Seeking Women Who Have Nursed While Also Being Pregnant?

I was wondering about this situation the other day actually. I wasn't sure if it was possible or safe, so let me just say my advice to you is to be better safe than sorry. Ten months of nursing is a HUGE accomplishment and you shouldn't feel guilty if you have to, or think it is best to stop. The trouble weaning is going to happen at any age you decide to wean, so that shouldn't be a factor. I would do what is best for the next baby, this ten month old allready got huge huge benifiets from the ten months you nursed. You would feel horrible if you lost this pregnancy because you continued to nurse. I know it can be a stressful and guilty feeling to stop nursing, but again...ten months is a huge accomplishment and you can't always plan or prepare for what life throws you. Good luck!

I nursed while pregnant for several months and it was fine. Now obviously if we lived in an age where there was no prepared formula you would nurse and back in the day people had kids back to back so my thought is that it is more a societal issue than a health one. Go read up online info through LaLeche or other pro-nursing organizations and I think you will find good info to help you nurse while pregnant and keep yourself and developing baby healthy. Good luck!

Congrats on the news of your pregnancy!

I am nursing a 12 month old and I've thought about the "what if's?" of getting pregnant... I go onto kellymom.com message boards a lot and the ladies there are really helpful. In addition, they have very helpful moderators and lots of helpful articles and links to the kinds of breastfeeding questions you might have (like this one!)

I do know that lots of women do nurse through their pregnancy. At a LLL meeting I attended, I do remember a lady saying that it was painful but only in the beginning. Maybe though this doesn't happen to everyone? I'm sure you can get a lot more information at kellymom.com and also from your OB. But personally, I always do my own research when it comes to breastfeeding issues because not all health care professionals are really bf-friendly. So I've either done my own research and if needed, double checked it with a lactation consultant.

Good luck in making your decision and congrats again on your growing family!! : )

M.,

I would really recommend that you get in touch with your local La Leche League. There are many women who belong to that organization who extended breastfeed and I'd think you could find someone who has tandem nursed (nursed an older and younger child at the same time) and nursed while pregnant. I've done a bit of reading on the subject and from what I understand, nursing while pregnant is really not harmful to either child but it can be really tiring for mom. I got pregnant when my older son was 18 months old and I was still nursing him. Even though I had severe preterm labor with my first pregnancy, my OB was not at all concerned that I was nursing. She did say that if it started to cause contractions as I got further along, we'd need to talk about it but she though that even with my history it probably wouldn't be an issue. I ended up miscarrying that pregnancy but I don't think it had anything to do with nursing. I've got a history of miscarriages and I had never felt "pregnant" so I don't think the pregnancy would have gone on no matter what I did or didn't do. From what I understand, if you nurse while pregnant, your body prioritizes who get the nutrients. The babe in utero gets first dibs, the nursing toddler second and mom third. So make sure you are eating a really healthy, nutrient dense diet and take your vitamins. The only real concern I've seen with women who nurse while pregnant (other than exhaustion) is that at some point, you will likely lose your milk supply (which would be a much bigger deal if your older child was 4-5 months old instead of 10 months +). I've also seen instances (I'm on a few yahoo mommy groups) where the older child has self weaned because the milk changes during pregnancy and some kids don't like the change. I'd think if you develop intense morning sickness, you would want to think more about weaning because you'd have a hard time getting enough calories and nutrition for all of you. I'd really recommend that you check out La Leache League. You'll get much better, first hand advice that way. Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy!

:-)T.

Hi Michelelle,
I nursed my son while pregnant. The most important thing is that you take in enough calories to support all 3 of you. When I was about 3 1/2 months pregnant my son was just over a year and of course nursing much less so my milk naturally dried up on it's own. I agree with the other person who said that if you're comfortable doing it and do not feel any discomfort then go ahead, take care of your infant who still really needs that time with you.
good luck,
R.

I think you should do what feels best. Check out the La Leche League website for info but remember they will recommend breast feeding at all cost. My cousin is struggling with the same decision. The worst thing you can do is be stressed so decide what you are most comfortable with and be confident in your mother bear insticts.

First, I want to congratulate you on the coming of your next baby. Well, when I got pregnant with my second child, my daughter was under 2 yrs. of age and I had a hard time weaning her as well. I called a La Leche League Leader and she told me that it was perfectly fine to breastfeed while pregnant. I went ahead and my daughter practically weaned herself at my 6 month of pregnancy. The milk changes its flavor and becomes rather salty and bitter. I recommend you reading this book from La Leche League, The Wondrful Art of Breastfeeding. This book is like the Bible for Breastfeeding moms and reading this book helped me out as well. I hope you find this information helpful and useful. Good Luck!

