Riordan & Auerbach, p 687 notes:
"Some women repeatedly experience "inadequate" menstrual cycles (i.e.
cycles in which too little progesterone is produced to sustain a
fertilized ovum after the end of lactational amenorrhea).  Indeed some
women who wish to conceive are unable to do so until after the
breastfeeding child has been entirely weaned, because even token
breastfeeding may provide inhibitory stimulus to prevent ovulation or
adequate progesterone production."

Since it seems that even under ordinary circumstances, some women have
trouble conceiving and continuing a pregnancy while nursing, it's
logical that even token toddler nursing could potentially affect the
complex, unpredictable process of IVF.  It's an expensive,
emotion-fraught procedure, and it does seem that waiting until the first
baby weans might increase the chances of success.

It might help this mother to acknowledge that this, like most parenting
decisions, has to be made with incomplete knowledge of the future. She
doesn't know of she is among "some women" in how nursing interacts with
her pregnancy.  She doesn't even have any guarantee that IVF will ever
work for her again. The only firm fact is is that she should enjoy and
do right by the real child in her care now, regardless of a possible
child in the future.  She may need to take a more active role in
weaning.  But she should at least be able to feel satisfied that this
child's breastfeeding was brought to a happy, peaceful conclusion, even
if she never manages to become pregnant again.

Margaret Wills,
LLLL, IBCLC

P.S. Just one anecdote about how unpredictable bodies can be -- I know
someone who finally had a first baby after multiple, expensive IVF
procedures, then went on to have two "bargain" babies unassisted,
tandem-nursing through the whole experience.  It was almost as if the
initial pregnancy and lengthy nursing corrected the system.  Who
knows...

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