nursing while pregnant... or not?

[hollyh]

DD is 16mo old. I just found out that I am pregnant w/ #5. :) I had planned to nurse until she was around 2 but now am leaning toward stopping just b/c of (primarily dh's) fear of miscarriage. I don't know how valid that is though - the impression I get from reading online is that dr.'s recommend you stop, but that LLL and others say it is fine. That is a bit confusing to me. So, I ask the hive- what say you? What is your experience like?

[Loowit]

I continued to nurse until my milk dried up. My older child was about 2 when I got pg, and wasn't nursing very often. I have known plenty of moms who continued to nurse while pregnant successfully and then tandem nurse when the baby is born.

[SABE]

I nursed all the way through one pregnancy and went on to tandem nurse for 14 months. I nursed until around the beginning of 3rd trimester two other times (both kids weaned themselves). All 3 of those babies were full term, 8+ pounds, and healthy.

 

There's some good information about nursing through a pregnancy at this website: http://kellymom.com/...gnancy/bf-preg/

[Tita Gidge]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

I nursed through pregnancy, but this is common in my family so I didn't know to be worried about anything :)

 

My doctor never had any problems with my nursing while pregnant, but she did keep tabs on my emotional and mental well-being. She felt my emotional health took priority over any benefits associated with extended breastfeeding.

 

Do you share your husband's worry? Will his anxiety affect yours? (Rhetorical LOL)

[Sara in AZ]

I nursed half way through my second pregnancy and all the way through my fourth. I didn't necessarily enjoy it because it was uncomfortable for me, but it is not detrimental to the baby in any way.

[Melissa in Australia]

I never did it as I was one of those people who gets supper thin and also get that sunken cheek look while breastfeeding, my teeth would sort of become clear as well. I also would get extremely tired. I guess it was depleting my body of nutrients. I breastfed all mine until they were 12 months

[enviromommy]

Best wishes for your pregnancy!

 

I don't post here much, but I wanted to jump in to answer this. I have nursed partway or all the way through all of my pregnancies (except the first, of course). There are absolutely no ill effects for the baby, it's simply a myth. Very late in pregnancy, it can cause contractions or put you into labor if you are ready to go anyway, but early in the pregnancy there is no effect on the baby at all.

 

About m/c, I wanted to mention that I had a late (16 weeks) m/c between my 4th and 5th babies (NOT caused by the nursing). I was still nursing my 4th, and when I m/c, I was so grateful that I hadn't weaned #4, because it was comforting to still have my "baby".

 

Right now I am tandem nursing #5 and #6.

[Joanne]

My own research on this years ago led me to the decision to continue to nurse. Eventualy, I decided that the myth about "needing" to wean was yet another ignorant, woman hating sentiment from a non breasgfeeding culture.

 

I breastfed through 3 pregnancies - one was a miscarriage which was not related to breastfeeding.

 

When my youngest was born, I triandemed nursed for a while.

 

[carriede]

I've had two different OBs tell me that nursing while pregnant is fine. I did ask one of them specifically about miscarriage, and he looked at me like I was crazy, recovered, then said he had never read any articles even considering a coorelation.

[Aspasia]

I wouldn't say the recommendation to stop nursing is necessarily a myth. I think it's one of those things that doctors tell you just to be on the safe side. I personally wouldn't nurse through pregnancy because I have a history of preterm labor. I think it really depends on the woman. Everyone's body handles pregnancy slightly differently. I have a friend who had her first baby a few weeks early, nothing big. She insisted on nursing through her second pregnancy, against her doctor's advice, and that second baby was born eight weeks early. I'm not saying that to scare you, obviously. Just to point out that it's not exactly a myth. If you've already had four babies, you know how your body handles pregnancy. I think for most women, it isn't a problem at all.

 

Congratulations!

[Aspasia]

I've had two different OBs tell me that nursing while pregnant is fine. I did ask one of them specifically about miscarriage, and he looked at me like I was crazy, recovered, then said he had never read any articles even considering a coorelation.

