how to get pregnant while breastfeeding?

(July 22, 2010)

Pregnant While Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a crucial part in an infant’s life. Breast milk is highly nutritious and no other feed can make up for the benefits of a mother’s milk. Following delivery, women who breastfeed their children constantly do not start menstruating. Since there is no menstruation, this is an infertile phase in a woman’s life wherein ovulation does not occur. This is nature’s method of family planning called lactational amenorrhea, so that a baby gets all the nutrition and attention it deserves. However, as soon as women starts supplementing breast milk with formulae or cow’s milk, menstruation resumes gradually. Most women experience irregular menstrual periods and it takes a few months for the body to settle into a regular menstrual cycle again. Hence, getting pregnant soon after a pregnancy may seem difficult. Many women prefer to have a small gap between their children. Nevertheless, a gap of a year to a year and a half is ideal so as to allow the body and the uterus to strengthen to deal with the strain of another pregnancy. Getting pregnant soon after a pregnancy may cause health complications.

Consulting a doctor with regards to getting pregnant again is recommended. Only your doctor will be able to tell you if it is safe to try to get pregnant again. If your periods are irregular, he or she will suggest ways of regulating your periods. If you still want to breastfeed your baby, medication would not be advisable for the said purpose. Cut down on your baby’s breast feeds so that your body has a chance to get back into shape. This will increase your chances of conception without depriving your baby of nutritious breast milk.

Due to an irregular menstruation cycle, the ovulation date is not definite. The use of ovulation kits is recommended to keep track of the fertile phase in the month. Most women are not aware of when they are ovulating and assume that they would be ovulating mid-month. Since they are not aware of their actual ovulation date, most women miss it and wonder why they are not able to conceive. They also begin to wonder if they will ever get pregnant again. The mental stress that accompanies the desire to get pregnant also affects the ability to conceive. The answer is to remain calm and enjoy every moment of being with your baby. Everything will fall into place at the right time.

Submitted by P T on July 22, 2010 at 04:49