Should I Continue Nursing My 6 Months Old Son While Pregnant?

Nursing while pregnant is perfectly safe. Many women notice a drop in milk supply as the second trimester begins due to hormones, but there is no issue with continuing to nurse your baby. Many women will go on to nurse both children (called "tandem nursing") after the new baby arrives. Check out www.kellymom.com.

The only circumstance where it might be suggested that you not nurse during pregnancy is if you were having problems related to preterm labor or miscarriage. This is one of those "just in case" things- there is no scientific basis for it and no evidence that it is harmful to breastfeed. Congrats on your pregnancy!

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I did not, however, my good friend has kids 13 months apart and she didn't stop. In fact, for the first 2 months with the new baby, she tandem nursed them both. Her son weaned himself at 15 months and she nursed her daughter until just over a year. She didn't have any problems with her pregnancy or with nursing. She also never *asked* for her doctor's opinion or advice. She simply told her she was nursing while pregnant. If it's what you want to do, I say make your decision known confidently, and your doctor may offer you advice on how to make it work best for you rather suggest you stop. Good luck & congrats! La Leche League may have a lot of helpful information, advice, and local support for you, too.

2 moms found this helpful

I didn't but I know some people that have. There is nothing wrong with continuing to nurse your baby while pregnant. It will not hurt anything. But I have heard the taste in your milk will change when pregnant so some babies will start to wean themselves but if I were you I would continue to nurse as long as you can.

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I continued to nurse my daughter through my 2nd pregnancy and after her brother was born. My supply went down quite a bit during the pregnancy,butI confirmed with my GYN that there was no need to wean. He seemed to think she would self-wean during the pregnancy due to the decrease in supply and a change in taste...but she didn't.

I found out I was pregnant with our second child, our first was 9 months old. At the time I was pumping exclusively (she never would latch on...but that is another story!). My OB said you can nurse until 20 weeks, after that weaning is a good idea because your body needs to provide more for the new baby. So that at least gives you a little more time. Remember, that new baby needs you too! By the way, I was devastated when I found out I was pregnant the second time around. Turns out she was the best oops I could have. My girls are 16 months apart and they are constant companions. I love having two. Have one was lonely and boring at times, but two--no time for boredom anymore! Love the younger one just as much as the first--no way could I imagine life without her. Good luck.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I'm currently expecting my fourth child. I've nursed through two pregnancies, and the beginning of another (weaned at age 2). My supply did drop off during the second trimester for a month or two. Yet, I continued nursing and did tandem nurse my first and second for several months. I found that I was much more sensitive and uncomfortable nursing during pregnancy, but it is certainly worth the effort. La Leche League and the World Health Organization recommend breastfeeding for 2 years. The fact that you are asking this question shows what a wonderful, loving mother you are. I wish you all the best!

B.

i hve heard if the baby is feeding and your pregnant the milk taste change some babies r ok with it but some aren't. So i think up to youbut you need to remember it makes you tired and so des pregnany so if you can handle it. ood luck and talk to your ob

You may find information and support at: www.bfmed.org, bfmed.wordpress.com, and the local LaLeche League. My daughter felt she had to stop nursing the first child and later learned she wouldn't have had to. Search for the support you need to make a decision you are comfortable with -- ask lots of questions just like you are... :) I can't help but wonder what did women do generations ago when they had breastfed babies and pregnancies -- long before formula and the little ones bodies weren't ready to digest and handle food other than mom's milk? **Congratulations on both your bundles of joy!!**

Many moms nurse through pregnancies. Other than some tenderness at times and possibly the baby fussing about taste changes (some never mind at all, some do but they adjust), you should have no problems. Good luck!

Congratulations!

Do not stop!!! Your 6 month old needs mama's milk for as long as you can give it to him!

I nursed during my entire pregnancy and am tandem nursing my boys which has been great for bonding as well as protecting both of them during cold and flu season.

I can't imagine why your ob/gyn would recommend you wean. Check out www.kellymom.com. It is an awesome website.

I do know that a lot of ob/gyns will recommend weaning if you have issues with preterm labor (truly preterm, not just your last baby coming a couple of weeks early). But, there are studies that say that isn't the case anymore.

You may notice some sensitivity while nursing and pregnant....I certainly did, but I sucked it up because I truly felt it was best for my nursling.

The nice thing is that when my son was born, my milk "came in" (although it was already there) in 12 hours and my baby never even lost weight and gained really well. We had no latching issues and no concerns at all.....

It was again a great way to allow my older son to stay connected to me and with his new brother. You will have a really young older sibling and I think nursing them both will ease that transition for him.

My ob/gyn and then my midwives (I switched to a midwife center) were both encouraging of me continuing to nurse.

Good luck and congratulations.

