Hi everyone, this is my first try at sending a message to Lactnet, and
I'm hoping it works!I'm totally computer illiterate, but my hubby is
helping me out.
I subscribed to Lactnet a few days ago and have been enjoying reading
everyone's stuff. It is very interesting to hear what others are dealing
with.
In way of an intro., I am Ellen Vegh, a LLL Leader, mom to a daughter, 8
yrs., a son, 5 yrs. in a few weeks,. and a son just turned 2 yrs. I just
moved to Pittsburgh 2 months ago, after being in Baltimore, MD for 7
yrs.,
I find the subject of lactation endlessly fascinating. The rest of the
world just doesn't know how much there is to this field.
My goal is to take the LC certification exam in a few years, once my
youngest is older and I am able to focus on something for more than 20
seconds at a time. . . plus, I need more counseling hours to qualify to
sit for the exam, although I do think I know a lot about bfeeding, I
know there's more I need to learn.
It has been exciting today to read of everyone who passed the recent
exam. I'm sure it is a tremendous high! Hope to someday have that
feeling myself.
To switch gears, I've wanted to add my two bits to the query about
nursing during pregnancy. I have been lactating for 8+ years straight
now, ever since my first baby was minutes old! And I have 3 kids. . .
what this means is that I obviously became pregnant while nursing, not
once, but twice (actually 3X, I had one miscarriage -I am sure NOT AT
ALL related to the nursing).It is quite possible to get pregnant while
nursing! Although I think occasionally a mom will have trouble because
the ovulation is being suppressed by the nursing- I know of one case in
part., the mom could not get pregnant while nursing and her ob suggested
she wean- which she did, reluctantly- but it did the trick, she did get
pregnant.She did not want to wait for the first child to wean herself
because she was I believe in late 30's/early 40's and didn't have a lot
of years left to have another child in.
It certainly is not necessary to wean if a mom becomes pregnant while
nursing. -assuming everything's ok and the mom isn't having premature
contractions, etc.- the mom just needs to make sure she's eating enough
of a well-balanced diet, getting sufficient rest- if the nursling is
very young and still nursing a lot, the mom will really need to pay
attention to adequate food intake and rest. Some moms simply don't feel
emotionally comfortable nursing during pregnancy, and they find this a
natural time to wean. Two common 'side-effects' (for lack of a better
term) that I experienced were - nipple soreness due to pregnancy was a
little hard to tolerate when the nursling nursed, but after a few months
that went away. I just tried to take a few deep breaths and relax and
remember my child's need to nurse; also, some women report a feeling of
being 'antsy' while the nursling nursed, and I sometimes experienced
this myself- again , a minor annoyance outweighed by my child's needs.
If everything is okay with a pregnancy,. I don't think the nipple
stimulation caused by nursing will alone be responsible for causing a
miscarriage or premature labor. In fact, during my last pregnancy, I
experienced several episodes of bleeding/ cramping or just bleeding at
different points in the preg., and it never occured to me not to let my
son nurse. In fact, it can be emotionally healing to nurse a child while
dealing with such things. It was comforting to me to nurse my daughter
through the period when my miscarriage occured. Let us not forget,
bfeeding is a comfort to the mom, not just the nursling!
Does this help the LLLL looking for info. in this area? I think nursing
during pregnancy is quite common among League members.
Remember, it is the mom's choice- what she feels comfortable with.
I know I've rambled on, but not knowing anyone here in my new home, it
is good to talk to some fellow zealots!!!Anyone out there from
Pittsburgh area? (I am specifically in Mt. Lebanon).
Ellen
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