When NOT to listen to your Doctor??

Jessica - posted on 12/18/2009

My personal experience was that once I became pregnant my milk dried up! Hope it does not happen to you! Good luck!

Carol - posted on 12/18/2009

ONe important thing to understand is the most Doctors (even pediatricians and OB/GYNs) get little to know education in medical school about breastfeeding. One of my closest friends is a peditrician and she got a total of less than 2 hours education about breastfeeding in medical school. She did recieve some education AFTER medical school, but that was from the formula companies and even she knew that what they were calling "education" about breastfeeding was iffy at best. Her patients are lucky that she knew that she did not know enough about BF and on her own she took lactation consultant classes. She now has a full-time lactation consultant in her practice.

FWIW, I breastfed my second child for 46 months. This was through pregnancy #3 and then tandem for a few months. For the vast majority of women there is absolutely NO REASON to wean to become pregnant or when you do get pregnant. The only women that should really not BF while pg is those that are on FULL pelvic rest (ie no sex, no orgasm etc). Breastfeeding does NOT cause miscarriage or preterm labor.

Have your cycles returned yet? Are you watching your fertility signs? Take Charge of Your Fertility is an excellent book about maximizing fertility (regardless of BF status) and watching for your fertility signs so that you can appropriately time sex. I would also recommend the book Adventures in Tandem Nursing (Nursing through pregnancy and beyond) by HiIlary Flower. You can read an excerpt from it here: http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/i...

This also has good info on fertility while breastfeeding: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertil...

HTH!

Amber - posted on 12/18/2009

I wonder if she was really trying to say something slightly different, but it didn't come across well. Breastfeeding can act as a birth control for some people (although not reliable), and she might have been saying that you would not be able to get pregnant or would have a hard time getting pregnant while breastfeeding. She could have also been referring to the fact that many women "dry up" while pregnant. One of my best friends was breastfeeding one of her children, and got pregnant while the child was 8 months old, and within just a few weeks she was unable to continue breastfeeding because she had no milk left. I've read that it can be your body's natural response to preparing for another baby, and that it can be hormonal fluctuations.

The preterm labor situation as it relates to breastfeeding is very rare from what I understand. There is also some discussion in naturopathic and homeopathic circles that it is probably not affected by breastfeeding and doctors just blame it on that because they do not have any other answers. I do not have enough information to form my own opinion on that, and I have never had to deal with it so I can't say one way or the other. It's something worth considering, but because it is rare, I would not weigh it too heavily in my decisions if it was me.

I am very skeptical of the medical community for reasons that I won't get into here (I will say though that my skepticism has stemmed from some very bad experiences with my own health, and doctors being proven wrong many times). I tend to say "if you don't think it was correct, find answers outside of what they are saying." However, in this case, you might want to give the doctor a second chance to explain exactly what they meant. If she says anything other than what I listed above, which are just "maybes" anyway, then I would consider looking for another provider.

Jacqueline - posted on 12/17/2009

It is 100% ok to nurse while you are TTC and pregnant and AFTER you give birth! Esp if your baby right now is 9 months! You are in the go to TTC again :) However, once you do get pregnant, the taste of your Breast milk changes. It is up to your little ones if they accept it or not. If they dont, you will see alot of spit up or not wanting to nurse.

Here is a site that will help and there is a book on Tandem Nursing as well!!
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBtandem.html

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!

Michelle - posted on 12/17/2009

I breastfed while pregnant. My OB said it was fine, my pediatrician said it was fine. I don't know why your pediatrician would say that unless you are a high risk for early labor or other pregnancy complications. That's the only reason I could see it interfering.

Briana - posted on 12/16/2009

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJanFeb08p32.htm... Read this article! I was curious about the same thing. I found myself pregnant while my daughter was only 8 months and I did not want to stop. My dr told me that I had to stop and I told her she was wrong. lol. I had lost quite a bit of weight but the problem was that I had no idea that I was pregnant at first so I didn't increase calories at all I actually was eating less because I just wasn't feeling well. So anyways after promising to eat more she left me alone. lol. but anyways read the article because I found it very accurate and helpful.