Hi K.,

I became pregnant with this baby when my son was 2 months old. I've never had a problem with milk supply, but when my son was 3 months old, I noticed that I was not producing as much, and my let downs were less frequent. I was like WHAT IS GOING ON? I also stopped losing weight, and I was totally confused!

So I started supplementing with formula here and there, when I thought he needed it. Soon, I started feeling so tired that I could not stay up past 7 in the evening. Pregnancy never crossed my mind, until I started noticing that things seemed especially strong to my nose, and I started feeling sick. I took a test, and lucky me, it was positive! I continued to nurse as long as I could...but soon I realized that I was going to have to eliminate one of the demands on my body, and since I could do nothing about the baby on the inside, I stopped nursing my son. It was an agonizing decision, though, as I had always breastfed my other children to 18 months or so.

My Doc was fine with me continuing to nurse, but she did warn me to continue to take my vitamins, and to baby myself whenever possible. We started giving our son Similac, and he did just fine with it. He is almost 10 months old, and he loves his bottles! As long as you don't have any preterm labor issues, or anything like that, I would imagine that it would be okay for you to continue, but talk to your doctor. Make sure that you let her know how important continuing is to you. Congrats on the new little one! I say if you can keep going, then do it! It is so rewarding.

K.

Not necessary at all! Ask my 4 year old and my 2 year old! I had my second full term, perfectly normal and healthy son and nursed my then 2 year old during labor! It's fine and unless you are having preterm labor signs or are told that you can't have sex, then it's perfectly normal.

Congratulations! I didn't read the other responses, but here's my input: My first child was also 6 months old when I became pregnant with my second child. My GYN told me to wean immediately but I did my own research and concluded that it was perfectly safe to continue nursing. (I talked to several mothers who breastfed throughout their entire pregnancies.) So I did...until my baby turned 10 months old (in my second trimester) and he absolutely refused to nurse anymore (breastmilk turns salty in the second trimester) so I just quit cold turkey at that point. I was sad that I was not able to breastfeed for an entire year, but I was glad that I was able to do it for 4 months longer than my doctor recommended. The longer, the better! :) (And my second baby was perfectly healthy, too.)

Hi Katherine---Congratulations! I too, suggest that you consult La Leche. They are the breastfeeding experts, way more so than any Doctor. It seems to me that historically, before birth control, women would have had to breastfeed while pregnant. Our bodies are infinitely capable, so trust your instincts.

This may be a little off topic but nutrition would be a big concern for me. I guess you could say that you are eating for 3 now. You are going to have pay special attention and eat better than you ever thought possible. An optimal diet, for anyone, should consist primarily of fresh fruits and veggies (10+servings), whole grains, legumes (beans), nuts and seeds. I am a Wellness Educator, taking a series of classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in nutrition. I have lots and LOTS of great info I can share with you on how to get more fruits and veggies into your diet in order to optimize your pregnancy and therefore your health . I do not charge for these consultations. My passion is to help others, and pregnancy is the second best is the best place to start 'raising' healthy people.

Again, congrats and I look forward to hearing from you. In health, D.

I see you have a lot of responses. I just thought I'd add my 2 cents, hey you'd be that much richer lol!
When my 1st child was 6 months old, I found out I was pregnant. Everyone told me to quit nursing b/c I would starve the baby... NOT TRUE!
I was getting WIC at the time, and they told me that as long as I gained the right amount of weight, AND did not start having contractions (i.e. early labor) to keep going. Plus at 6 months old, kids start solids so you are not nursing as much.
I breastfed my oldest until he was 13 months old!! (7 months pregnant!) I stopped cold turkey with him because one night I started haveing contractions. Could have been braxton hicks, but I was not going to take the chance, plus we made it over a year!
So, Keep nursing! Eat right!
You only need to stop if the unborn baby isn't gaining like he/she should or you start contractions... Enjoy!

(p.s. perfect excuse to all you want!! You are now feeding for 3! LOL! just eat healthy :) )

No worries. Nursing while pregnant is fine. Just be sure to eat right and take good care of yourself. The nutrition of two others is depending on it. Congrats and enjoy!

Like the others have said, it's fine to nurse while pregnant. I nursed my daughter for the first 3 months of my pregnancy with my son. Then I finished weaning her since she was 2. I would have weaned her at 2 pregnant or not (cause I was persolnally done!) so pregnancy didn't factor in. If she had been 6 months when I was pregnant, I would have nursed her much longer, to a year at the very least. So keep going.

I don't buy the needing to wean by 20 weeks. Your body will send what it needs to the baby first, then your milk, then you get what's left. The idea that lactating is stealing nutrients from your unborn baby is a myth.

It fine to continue. I ended up weaning my first while pregnant simply because it was too painful for me. If you can get through that part - I always thought it might be very helpful to have someone who knows what they are doing when you're trying to get that newborn started!

Good luck and congratulations.