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QUESTION: Can you breastfeed your entire pregnancy? Advice?
“I just had a baby in November, and I just found out that I am pregnant again. I’m full of emotions and worry. One thing is my breast milk. I’m pumping and I worry that it will go away once I’m further along in my pregnancy. Has anyone been able to pump or breastfeed the entire time?“
Community Answers
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
“Unfortunately, pregnancy is hormone based, and many women do lose supply or see a drastic decrease in the first trimester. It’s more likely you will need to supplement, but definitely not impossible. You could be one that is able to keep the supply. Just watch for diaper output and monitor babies weight as well. Try to not stress about it. I like the group tandem nursing.”
“My doctor told me I had to stop breastfeeding because I started getting contractions around 27 weeks. She said since I was producing milk my body was saying it’s time to go into labor and it’s way too early!”
“When I became pregnant with my son I was still breastfeeding my then 18 month old. I think I dried out soon after because she stopped on her own which was good because my doctor had told me to stop by 20 weeks into my pregnancy to avoid an early birth.”
“I’m almost 7 months pregnant and still nursing my 1 year old. I only let her nurse at night and unfortunately throughout the night too.”
“I lost my supply completely by the time I was 14 weeks pregnant with #2. I ended up having to wean #1 because it hurt way too bad to dry nurse and he was SO mad that his milk was gone.”
“My son did breastfeed until I was around 25 weeks. Around that time the taste of the milk changed and he self-weened.”
“Look at Tandem Breastfeeding groups for support. A lot of women manage it, some kids have a nursing strike or wean due to the change in taste, but often come back to the breast once the baby arrives. My 18-month-old is currently on strike but starting to show an interest again now, so I’m hoping she’ll come back to it when my son comes in 5 weeks.”
“I breastfed my whole second pregnancy and tandem nursed for 9 months. It’s difficult at first but is definitely doable. It all depends on your body though. My boyfriend’s brother’s wife dried up when she was pregnant so she didn’t get to tandem nurse. It also depends on your child. Some children don’t like the way the taste of the milk changes when you’re pregnant and will self ween.”
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