [[Healthline, ‘What to Know About Depression and Anxiety While Breastfeeding’, 2021|(Healthline 2021)]] ^48ad33