Just because a mom gets pregnant while breastfeeding does not mean she will miscarry, just like a mom who is healthy that becomes pregnant, doesn't mean she can't miscarry.
Breastfeeding does not cause miscarriages. However, breastfeeding can cause other issues that can influence whether a nursing mother becomes pregnant with a successful pregnancy, which many nursing moms use supplements to help correct. I use the following as my examples:
Breastfeeding can cause a short luteal phase in breastfeeding mothers. If a breastfeeding mother becomes pregnant when her luteal phase is short (between 1-9), this increases the chance of having a chemical pregnancy. A luteal phase needs to be a minimum of 10 to get pregnant. Some fertility literature suggests women with a luteal phase under 12, may have difficulty in becoming pregnant. It may help: taking vitamin b6 with a b-complex to increase a short luteal phase. Some other supplements some have used to regulate their cycles is vitex or soy isoflavones.
Breastfeeding can cause low progesterone. It may help: taking over the counter progesterone or getting a prescription during your 2-week wait and if necessary throughout the first trimester to help the low levels of progesterone. To read more about progesterone, click here.
Breastfeeding can also cause thin uterine lining. women who should be concerned about uterine line are also women who have used Clomid, women who have been on birth control long term, had a D&C that might have been done wrong, and women who have had one or more miscarriages. This may help: drinking Pomegranate juice from cycle day 1 to Ovulation.
Also, sometimes breastfeeding prevents a nursing mom from becoming pregnant to the point they have to wean in order to conceive. And some women are able to become pregnant while breastfeeding and successfully breastfeed in their pregnancy.
There is a smaller number of women too who may be able to become pregnant while breastfeeding that have to wean in order to sustain the pregnancy, but usually, this is recommended for a nursing mom to consider weaning if she has had preterm labor because breastfeeding can cause contractions. In a mom who is not a risk for preterm labor and has no history of it, these contractions are usually harmless.
There is a smaller number of women too who may be able to become pregnant while breastfeeding that have to wean in order to sustain the pregnancy, but usually, this is recommended for a nursing mom to consider weaning if she has had preterm labor because breastfeeding can cause contractions. In a mom who is not a risk for preterm labor and has no history of it, these contractions are usually harmless.
I became pregnant with my 2nd while breastfeeding my 1st who was 26 months. I nursed her to 30 months and weaned her due to nipple sensitivity when I was 22 weeks pregnant with my 2nd. Even though I was breastfeeding when I became pregnant and continued through 22 weeks of pregnancy, I gave birth a healthy baby. I became pregnant with my 3rd while breastfeeding my 2nd who was 21.5 months. Oct 2016 Update: I carried my third child to full term and gave birth to a healthy baby. I continued breastfeeding my 2nd child for 2 months after my third baby was born until he self-weaned around 32 months. So for 2 months I tandem breastfed my second and third.
We did a written response poll of how many moms were able to become pregnant while breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding, who had to wean in order to become pregnant and who became pregnant while breastfeeding but had to wean to sustain a pregnancy. I'll include the chart for you. This isn't scientific based, just simply asking the moms who became pregnant, did they have to wean or not.
Bibliography
To see the results, click Breastfeeding Chart To Wean Or Not.
Sometimes miscarriages happen. According to American Pregnancy.com, "For women in their childbearing years, the chances of having a miscarriage can range from 10-25%, and in most healthy women the average is about a 15-20% chance. Women under the age of 35 yrs old have about a 15% chance of miscarriage. Women who are 35-45 yrs old have a 20-35% chance of miscarriage. Women over the age of 45 can have up to a 50% chance of miscarriage. A woman who has had a previous miscarriage has a 25% chance of having another - only a slightly elevated risk than for someone who has not had a previous miscarriage" (Miscarriage: Signs, Symptoms, Treatments, and Prevention).
Bibliography
"Miscarriage: Signs, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention." American Pregnancy Association Miscarriage Comments. American Pregnancy Association, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 04 June 2015. <http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-complications/miscarriage/>.
Last edited: April 3, 2017
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