In a message dated 8/6/2003 11:59:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes:

> I am working with a mom who is 44 and went through extensive infertility
> treatments to conceive her first child at age 42, through in vitro fertilization.
> She is happily nursing this child who is about 18 mos or so and feels that
> nursing is still very important to her health and well being.  She and her
> husband are searching for information and cannot site any specific studies that
> insist upon weaning in order to conceive other than a
> generalized response from
> their doctor who just says, "you just should wean."


How about the reference in Lawrence & Lawrence indicating the lactating woman's hormones appear to return to prepregnancy status at about 6 months postpartum? (I'm away from my refs just now, so be sure to double-check that but I'm pretty sure that's about right!)

Obviously, this woman is not getting any younger or more fertile, so what if she weans and still can't achieve pregnancy due to other factors? There definitely is no guarantee that if the last pregnancy at 42 was difficult to achieve that it would be equally, much less more, likely at 44 y.o. -- with or without any BF. Is there any preliminary work-up that could be done, e.g. has menses returned, has the doc done a FSH, have they been tracking temp, etc.?

Karen

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