 

 

Yeah, I think the concern is more about preterm labor, just because nursing stimulates the uterus. But if your uterus isn't already overly sensitive, it wouldn't be a problem.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I have 3 children and have had 3 miscarriages, 2 before our first was born. When my oldest was 14 months we got pg with dd and ds was still nursing plenty in the day. I continued nursing until he self weaned when I was 6 months pregnant and my milk had dried up. I never had any threat of miscarriage or preterm labor with dd, but I did have a huge appetite! ;) Never had the opportunity to nurse while pregnant, but I would do it again provided everything was going well, it was a very special time for me, especially after going through infertility and miscarriages, to have a baby nursing and a baby on the way.

[PrincessMommy]

I nursed during two pregnancies.. and then tandem nursed after one of my little ones was born. I've never even heard of the possibility of miscarriage while nursing - that sounds like an old wives-tale or something.

[momto10blessings]

I nursed my babies several months into my 2nd-9th pregnancies. Everything was fine.

[Erin]

I nursed through my second pregnancy until 28 weeks, when I went into pre-term labor. My midwife, as well as the two supervising docs, were fairly sure nursing had nothing to do with it, however, I did have to wean DS while on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy.

Interestingly, he never quit asking. When his sister was born 10 weeks later, he picked it up like nothing had changed. Of course, he wasn't even 2, so he was still pretty young.

 

I tandem nursed them til DS was 4 and DD 3...

[lexi]

Congrats! I found out I was expecting our third when my son was 7 months. I continued nursing him until he was about a year when he decided he was no longer interested. I didn't have any problems. My only complaint was that I was really tired. :)

[Momof3littles]

I nursed all the way through two pregnancies and tandem nursed for a while afterward. I was not at risk of premature labor or anything, and based on my research, I felt it was totally fine to continue. The book Adventures in Tandem Nursing covers this topic a bit. It was uncomfortable at times as my supply dwindled down to almost nothing.

[soufflegirl]

I nursed DS while pregnant with DD. I had tried to wean him when I found out I was pregnant again and he just wasn't ready. He was a mess, I was stressed, it was just a disaster. So I gave up, kept nursing him, and he weaned himself 2 months later. So I don't think I was much more than 5 months pregnant at that point, and I wasn't high risk.

[ktgrok]

There is no real risk of miscarriage that has been proven. Yes, it releases oxytocin, but so does orgasm. If you are allowed that, you can nurse. (someone with a threatened miscarriage on pelvic rest would be different). I was in a very similar situation, at about the same ages. I thought I'd hate nursing when pregnant but it was no big deal. She did fine, my milk dried up but she didn't care. It was painful for a while, I won't lie. But some women get the heebie jeebies and I never had that. She's tandem nursing now and man, that was nice to help with engorgement!

[LaCEmom]

As long as your healthy I think it's fine, but I was another one like Melissa who was too thin to keep it up. Especially with the first trimester nausea, I just couldn't consume enough calories. I stopped when my nursling turned 12 months and I was glad I did because I still ended up underweight all through the pregnancy.

 

Congrats on #5! I'm sure by now you know yourself well enough to know what's right for you.

[bluemongoose]

I nursed during 2 of my pregnancies and would have on the 4th, but # 3 was weaned by then. In my second pregnancy I nursed through till 2 months before delivery and then weaned my DD at 22mos because tandem nursing was not something I was comfortable doing. I ended up making the right decision because DS was born with a high palate and had a horrid time nursing. It would have been very hard to nurse DD through that.

 

My 3 pregnancy I only nursed through the beginning of the 2nd trimester. DS just decided he was done nursing and so that ended that. This pregnancy did end in preterm labor (that we managed to hold off with bedrest) but it was due to stress. The nursing didn't cause it at all. I do have prodromal labor that starts very early, but even with that, the Drs have never had a problem with me nursing.

 

Congrats on #5!!!

[VeganCupcake]

Yep, if you're on pelvic rest and aren't supposed to have s3x, then nursing during pregnancy is probably also something you shouldn't do. But for most women, it's fine.

 

I nursed through my second pregnancy and DS was born at 40w 6d. I nursed DD to sleep, and he was born 8 hours later. :) It certainly didn't cause preterm labor for me. It wasn't easy, for sure, but the difficulty of weaning seemed greater than the difficulty of continuing to nurse. I tandem nursed for 2 years and then my DD weaned, with some encouragement from me.

