# trying to concieve while breast feeding



## starlite3 (Jan 4, 2011)

hi, i need help. i am using a fertility clinic to try to concieve, but they have told me i have to stop breastfeeding before they will help me. What kind of Dr recomends against breastfeeding? i need to be able to pass the prolactin blood test. my cycles are regular (for the past 5 months), and i thought it was possible to get pregnant while feeding.


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## ShwarmaQueen (Mar 28, 2008)

It is possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding for some women, but others find that it is difficult due to the hormones involved (hopefully someone will chime in) which can delay ovulation and make conceiving difficult. Sometimes just cutting down can help tremendously, othertimes, completely weaning is the only solution for a return to fertility.

How old is your DC?


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## Buzzer Beater (Mar 5, 2009)

Also, a clinic has their success rates (as well as yours I hope) in mind because they must report to SART. They will have established protocol for each ivf attempt. To get ivf at my age I had to have an ekg, mammogram, and an HSG. No fun, just the rules.

I'd hate to have to make that choice.


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## pdiannet (Apr 13, 2010)

I'm right there with you, ttc while breastfeeding my 10 month old. My supply is super low and I have fertile signs, yet no PPAF yet. All my kids are 19 mo. apart. So, this is my first go round with such a late AF. We'll see. I think night feedings need to go for me to have higher progesterone levels and/or estrogen. But, I'm not in a hurry. It's just uncomfortable nursing her when I don't have the milk in there. And I can feel my hormones fluctuating, so my moods are shifting quickly.

I don't think you should wean unless you really want to get pregnant and you feel like your baby would be ok with it.


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## vanessab23 (Nov 9, 2005)

and for some women, all they need to do is NIGHT wean to get their cycles back on track...

are you in a hurry? i mean are you approaching forty or...?

just asking b/c i like to think our bodies know what we need and what we can handle. if you are still nursing and not cycling yet, it sounds like you're body is telling you you're not ready. do you have the luxury of waiting?

i am also BF and have not had a cycle (DS2 is 22 months)...not TTC though, just exploring the option.

hope someone else has some better advice!


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## Forthwith (Aug 6, 2007)

My wife and I are waiting until DS weans to go back to our fertility clinic and try for baby #2. There are two issues that concern us (and probably the fertility clinic that gave you the advice):.

First: If you are breastfeeding, it can make it much harder for you to concieve. Some women can get pregnant while breastfeeding, but some cannot. So if you go back, you may end up wasting all your money on cycles that have no chance of working.

Second: Unless you're planning on getting an unmedicated IUI, you'll be taking some pretty potent drugs and hormones. Do you really want your baby to be exposed to them through your milk?


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## monica3674 (Nov 20, 2006)

I tried to go back to the fertility dr I saw to get pg with DD1. He also said no until I stopped bf. He also said that it wasn't 'natural' to bf and take steps to ttc. I told him that bf was the only 'natural' thing going on.

I instead started seeing a midwife who specializes in trying to help mothers bf older children try to get pg. I took vitex, pregnancy prep supplements, and went on the south beach diet (for pcos issues.) It worked! I nursed DD1 throughout the pg.

It did take 28 months for my period to come back after dd1. It just came back after 21 months  with dd2.

Good luck!


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## sraplayas (Mar 15, 2005)

*Starlite*, my heart goes out to you!

All of the posts have been great. IMS, the ND I work indicated that she'd like to see a few cycles first before doing any tests but she is giving me a great herbal tincture that helped with my last pregnancy (similar to monica?









I have only worked with DO's and NDs and Homeopaths, but I've found that overall they have been very supportive of extended BFing and tried to work with me in achieving a healthy pregnancy while nursing. I really hope that you can find something that works for you!


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## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

monica3674, i asked in another forum and nobody answered me  but.. to clarify : (cause i'm in the same boat, i'm 37 and nursing and ttc - though we did get pregnant a few months ago, we had an early blighted ovum loss- not connected to the bf, of course, and i'm ready for my cycles to be regular while ttc. )

you were under the supervision of a good healthcare provider midwife, and it's safe to take the pregnancy prep while nursing? i've got some leftover from my first pregnancy and want to take them but can't find out whether they're compatable with bf.

so to add, if it helps you other ladies any, we DID successfully conceive, while bf, and at an 'advanced' age. it can happen.  hope it happens for you all!


