Hello there Kim -

Congratulations on your new baby.  Weaning during a pregnancy can be hard on
both of you but sometimes it is easier to wean than worry.  There is very
little research out there on the subject of nursing while pregnancy or
tandem nursing.  Once of the few policy statements comes from the American
Academy of Family Practice Physicians.  They state:


Nursing Beyond Infancy
Breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is currently
not the cultural norm and requires ongoing support and encouragement.
Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy
is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the
woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years of age,
the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the
nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help to
provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.

You can access the entire policy at http://www.aafp.org/x6633.xml.


While the contractions can be very scary, they do not always result in
preterm labor.  I have three children.  With the first, I started having
contractions at 61/2 months, baby was 10 days post dates.  With the second
pregnancy, I started having contractions at 51/2 months, he was born the day
after he was due.  With the third pregnancy, contractions started at 6
months and baby was born a few days late.  With the second and third, I
nursed through the pregnancy.  With all three, the contractions were so
strong that I felt that it was dangerous to drive after 7 months pregnant
because the contractions were so strong that I could not concentrated and
more than 10 times per day.

My experience may not be yours though and you will need to make the decision
that makes you comfortable.  If you go into preterm labor, you will wonder
if it was the nursing.  If you wean, you will wonder if you would have
really delivered early if you did not wean.  Whatever you decide it will not
be easy but it will be the best decision that you can make at the time.  You
only have so much information and you need to decide based on that and what
your heart is telling you.

Good luck,

Linda Pohl, IBCLC
Phoenix AZ

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