A Mother may be still breastfeeding when she conceives again. This creates the dilemma of whether to continue breastfeed or not, as there is often a social and medical pressure to discourage women from breastfeeding during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding during pregnancy may be a challenge to maternal well- being but is not contraindicated as such.
The various concerns often raised include maternal nutrition depletion, spontaneous abortion, reduced fetal growth, preterm delivery, impaired quality or quantity of mother’s milk, and reduced growth of the nursing infant. But there has been no scientific literature to support these concerns and so till date there are no clear medical guidelines on Breastfeeding during pregnancy
Moreover, breastfeeding during the third trimester is no longer expected to be exclusive as the nursed infant is older than 6 months of age and possibly already being started on complimentary foods.
In brief, breastfeeding during pregnancy is compatible during the first two trimesters, and it is sustainable in the third trimester unless maternal nutrition is suboptimal or the risk of premature delivery exists (multiple gestation, intrauterine growth retardation, previous preterm delivery)
LactMed Database is a very reliable source for information on breastfeeding and is free to access on web.
CLICK HERE for links of LACTMED DATABASE ON WEB
CLICK HERE for links of LACTMED MOBILE APP
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