Breastfeeding my 2.5 yr and just had a miscarriage

[Hula1]

Hi

I am still feeding my 2.5 yr old, we ve been down to just once a day before bed for 3months. I don t think there much milk left but it still seems very important as a comfort thing. Three days ago i miscarried at 9 weeks. It was devastating although for at least 2-3wks i d been worried my symptoms were nt as strong so i suspect the baby had died earlier. I know i need to wait for my period to try again but should i wean my son ? I had hoped to let him self wean or cut down very gradually.I never felt cramps from feeding and it seemed very little milk he got anyway. If anyones had any similar experience i d really appreciate to hear your story.

 

[lau86]

sorry I haven't got advice as not had that situation just didn't want to read and run, I hope someone else can give advice x

 

[Feronia]

I am so sorry for your loss...
Wean him if that is most comfortable for him and you, but also know that once your cycles come back, they are back and that nursing won't make it harder for you to conceive again.

 

[Veronicaco]

I'm so sorry for your loss
Please don't feel that you need to wean because of your mc, I am bf-ing my 18 month old up to 5 times in 24 hours and am 10 weeks gone. I can feel some light cramps occasionally when I feed her but nothing that has given me cause for concern. I have been assured bf is safe in pregnancy.
There really isn't anything you have done wrong Hun! These things are largely caused by genetic problems and you must not blame yourself.
Xx

 

[dairymomma]

My sis has nursed her 5 older kids while pregnant and it never caused a miscarriage for her. I wouldn't worry.

 

[Hula1]

Thanks Ladies for your replies. I think he feeds so little that i dont think it was related but you know how your mind goes into overtime on things ....just fingers crossed for a rainbow baby soon.

 

[Feronia]

Oh, you were worried that the breastfeeding caused the miscarriage? It almost certainly did not! When you're pregnant, your body produces a hormone that inhibits the oxytocin receptors on your uterus. This continues on until a few weeks before you're supposed to go into labour, which means that things like sex and breastfeeding won't cause you to go into labour. Of course other things can cause you go to into pre-term labour, but breastfeeding early in pregnancy (or sex) will not.

 

[BunnyN]

I am so sorry for your loss...
Wean him if that is most comfortable for him and you, but also know that once your cycles come back, they are back and that nursing won't make it harder for you to conceive again.

Breastfeeding does seem to stop some women from getting pregnant even when their cycles are back. My cycles are still very irregular with a very short LP but LO feeds quite frequently still, day and night and comfort sucks a lot too. There is no evidence BFing causes MC though. Even if it could be a factor once a day really is very little I dont think it would be having a huge effect on your hormones and body especially if you had regular periods for a while. Unfortunately MC is common and is going to happen to some women who are BFing. It usually is not caused by anything you did.

 

[Brieanna]

First off, I am so sorry for your loss.

I was nursing my 2 year old dd when I got pregnant and had a mc a few weeks later.

I had been ntnp/kinda trying since dd was born and it took about a year for af to return. I started using opk's and found I had a short lp so I had actually been trying at the wrong times. As soon as I started using the opks I got pregnant pretty fast and that resulted in the mc. I waited a cycle and then started ttc and got pregnant again. That pregnancy "stuck" and is my ds. I nursed the whole time and now I am still nursing my dd so I really believe that the mc was not caused by my nursing.

I understand about how you feel though. My first mc I thought was because I had been really active the day before (and I had bought baby things for the first time) and the second one I thought might have been caused by my exposure to black mold a few days before. Most mc's are from chromosomal abnormalities and other problems but even though I KNOW that I still questioned everything I did "wrong".

 

[Hula1]

Thank you all, your replies have been very helpful.

Bunny N i did find when i was breastfeeding alot it did affect my cycles (my af didn t return till 23 months and that was once i stopped feeding in the night). I did also have a short LP for 3-4 cycles but seemed to be back on track by the time i concieved on my 6th cycle.

Brieanna its a great comfort to hear your story and i m so sorry you went through a m/c too. It also helps to hear that you tried again the next cycle as that s what we were thinking of doing.

 

[indigo_fairy]

So sorry for your loss, it's most likely a coincidence that you are bf'ing, but I do understand where you are coming from. I'm bf'ing my toddler too, what I've done is cut out the night feeding, as I'm just really tired and figure it'd be best to get this done before baby comes along. But I'm not going to wean him and like you am leaving him to self wean, like I did with my daughter. Best of luck with your next pregnancy