This morning we were talking about whether or not breastfeeding while pregnant causes miscarriages. The notion that it does is not backed up by any scientific studies at this point. However, based on what we know, it is reasonable to assume that it is perfectly fine to breastfeed while pregnant. Understanding how the uterus works and responds to hormones during various stages of the pregnancy can help us understand the complicated mechanisms of how it’s possible to carry one and nurse the other. The general rule of thumb is that if you’re medically cleared to have sex during pregnancy (which by the way also produces oxytocin and causes uterine contractions) then you’re allowed to breastfeed.
Another common myth surrounding breastfeeding and pregnancy is that you will not be able to nutritionally support both breastfeeding a child and your growing fetus. This is a little bit more of a complicated issue to examine. The short answer is however, that if mom is healthy and eating a nutritionally balanced diet, there’s no reason that she must wean. A healthy mother can support both processes. There are a few thoughts on this issue however, that I’d like to examine more closely.
Are You Nutritionally Supporting Your Infant with Breastmilk During Pregnancy?
The normal process is that you stop ovulating while breastfeeding. If you practice the lactational amenhorrea method of birth control, most women will have children every two years. This means that your first infant would be about 13 months when you got pregnant with your second. By 13 months, most babies who are nursing are not being nutritionally supported by exclusive nursing. They are deriving other benefits from the nursing relationship but the bulk of their nutrition is coming from solid food. Therefore, you don’t really need to worry about whether or not your baby is getting enough breastmilk.
Can you nutritionally support an infant who is not on solids, and be pregnant? There is not a lot of research on this but my opinion, as someone who supports nursing during pregnancy, is that if you get pregnant and your baby that you are nursing is exclusively dependent on you for their nutrition, you should slowly work your way towards partial weaning. Why? During pregnancy, your milk production will slow down significantly. But your baby will need a more substantial food source. (Incidentally, there is not a lot of research on this, because not a lot of women get pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding a baby under 6 months of age. It happens–but it’s not a horribly common occurrence if you’re following the rules of natural childhood spacing.)
So to sum up:
*If you get pregnant and your nursling is on solid foods–you don’t have to wean at all.
*If you get pregnant and your nursling is NOT on solid foods–you should work towards building their diet through other food although you do not have to wean completely if you don’t want to.
Look soon for more articles on this topic.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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