Hi M.,
I too found out that I was expecting again when my dd was 10mos. I am 12weeks pregnant now and still nursing. The one thing I noticed is that I was not pumping the same amount of milk during the day at work as I used to. That was hard for me at first but I ended up having enough milk frozen so that my dd has enough to get through until 12mos. I have stopped pumping now, but still nurse when I am with her in the mornings and nights. My Dr said that there is absolutely nothing wrong with nursing while pregnant. Just try to take care of yourself by getting enough sleep and make sure you are eating enough calories so that you can continue to nurse and grow a strong baby. I have decided not to wean for now. Some babies will wean themselves because the flavor of the milk will change eventually in the pregnancy.
I think if you are content nursing now I would not abruptly stop. And if you do want to wean you could do it slowly over the next couple months and it will be less stressful for all involved.

I nursed for the first 6 months of my second pregnancy and both were fine, I started to slowly wean my daughter around 12 month just to give me a month or 2 off before the new baby and to get her use to not wanting it so when i nursed my son there would be no problem, but you should ber fine.

M.,
I have not done this as my children were all 3 or more years apart, however I am going to say quite frankly, your OBGYN is absolutly correct, it is fine. We were made to have babies and breast feeding is part of that. I think its sad that the "doctors" sometimes get so caught up in what they think our bodies can or can't do that they all but forget that the body is self-contained!! Your body will know its carrying and providing at the same time. Give nature some credit, women didnt used to have bottles, and I for one don't suppose they all managed to never have babies aged this close?
Relax and let nature do what it does. I will tell you I have 4 natural births, not even a single pill for any of the labors or births, why, because I know my body can handel it. I feel sad for the women who put themselves in such a dangerous place as to add shots and epidurals ect. Anyways I am getting carried away, sorry, I wish you all the best and all the luck in the world in 2 years its gonna be 2 at the ages of 1 and 3 ....WOW! you are at this point one year from now, officialy
WONDER WOMEN!! :o)

God Bless
C.

Hi M.!

It is more than perfectly fine to continue nursing while pregnant. Your body is more than capable of providing nutrients for both the growing baby, as well as your nursling. : ) Many, many people tandem nurse, and nurse through pregnancy. Let me find some articles and studies for you, and I'll repost or email you privately. Nursing while pregnant is not going to cause a miscarriage. I have read the studies, as well as have many friends who have nursed while pregnant.

No need to wean the little one! : )

Christy

I had history of miscarriages but continued nursing my two year old while pregnant with my second. Of course it was not as much nursing as a 10 month old. I would encourage food and cup too but continue nursing. At 20-24 months the milk changes taste to colostrum and my toddler told me the milk tasted yucky. I told him the milk was changing into baby milk and he lost interest at that time. Some moms do nurse two and I don't think that is strange at all but the toddler may think he has hit the bonanza when all that new milk comes in! I would recommend you take naps every day to keep up with all of this since nursing does require your body energy to make milk and pregnancy does too. Be sure your eating healthy and drinking enough too ( that helps reduce contractions)! I hope your home is a big mess as it should be with all that you are doing! Take care of yourself during this special time!

K.: moving to Petaluma from Bellevue,WA in July. Married mom with two young teens.

M.,
I was still BFing my 2yo when I got pregnant. The research that I did showed that BFing cannot cause a miscariage and basically its an old wive's tale. I would listen to your OBGYN.

My dd is 10 months old now too and for me it would be really hard to end our nursing relationship this early. But on the other hand, BF might make your pg more difficult than it needs to be. Or, continuing bfing might be easier if weaning proves difficult.

From what I understand, it's possible to even continue to bf after the new baby is born. Your body automatically adjusts (supply and demand) and will produce enough milk. I guess many babies wean themselves during the second or third trimester, though. The theory is somehow the hormones make the milk taste bad :-). Maybe you should just wait until then.

btw, I did end up weaning my 2yo before Felicity was born. I started by cutting back some of the feedings until we were just down to the nightime feeding (don't forget to substitute lots of cuddle time.) Then she decided that she was a big girl and didn't need to nurse anymore!

I nursed for a few months while pregnant - I thought I was doing okay, but I had actually drained myself down too far and ended up in the hospital - dehydrated and with extreme anaphyaltic allergies.

If I did it again - make sure you are getting enough B Vitamins all 3 - lots and lots of WATER - - - and lots of rest! Baby yourself just as you would during your 8th month of pregnancy - because you will feel fine until you are in over your head and by then it's too late....