 

I am nursing my 2 year old now and pregnant. He's not really into nursing like big sister was, so I suspect he might wean soon.

[Ellie]

DD is 16mo old. I just found out that I am pregnant w/ #5. :) I had planned to nurse until she was around 2 but now am leaning toward stopping just b/c of (primarily dh's) fear of miscarriage. I don't know how valid that is though - the impression I get from reading online is that dr.'s recommend you stop, but that LLL and others say it is fine. That is a bit confusing to me. So, I ask the hive- what say you? What is your experience like?

 

 

Congratulations!!!! :party:

 

To think that nursing while pregnant can cause miscarriage just doesn't make sense. I go with LLL, which has major research as well as hundreds, if not thousands, of testimonies of women who nursed through pregnancy. I will take LLL's recommendations over most doctors' recommendations, with the exception of Dr. William Sears. I'm betting he says it's fine.

[bensonduck]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

The book mentioned upthread- Adventures in Tandem Nursing, by Hillary Flower, is fantastic reading on this topic. It was reassuring for me and walked through the main concerns that I had.

 

I nursed through my pregnancy with baby #2 and tandemed until my then-3 year old decided she was done. Different practitioners will give differing opinions on this so it's best to do some research, consult with your HCP, and then make the decision that is right for you and your family.

[beaners]

I was still nursing my second child when I got pregnant with my third. I nursed until about halfway through the pregnancy, but I stopped when the contractions while I was nursing were uncomfortable and my daughter was less interested in nursing. All of mine have weaned themselves around that same age, so it was a good time for us to stop. The doctor and midwife I was seeing were both absolutely fine with me continuing to breastfeed, but they did suggest I pay extra attention to my own diet during that time.

[Shahrazad]

The nursing causing miscarriage thing is mostly an old wives' tale that has been disproven, though it has SOME validity specifically when used in the instance of women who have histories of pre-term labor or cervical insufficiency, in which case they usually recommend that you wean by the beginning of the 2nd trimester. I nursed my 1st child until I was about 3-4 months pregnant with my 2nd and then weaned him because I AM one of those women with those issues and it could have made them worse and induced early labor in me because my body was already trying to have the baby early. I did find it very difficult in the first trimester though, simply because when your breasts are sore, you're nauseated, and you're exhausted, having a toddler (which he was in my case) nursing can be nails on chalkboard but I know many women who said it was no more unpleasant than before.

 

ETA: Congrats, btw!

[WistfulRidge]

I have nursed previous kids through both my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies, it is likely that I'll nurse through future pregnancies. My milk tended to take a hit around the end of the first trimester and then pretty much dry up in the early third trimester. DS2 weaned himself when that happened while pregnant with DS3, but DS1 "dry nursed" up until DS2 was born and tandem nursed for several months afterward. I just made sure my diet was good and I got plenty of water.

 

I believe, as a pp mentioned, that it is only an issue if you have a history of pre-term labor or cervical issues.

[katilac]

I do not think it raises the risk of miscarriage in a typical pregnancy, at all, and have never seen studies to the contrary. The cause of miscarriage is frequently unknown, and I think that doctors sometimes just cast about for a likely answer. Rather than simply saying, 'miscarriages are very common, and we don't always know what causes them' it's 'hmm, you're healthy, no bad habits - oh, wait, you're still nursing? yeah, that must be it.'

 

I nursed throughout my second pregnancy, and then tandem nursed for six months. The tandem nursing, to me, went a long way towards big sis being welcoming to the newcomer. They tandem nursed the day the baby was born, with me holding them both and bis sis's arm protectively cradled around baby. It was unbearably sweet, *sniff.*

 

it never bothered me at all, but my breasts don't generally get overly tender in pregnancy. As someone else noted, tandem nursing was GREAT when there was too much milk - the toddler was always willing to help out, lol.

[LibraryLover]

I've known women who have done this. It's possible, but not without it's challenges.

[JenC3]

Nursed dd through ds's pg and ds through dd2's pg. No problems. Dd 2 was early and low birth weight, but it was a placenta issue so nothing to do with nursing.

