Breastfeeding has always been considered a beneficial practice with positive outcomes for you and your baby—it has always been encouraged by the doctors. However, moms may become apprehensive about breastfeeding their toddlers if they have conceived again. Doubts may arise whether breastfeeding is safe for the unborn baby and may affect the quality of milk. Some doctors advise moms against breastfeeding during pregnancy while others say it is perfectly safe, leaving behind some unanswered questions and a confused mother.
At the other end, moms may feel that the onset of pregnancy is a signal that they should refrain from breastfeeding. For a few, the milk supply may decrease, others may feel discomfort while feeding as a result of the pregnancy hormones. Sometimes, nursing may feel annoying when the child is extremely demanding and the mother is experiencing fatigue or pregnancy sickness.
Some moms feel positive about breastfeeding and continue the practice after conception. They may not want to lose breastfeeding as the opportunity of bonding with their toddlers during pregnancy.
What Do The Behemoth Organizations Of Pediatricians And Physicians Have To Say?
The Academy of American Family Physicians (AAFP) mentions that if there are no complications related to pregnancy and the mother is in good health, there is nothing wrong in breastfeeding during pregnancy. They leave it to a mother’s personal choice.
AAFP also added that breastfeeding the child during pregnancy and after the delivery of the next baby helps in a smooth transitioning for the elder child psychologically.1
In fact, to encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding, they also mentioned that it is best for the health of both the mom and the baby if she continues to nurse for at least 2 years.2
The Academy of American Pediatrics (AAP) gives a green signal to mothers for breastfeeding during pregnancy provided they don’t have a history of miscarriage or premature delivery—in which case they should constantly stay in touch with their doctors and immediately inform them of an untimely uterine contraction.3 This is because nipple stimulation during breastfeeding may increase the risk of delivering too soon. Though it isn’t something to get worried about, mothers must not ignore any signs or signals that their bodies are giving. This brings us to the next question which may worry moms.
Can Breastfeed During Pregnancy Increase The Risk Of Miscarriage Or Preterm Labor?
No research has found any links between breastfeeding during pregnancy and preterm labor. One such research that was published in Journal of Nursing Research studied such a possibility.4 Two groups of 320 expecting women were made during an experiment. In one group, the moms breastfed their children for around 30 days during their pregnancy, the moms in the other group didn’t. The study found no difference in the rates of full-term or preterm babies in both groups. Apparently, they found no effect on the birth weight of the newborn of mothers who breastfed their elder child.
Another study was conducted in 2009 that focused on the risk of miscarriage in women who nursed their children during pregnancy—it included a total of 774 pregnant mothers.5 Out of the expectant mothers who breastfed their children, 7.3% experienced a miscarriage. On the other hand, 8.4% of mothers who did not breastfeed developed a miscarriage.
The results of the study were explicit and no way related a miscarriage to the practice of nursing during pregnancy.
All the studies denying any harmful effects of nursing present a clear picture that breastfeeding is absolutely safe during pregnancy. However, it is also a mother’s personal choice to feed her baby when there is already a bun in the oven. It might reduce the milk supply for a few mothers, but it certainly doesn’t reduce the nutritional value of the milk.
Mothers, it is very clear that breastfeeding your kid while carrying a child is your personal decision and no one can question you about it.
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