Be a pregnant princess and let people wait on you - and you will be okay.

Good Luck!

Hi M., I too found out I was pregnant when my son was 10 months old and I nursed him till he was 12 months. My obgyn said it was ok and I am still pregnant with no complications. Best of luck and congratulations! S.

Hi! I am in the same boat! I am still nursing my 22-month-old and am 11 weeks pregnant with my second. I was told all the same things you were, lots of conflicting information. I tried at one point just to wean him, but I became engorged and it was very painful. I was told not to do it this way because I could get a breast infection. I've been in a lot of pain recently because of sore breasts, so I just told my son that they were "owie". He has really weaned a lot since. He is down to just once or twice a night. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks he'll be completely weaned. If it weren't for the soreness, I would probably still be nursing him. I hate breaking that bond with him. I've heard that it's completely harmless to nurse while pregnant, so do what you want! Don't worry about it! Good luck!

Hi,

As a Latation Conusltant and a mom who nursed through a pregnancy I can offer both points of view.

As an LC nursing through a pregnancy is rarely an issue unless mom has a history of miscarriage due to uterine stimulation. You are 4 wks along, you have a history of a irritable contractions. The issue here (re: the contractions) is would nursing right now cause a problem? Not sure. It might - but then again it might now. You could wean cold-turkey (not reccommended!) and still miscarry as 25% of all pregnancies spontaneously miscarry (I believ that is the perctenage). You could continue to nurse and be fine.

Weaning cold turkey is not reccommended for several reasons - Your daughter is not ready. It could be emotionally traumatic for her. Are you ready to trade her needs in for a 4 wk-old pregnancy? Weaning cold turkey will also put you at risk for engorgement and mastitis. NOT fun!

As the pregnancy progresses your milk supply will begin to dry up on its own - that is a natural part of the process. As the estrogen levels increase, the prolactin levels drop. The body stops producing milk as it has been in order to put its energies towards the new pregnancy. Your daughter may well wean herself due to lack of milk. Sometime kids will nurse through the pregnancy (as my 2nd son did) and then you can tandem nurse - a whole new adventure!

As an LC I reccommend listening to your gut - do your research and make a choice that is best for you and your daughter.

It is a tough choice - my suggestion as a mom is to stick with the baby who is already here - continue to meet her needs. I had a pregnancy when my 2nd sone was about 14 months old. I was given the same conflicting advice as you. I chose to keep nursing as it was so very importnat to him in SO many ways (he was still refusing solids for one). I miscarried at 8 wks. Had I quit nursing, we would have lost so much. He would have been emotionally traumatised and quiet honestly so would I. Several family memebers blamed the nursing for the miscarriage but they were wrong. It was just something that happened - that old 25%... When he was 18 months old I got pregnant again and carried to term. He nursed through the pregnancy (owie! nipples really tender!) and was a big help when my milk came in after his little brother was born. We tandem nursed for about 9 months. Because I chose NOT to wean for a that first preg. I lost, we nursed for 3 yrs and 2 months - not just 14 months...

Think about it...only you can make the final decision. It can be confusing - sometimes we have to look at what is in front of us right now and put that first...and sometimes not. :)

Good luck!

Warmly,
J. Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

I found this article. In the end it is up to you. I say continue nursing as long as you feel comfortable doing it. Your daughter may ween herself.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_362.html
Globally, a new pregnancy is one of the most common reasons for weaning. Sometimes the baby will initiate weaning because the milk tastes different or is less plentiful. Sometimes the mother will decide to stop from fatigue, from nipple pain, or from fears about the effect of nursing on the new baby. Still, millions upon millions of women around the world do choose to continue nursing while pregnant.

Some people feel that if you do nurse while you are pregnant, you will somehow steal nutrients away from the baby forming inside of you, or your breast milk wouldn't be an adequate source of nutrition for your older child. I disagree with this. Your body instinctively makes the forming baby a very important priority. Whatever nutrients you take in will be shunted directly to help this unborn baby grow. If you maintain adequate fluid intake and adequate nutrition, there will be plenty left over for your breast milk to be a rich source of nutrition. Moreover, your one-year-old should be getting so many other rich sources of nutrition at this age that she'll do fine. I believe continued nursing can be a great experience, provided that Mom pays attention to her own body's needs. It is the norm in many, many cultures today and in most cultures throughout history. The luxuries of formula, other sources of infant nutrition, and birth control are relatively recent inventions: in other societies women have had to nurse while pregnant, and have done just fine.