[TrixieB]

I continued to nurse until my milk dried up. My older child was about 2 when I got pg, and wasn't nursing very often. I have known plenty of moms who continued to nurse while pregnant successfully and then tandem nurse when the baby is born.

Same here. My older child had just turned 2 when I got pg. My milk dried up sometime in the the third trimester and my dd self-weaned. She didn't show any interest in resuming nursing after my younger child was born. Some of my friends nursed their older child all the way through pregnancy and tandem nursed afterward.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I'm another who nursed almost all the way through my second pregnancy. My milk dried up almost entirely fairly quickly (which was fine, as oldest DD was already 2--didn't slow her down a bit). I never noticed any adverse effects of any kind and had a very healthy second pregnancy. I will say, though, that emotionally, it was hard for me to keep nursing past a certain point. Eventually, I didn't even want to be touched, and I wish I had started putting limits in place a bit earlier than I did. By the time I weaned my oldest (2 months before youngest was born), I was so burned out on nursing that I was convinced that I would have to bottle feed the new baby, and I was not very happy with myself. My oldest was very, VERY attached to me and to nursing, though, so it was hard. (Thankfully, as soon as DD8 was born, all the right hormones got themselves in place and we went on to nurse for two years--whew!)

 

I would say, just be aware of whether or not you're stretching yourself beyond where you're comfortable, and take care of yourself. You may not have any issues with it, in which case, great! But you may, so be gentle to yourself and do what you need to do to stay sane.

 

Congratulations, mama!

[ktgrok]

My advice is to do whatever works and is easiest. I assumed nursing when pregnant would be horrible, and that it would be easier to wean. But it turned out it was just easier to keep going. So that's what I did. If it had become easier on me to wean I would have done that, assuming the child was past say, 18 months give or take.

[MistyMountain]

I nursed during my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy. I never worried about a miscarriage caused by nursing and I did worry about miscarrying. My oldest weaned when I was 19 weeks pregnant and my milk supply lessened. My son nursed through the whole pregnancy but at the end he was only nursing once. He kept that one nursing session after my youngest was born and didn't ask for more even with a baby nursing.

[Dustybug]

I've been breastfeeding every time I got pregnant after the 1st time. I nursed every time for as long as I could stand it. Eventually the soreness would get to be too much and I'd stop.

[hollyh]

Hi ladies! Thanks for the thoughts/responses. It gives me a bit of confidence in continuing to nurse. I'm still not 100% decided on it, but I think I will continue on. :)

[duckens]

I nursed all the way through pregnancy, and have tandem nursed ever since. I have NO regrets over this.

 

The downs:

At a certain point in your pregnancy, your nipples may become EXTREMELY tender. This means that your breastmilk for new baby is coming in. (For me this was 28 weeks. Yes, it was so traumatic that I still remember what week it was!!!) Older dd (3.5 at the time) knew that if she wasn't careful with the biting, we would wean that week!!! After a week, the tenderness dispelled.

 

The new bm may arrive anytime after ??24 weeks?? of pregnancy. You may also realize this by softer stool from your older child since older sibling will be consuming more of that healthy breastmilk!

 

The ups:

When we left the hospital, new baby was not gaining weight as she should. She seemed to be nursing fine, but the we were all concerned. Loverboy bought formula to supplement, while I spent a certain amount of time crying. We had a follow-up with the lactation consultant, and the consultant encouraged me to keep pumping so my milk wouldn't dry up within two weeks. When she learned that older sister was still nursing, we all brightened. "Well, then, you have LOTS of time to figure this out!"

 

Because older sister was still nursing, we had LOTS of time and LOTS of choices. Those doors would have been closed to us if I had weaned older sister before little sister's birth.

 

We had a happy ending. We learned what little sister needed (a breast shield), and she became a strong nurser within a month.

 

Disclaimer: Little sister was not undernourished because older sister drank all of the milk. Older sister did not nurse at all while I was in the hospital, and older sister was only allowed to nurse after little sister and on one side, so there was always plenty for the baby. Baby always got to nurse first (on both sides, if desired), and always had one breast in reserve just for her.

[happyhomemaker25]

Best wishes for your pregnancy!

