Can i breastfeed while pregnant

Are you ready to try to conceive your second child, but still enjoying a breastfeeding relationship with your firstborn? Or perhaps you are breastfeeding your child over a kicking baby belly? If so you are not alone—far from it. If you are eager to avoid unnecessary weaning, you have good reason.

Human milk provides important nutritional and immunological boosts for as long as a child nurses. Besides, what better way to rest your tired pregnant body while caring for an active baby or toddler?

In contemplating the healthiness of an overlap you will want to consider how breastfeeding is fitting in with your needs for rest, adequate pregnancy weight gain, and your overall sense of well-being. You will do well to take into account that breastfeeding can be painful or agitating for many mothers for some or all of pregnancy, leading some mothers to push for weaning.

Another concern you may have is the fact that breastfeeding causes contractions. Could breastfeeding trigger preterm labor or miscarriage? I have dug deep in the scientific literature and interviewed over mothers, seeking hard facts to help mothers make the most informed and balanced assessment they can of this important safety question. Nipple stimulation releases the hormone oxytocin into the bloodstream. Oxytocin also tells the uterine tissue to contract. All women experience uterine contractions during breastfeeding, although they are usually too mild to be noticed.

Nipple stimulation can be used to ripen the cervix when a woman is at term, and can also augment labor after it is underway. Answer From Melissa A. Kurke, R. With Melissa A. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Wambach K, et al. Postpartum care. In: Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. Jones and Bartlett Learning; Meek JY, ed. Breastfeeding beyond infancy. Bantam Books; Focusing your attention towards something other than the discomfort may provide some alleviation.

Many women also have concerns that breastfeeding while pregnant may contribute to fatigue. Yes, fatigue is a normal part of all pregnancies. Thus, it is certainly understandable that you may be hesitant to breastfeed due to fear that it may require more energy and add to your fatigue.

However, breastfeeding is not tiring in and of itself. Sitting or lying down to breastfeed may actually help ensure you get the extra rest you need. If you decide to breastfeed while pregnant, it is essential that you eat well for the health of your nursing child and your unborn child. Your calorie intake will depend on how old your nursling is. You will need around supplemental calories per day if your child is eating other foods besides breast milk or more calories if he is less than six months old.

This is in addition to the extra calories you need during the second trimester and the extra calories you need during the third trimester.

If you are in your first trimester and find it difficult to eat due to nausea , you will be relieved that no additional calories are required during the first trimester.

Ultimately, when breastfeeding and pregnancy coincide, the primary considerations you have to look at, our relationships and feelings. You will want to consider the needs of your unborn child and your nursing child in addition to your own feelings. While you may want to leave your options open depending on the situation and the needs of you and your children, the decision is essentially up to you.

Feldman, S. Nursing through pregnancy. New Beginnings, 17 4. Retrieved from. Harms, R. Continuing to nurse your older child after your new born arrives can help maintain and strengthen your special bond. Mothers often say that tandem feeding helps their older child to be more accepting of their newborn sibling and helps them through the emotional transition of having to now share their mum.

Tandem feeding can also foster a special bond between the siblings. Our page Tandem Nursing has more information. Tandem nursing Thinking of Weaning? References The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Adventures in Tandem Nursing. Flower, H.

Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple. Mohrbacher, N. Amarillo, TX: Hale Publishing, How Weaning Happens, Bengson, D. Bumgarner, NJ.