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## jimblejamble (May 18, 2007)

I'd like to join in. I've been taking my temperature for a couple weeks now and trying since early Fall to get pregnant again but so far no luck. It's now been 54 days since my last period (I think...it came sometime between Dec 28 and 31. I cannot remember at all!). I had a miniscule amount of spotting last week but have had several negative pregnancy tests so I'm getting a little frustrated.

Here's my chart if anyone would like to help me make any sort of sense of it... The * is for spotting.

Edit - I thought I'd mention I've been getting my period since September. I got it Sept 19, Oct 23, sometime around November 25 and then again at the end of December. I asked in another thread if it's normal for postpartum periods to be a little crazy in length but no one has answered me...


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## pdiannet (Apr 13, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JessicaRenee*
> 
> I'd like to join in. I've been taking my temperature for a couple weeks now and trying since early Fall to get pregnant again but so far no luck. It's now been 54 days since my last period (I think...it came sometime between Dec 28 and 31. I cannot remember at all!). I had a miniscule amount of spotting last week but have had several negative pregnancy tests so I'm getting a little frustrated.
> 
> ...


Your dip could be ovulation and the spotting could be related to it. I have a chart that looks just like this from my second pregnancy. I would say to take a test in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, you will probably get your period pretty soon.


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## BabyBearsMummy (Jan 27, 2006)

Forum Crashing

This is common for most fertility clinics I believe but frustrating and a difficult decision for many parents to make.

I know several women who have had great success using homeopathic doctors who specialized in fertility issues. Just another option to consider if you can't bring yourself to wean right now.


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## mom2sander (Dec 5, 2009)

I experienced this issue when I was trying to get pregnant with my second child. But I was in a different situation, because I wasn't menstruating at all. The tipping point, hormonally, for women is different, but I would certainly not want to take some of the hormones while I was still nursing. I did try alternative means, such as acupuncture and herbs and supplements while I was still nursing, with no luck, and at much expense.

We wound up waiting until my first weaned in order to start with the fertility treatments. But understand, we waited until she was almost 3 yrs old, and I was turning 34 yrs old. I had my second child 1 1/2 yrs after weaning my daughter, and have always been happpy with my decision to just wait until she was pretty much done.


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## hasya (Jun 27, 2010)

Would you want to let your child get exposed to the fertility treatment drugs? Unless you're in a hurry for age reasons, it is perhaps best to wait it out until she self-weans or when you decide that you really need to step on it and have to wean her. If you've only had regular cycles for 5 months PP, why are you going to fertility clinics already? Do you have known fertility issues that didn't get resolved after your pregnancy?


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## Brookedryden (Mar 5, 2011)

We are in the same boat. I am 37, and my son is 13 months. We have done all of the preliminary testing, and are ready to go with a chlomid IUI cycle, whenever we are finished breastfeeding. Our fertility doc is really nice though: he just said, "okay, call me when he weans and you get a period".


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## Brookedryden (Mar 5, 2011)

I always have this dilemma: if I wean in order to get pregnant again, and then never get pregnant, I will have cut my son short on nursing for nothing. So I'm just going to keep letting him nurse and have the full experience.


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## earthmothergypsy (Jan 12, 2007)

Did you have infertility issues with your first? If so, I can see why you would be going this route, but if not, why not just relax and let your body work in its natural way.  Easier said than done when you want another baby.

I've conceived while breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding through the pregnancy and then tandem nursed.


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## Perdita_in_Ontario (Feb 7, 2007)

I have been there. DD was conceived through IVF, and when she was 18 months we went back (we needed IVF to deal with male factor) and were told that we had to wean first.

After doing some serious research, I decided to try IVF while still nursing (we did night-wean). DD wasn't nursing very much - I was working FT so she was nursing maybe 3x a day. And I was having regular periods for months prior. I did not tell the doctor that DD wasn't completely weaned.

I'd like to make this a good news story, but we had two disappointing rounds of IVF while nursing. The first all our embryos died prior to transfer. The second was just a plain and simple BFN. At that point I decided that DD would need to wean prior to another attempt, and waited until she was 3.5 and hardly nursing at all, then weaned her. And got pregnant 3 months later. I have no idea if it had anything to do with the weaning (I am not a great responder to the IVF drugs anyway) but if my story is anything to go by, bf-ing may affect fertility, especially for couples who need ART.

My suggestion would be to think things through slowly, and not wean until you feel more ready, even if that means postponing fertility treatments, unless you are really staring age in the face.


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