 

I don't post here much, but I wanted to jump in to answer this. I have nursed partway or all the way through all of my pregnancies (except the first, of course). There are absolutely no ill effects for the baby, it's simply a myth. Very late in pregnancy, it can cause contractions or put you into labor if you are ready to go anyway, but early in the pregnancy there is no effect on the baby at all.

 

About m/c, I wanted to mention that I had a late (16 weeks) m/c between my 4th and 5th babies (NOT caused by the nursing). I was still nursing my 4th, and when I m/c, I was so grateful that I hadn't weaned #4, because it was comforting to still have my "baby".

 

Right now I am tandem nursing #5 and #6.

 

 

My Lily had just turned a year old when I found out I was pregnant again. It hurt like all get out when she latched, but not too bad after that. It only lasted about 10w though when I ended up with an ectopic (not from nursing) and had to stop for about a week after my surgery. I was so thankful that I still had milk and she latched right back on after that week was up. The comfort was great. We nursed another 6m before she weaned.

[happyhomemaker25]

Best wishes for your pregnancy!

 

I don't post here much, but I wanted to jump in to answer this. I have nursed partway or all the way through all of my pregnancies (except the first, of course). There are absolutely no ill effects for the baby, it's simply a myth. Very late in pregnancy, it can cause contractions or put you into labor if you are ready to go anyway, but early in the pregnancy there is no effect on the baby at all.

 

About m/c, I wanted to mention that I had a late (16 weeks) m/c between my 4th and 5th babies (NOT caused by the nursing). I was still nursing my 4th, and when I m/c, I was so grateful that I hadn't weaned #4, because it was comforting to still have my "baby".

 

Right now I am tandem nursing #5 and #6.

 

 

My Lily had just turned a year old when I found out I was pregnant again. It hurt like all get out when she latched, but not too bad after that. It only lasted about 10w though when I ended up with an ectopic (not from nursing) and had to stop for about a week after my surgery. I was so thankful that I still had milk and she latched right back on after that week was up. The comfort was great. We nursed another 6m before she weaned.

[HS Mom in NC]

I didn't read the posts, I have to go soon.

 

La Leche League International has the study of the 1,000 women who nursed during pregnancy. There was no increase in miscarriage among mothers who nursed through pregnancy and those who did not. That doesn't mean there weren't women miscarrying, it meant stopping nursing will not increase your chances of carrying the baby to term.

 

I nursed through pregnancy and attended toddler nursing meetings with LLL. There were two dozen women there nursing through pregnancy and none miscarried or had abnormal deliveries except for me. I had placental attachment/uterine bleeding problems which is unrelated to nursing. Those two daughters of mine are 22 mos. apart (both full term.)

 

Some women experience a decrease in milk supply during pregnancy. Some don't. Some experience an increase in nipple sensitivity. Some don't. Some experience an increase in irritability that isn't physical. Some don't.

 

Some have braxon hicks contractions when nursing. Some don't. I had uncomfortable ones (in addition to placental problems) so I weaned my oldest temporarily for the 7th and 8th months of pregnancy just in case because I wanted to avoid a preemie (in extremely rare occasions some women's oxytocin receptors mature early causing preterm labor) with my abnormal pregnancy. When I resumed nursing at 35 weeks, it did not cause any real contractions or dilation so I was wrong to wean.

 

I always gave the newborn priority nursing and the toddler was nursing a few times a day. The newborn was never undernourished and I never start solids with my bio kids until their first birthday. I never used supplemental bottles or sippy cups before then of any kind and they were well nourished and hydrated.

 

I weaned the oldest completely on her 5th birthday and the other weaned herself at 4.5 years old. Of course at that age they are usually only nursing once day or even less frequently than that.

 

Added in an edit:

I had three miscarriages that each ended in the first trimester. Then I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. So, having a history of miscarriage does not immediately exclude you from nursing successfully during pregnancy.

[StaceyinLA]

I nursed into all of my pregnancies until my milk would dry up (around 5-6 months pg). My dd nursed through her entire pg and is tandem nursing my grandkids.

 

When I was a LLL leader, we had plenty of moms nursing during pg and tandem nursing; never saw any complications.

 

I would agree with the pre-term risk if you had those issues in other pregnancies, but I don't think it's nursing so much as it's your body's tendency, and nursing causes the contractions which would exacerbate it.