Caroline - posted on 12/16/2009

I breast fed my son all through my pregnancy with my daughter (they are 18 months apart, so he was 9 months when I got pregnant). I am still breastfeeding both of them (she is now 9 months and he is 27 months). It is definitely possible. It is definitely rewarding, and it is definitely tiring. It is also definitely a personal choice.

Jodi - posted on 12/16/2009

Thanks anyone! I felt really bad second guessing my doctor, but your replies have made me see, no matter how much I LIKE my doctor, she may not know what's best for me all the time. I think I will be contacting a different doctor whom I have seen a few times when I was pregnant. Thanks again! Your advice is extremely helpful!

Eleisha - posted on 12/16/2009

While it may make it more difficult to conceive (particularly if you are exclusively feeding) you can still BF while pregnant as long as the pregnancy is "low risk" and "normal".

Teresa - posted on 12/16/2009

I do know that it is possible to breastfeed while pregnant (not from personal experience), but in some circumstances it is not advisable. Like was already mentioned above it can put you at risk for miscarriage/preterm labor, but I think that would most likely only be if you were prone to complications anyway. Also, it would be an issue if you were not able to consume enough calories.



I will not be getting pregnant again, but I'm almost positive that if I were I would be one that should not breastfeed while pregnant.... I'm under 100 pounds, had a complicated twin pregnancy, and have suffered 2 miscarriages..... If you had no issues during your first pregnancy then I would definitely consult a second opinion.

Becky - posted on 12/16/2009

I love how doctors state a lot of stuff as fact! It's so frustrating instead of just saying in thier opinion. I'm a nurse and finally have figured out over the last couple of years that MDs don't know everything, but like to come across as if they do. I would research everything that your md says and/or ask WHY? (gosh, I sound so bitter here, sorry! Can you tell it's one of my pet peeves?:-))

Brenda - posted on 12/16/2009

There is no reason to stop breastfeeding while pregnant unless you have serious preterm labor. That is the ONLY reason. Doctors are not always right. Unfortunately a lot of them are stuck with wrong information and incredibly breastfeeding stupid. Just because they are a doctor does not mean they know everything.

Please read here for some information about breastfeeding and pregnancy: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertil...

Cassie - posted on 12/16/2009

I am almost 10 weeks pregnant and still breastfeeding my 14 months old.

As Carol said, once you do become pregnant, you may continue to breastfeed as long as there is no history of miscarriage and you are not carrying multiples. The issue with breastfeeding is that it can cause slight contractions. Many doctors will advise that you stop breastfeeding because the contractions could cause pre-term labor. From all the research I did when I found out I was pregnant again, I have learned that the "contractions" that may be caused by breastfeeding are equal or less than the contractions you would have during an orgasm. Because having sex is deemed safe during pregnancy, so is breastfeeding in most cases.

April - posted on 12/16/2009

i always tell moms to go with their gut instinct...if it doesn't seem right to you, it probably isn't. I would get a second opinion, just to validate what you already know.

Johnny - posted on 12/16/2009

As far as I understand, breastfeeding can make it more difficult to conceive because it alters some hormonal interactions. As well, breastfeeding during pregnancy is often not advised for women with a history of miscarriage. However, my understanding is that it is perfectly safe to breastfeed throughout pregnancy and even tandem feed your current child and new baby. I would suggest talking to another dr. about this and I will attach a link to a breastfeeding site with excellent information on this sort of thing.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/tandem/index....

Elle - posted on 12/15/2009

You should be able to cont BFing while TTC and during pregnancy. But your doc knows your history and may have a reason for saying this. Ask your current doc why she thinks you shop stop BFing. Most healthy women can get pregnant and breastfeed.