Mary Kay,

Occasionally there is the mom who needs to wean to conceive.  I got
pregnant/lost 2 pregnancies while still nursing my 2-3 year old.  7 weeks
after weaning, I conceived my 2nd child.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  I
truley believed that I could conceive and maintain a pregnancy while B/F, and
had several friends who did so.

I weaned my daughter a month after her 3rd birthday (with her consent).  My
vaginal secretions (which I had thought were back to normal) greatly
increased.  I would tend to think that the rest of my 'female anatomy' also
changed to a state more conducive to fertility.

Since no other lactating animal continues to nurse throughout a pregnancy, I
think that it is our optimal nutrition and life without dangers (we are
neither starving at intervals, nor afraid for our lives on a daily basis)
that allow for pregnancy and lactation to occur simultaneously.  I no longer
think that it is either normal or natural.  But it is possible, without
causing harm to any of the participants.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Margie Forrest, RN, BSN, IBCLC
The Lactation Corner at Palms West
Loxahatchee, FL

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