Ok to Breastfeed While Pregnant?

Okay, this is my first post since I just found this wonderful site and joined!

I have six children, and have tandem nursed almost all of them. My four y/o still occasionally nurses for comfort, even now, and was still breastfeeding several times a day when I was pregnant with my youngest (now 17 mos). You have to be super careful about nutrition and water intake, because you're growing a new baby while nourishing another one.

Also, at some point, your milk begins to come in a bit stronger again, due to all the hormones. It also alters the flavor of the milk some--some children don't mind this, some wean themselves once there's more milk than they're used to AND it tastes differently (I've had both experiences).

Breastfeeding while you're pregnant is a wonderful experience, but like all of the moments in motherhood, has it's ups and downs. Breasts can get sore and swollen and you can get tired out. Also, it's a little daunting trying to find a way for a toddler to nurse around a big, pregnant belly! lol Luckily, most toddlers like acrobatic nursing, so they sometimes even think it's a game!

Hope this helps. Enjoy breastfeeding your daughter--now and in the future. :)

I breast feed my toddler while I was pregnant and then tandem nursed for 8 months. If you want to find other like minded moms I recommend finding a La Leche League in your area.

yes... it is called "tandem breastfeeding" Like others said, it is usually just fine as long as you don't have any serious complications. That said... it can be really HARD to keep up if you have bad morning sickness or exhaustion. I stopped breastfeeding my daughter at 21 months because even the one feeding ever night we were doing just seemed to suck the life out of me! But other moms do just fine!

By the way... you may not conceive again until your breastfeeding frequency goes down quite a lot or stops, because the some of the same hormones that are increased by breastfeeding, act as natural "birth control" (not as effective as other methods of course- but still may prevent pregnancy) I think it is our bodies way of "family planning"- so that when it works "correctly' a woman would have one child pretty much nourished by real food before she would get pregnant with another infant to support... which in the "jungles" would be a nice way to keep from getting overwhelmed as a mom.

Here is more about Tandem Breastfeeding:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/tandem/index.html

Good Luck!
-M.

Go for it. She might wean as your milk changes, but being pregnant is not an automatic reason to stop. You can tandem nurse if she doesn't wean, too.

Yes, it is perfectly fine as long as you are not having any complications such as contractions, etc. You should definitely let your practitioner know that you are nursing while pregnant, so that they are aware of the situation. You will need to be even more vigiliant about your own nutrition, as well. You can check out La Leche League for information on nursing during pregnancy and tandem nursing (nursing 2 children) if you choose to do so.

My oldest daughter has our oldest grandson who just turned 3 years old in Dec...he still nurses...mainly for comfort and sometimes at night to go to sleep...but he still nurses several times a day. She has recently given us the fabulous news that she is pregnant with another precious little one...and as far as I know she has no plans to quit nursing her toddler anytime soon, unless he of course decides it is time to wean himself.
I have heard her say that there can be some issues with breast soreness but you simply limit the amount of time that they nurse at one setting.
There are lots of Mom's in my daughters circle of friends who are tandem nursing a toddler and an infant so it definitely can be done!!!

Yes, you can but sometimes depending upon the woman's body you may or may not have enough milk for the baby. I think it's easier when babies are older. Like yours I think it would be easier, but say you got pregnant when the baby was only a few months old. Then it may be much more difficult. Because once the pregnancy hormones kick in alot of times milk supplies drop and then you won't have enough for the baby. I had two friends that had this happen to.

Yes, I did it. My daughter nursed through my pregnancy. She nursed daily until the day I gave birth and she did not get to nurse until the next day as I had a c-section and was in a lot of pain. She nursed like there was no tomorrow, and my son was gaining weight before we left the hospital. So i think all her nursing helped my milk to come in stronger, but I never had any engorgement like I did when she was a newborn. I guess the two of them were just drinking it all. My son gained weight super well, and my daughter continued to nurse for another year. My son weaned himself now, and now i miss it all. I would go ahead and continue to nurse.

Yes absolutely, about 2months to 2 weeks before delivery your milk will turn into colostrum again and I think at that time you would need to stop. Just read some other posts so apparently you wouldn't need to. I loved breast feeding but both my kids self weaned when they started walking.

ABSOLUTELY! Unless you are at EXTREMELY high risk for miscarrying, it is 100% safe to nurse while pregnant & even tandem nurse afterwards. I have many, many friends & collegues who have done so & everyone was just fine & dandy!
Good for you, mama!

I did. I got pregnant when my little one was 6 months old and nursed her until she was almost a year. Apparently it changes the taste of the milk though. I don't know if it was that or the age, but right around the same time she started to drop nursing sessions. Still, I did it for almost a year and the doctor said that was fine.

I have definitely heard yes and have known moms who have done this. Other than that I don't have any other info on it, I'm sure someone will:)

I think it is okay as long as your pregnancy is without complications. I would check with your OB. Congrats on your pregnancy.

I did... my daughter began to self ween when I was 7 months pregnant. She was 14 months old by then and my Dr said the milk changes back to a very sweet taste unlike the mature milk she was used to.

Yes. I did it twice, but did not nurse past the 6th month of pregnancy. It was exhausting for my body to be growing a baby and feeding a toddler at the same time. I was ready to be done nursing, and weaning was easy peasy since I was pregnant.

J.

IF you are not having a high risk pregnancy, you are fine to continue to breast feed. If your doc says that you are hig risk, or if you have had preterm labor before, then you should stop. You can always start back up after the new baby is born if you choose to.

At some point your milk will turn to colestrum in preparation for the new baby. Your older one may lose interest and wean, but not always.