Can I still get pregnant if I'm breastfeeding my 17 month old

[gunnersgirl16]

Can I still get pregnant if I'm still breastfeeding my 17 month old My husband and have been trying for the past 2 months I only breastfeed my son at night time about 3 to 4 times I know it sounds bad but he feels confort that way.  is been 3 weeks that I don't breastfeed him during the day but the night time is being very dificult.  Please can you help me  Thanks

[kjcrutch]

How is he eating during the day?  If you are not solely breastfeeding, then your fertility can start to come back.  You should start tracking your BBT in the morning to see when you are ovulating and then just try then.

[deanne11]

You can get pregnant at any time.  Breastfeeding should not effect you.  My mother-in-law was pregnant when she was nursing both her kids at 9 months

[gunnersgirl16]

well he is not eating very well during the day is very difficult so i try not to give him snacks so he feels hungry at lunch and dinner time but still he will eat very little.  well I was concern if i'm still breastfeeding probably the chance to get pregnant were none.

[gunnersgirl16]

thank you deanne11 that gives me a  relieve I'm hoping to be pregnant this month my AF is due oct 22.  so will see

[JJety]

Are you having periods?  If so, then there's no reason why breastfeeding should be interfering with your fertility.

[gunnersgirl16]

Yes I'm having my AF every month.

[deanne11]

yeah- i agree with jjety....if your AF comes every month you know you are ovulating...that's one hurdle you have under your belt.

good luck...god bless.  I know it will happen for you ....in GOD's perfect timing.  Believe.

[duehring]

I have 5 kids and have solely relied on breastfeeding for spacing. Each time don't get pregnant for the first 9-10 months and then I get pregnant right after my first period. My kids are all pretty evenly spaces with 18 months between them.

Your period usually means you are fertile again.

[gunnersgirl16]

Thank you ladies for the answers now I feel less worry I will let you know by the of this week if i'm pregnant.  Thanks kjcrutch, deanne11, JJety, duehring

[surfergirl602]

in one word... YES!

[4my3boys]

My doctor told me that breastfeeding is not a Birth Control, that even if you do not have an af you can still get pregnant.  I do know someone that got pregnant while breastfeeding

[gunnersgirl16]

deanne11 I have a question for you my last period I had it was a day earlier and was very painfull you think I had a miscarriage and I didn't even know.

[lawgirl17]

I have always been told that breastfeeding DECREASES the chances, but it doesn't bar pregnancy altogether ... ask my middle sister. My mom was nursing when she conceived ... 8 months later, she had a healthy little (6lb) daughter.

[emma10]

First of all, I don't think it sounds bad to be feeding baby at night or any other time.  Breastfeeding is a good thing, and they do have those growth spurts.  That said, my daughter turned into what I playfully call a 'greedy night feeder'--by about 18 mos. she wouldn't EVER eat during the day or very little, picking here and there (not nursing either though). Then at night as soon as we lay down it was like 'snackbar's open'.  She would feed an enormous quantity: gallons it felt like, every 2 or 3 hrs.  I can't say I solved it admirably but when she was 22 mos. I had to go to Peru for 7 weeks and she had to go on all solids. She switched to normal eating.  It was very strange though-the lack of sleep didn't affect her (it did me). Just was a nocturnal feeder. I guess if I hadn't gone away she would have to have been cut off at some point.  It is often so much easier to just feed them than to not when it's the middle of the night.  Good luck to you!  (btw I was still bf-ing brother at 14 mos. when she was conceived (had only had 1 period, once).

[deanne11]

i would be more inclined to say if it was a day or more late and extremely painful.

i've had 2 m/c this year...both coming at 5-6 weeks which was about 5-7 days late for my AF...they were like bad periods...lots and lots of blood with clots.  and very very painful...like real contractions. (i know because i gave birth 2 yrs ago)  everyone is different so you never know.

all i know is i was pouring blood...like i've never seen.  my regular periods are never heavy so i knew for sure.

plus i had drs blood tests to prove i was indeed pregnant.

i wouldn't focus on it....focus on moving forward.  the past is the past and GOD has a plan for everything.

[Jules_za]

I understand that you can get pregnant while breasftfeeding, however, getting your period does not mean that you are ovulating.  I never missed a period but was not ovulating until I was put onto clomid.

[sarubers]

You know, there is no nutritional value to breastfeeding a child after the age of one. So my doctor says. By now he can get all he needs from whole milk and table foods. Why are you still breast feeding?

[mandymoo1983]

i got pregnant while breastfeeding my 3 month old dd and i was on the mini pill aswell definatly possible i now have 2 dds less then a year apart 1 is 15 months the other is 4 months.

[emma10]

That is the biggest piece of misinformation I have ever heard. You need to get yourself a new doctor or do some reading on your own. I am horrified that a medical professional would say that.  The worldwide average for weaning is FOUR years old btw.

Please see this article on BREASTFEEDING BEYOND FIRST YEAR for objective scientific information:
http://www.parentingweb.com/lounge/ext_nursepage.htm

[sarubers]

Nursing a KID because when they are around four, they are NOT babies anymore, until the age of four is absolutely wrong. It is gross and disgusting and almost perverse. I don't know of anyone who would actually do that. That actually gave me the creeps! One year is good enough for nursing. But on the other hand, I guess it's better to give your child your milk rather than a cow's milk. But four is ridiculous!

[gunnersgirl16]

Hi saruber my son gets table food and whole milk he gets breatsmilk for snack and actually I stop him about 2 weeks ago from the daytime breastfeeding he only gets it at night. I do feed my son like a toddler should eat.  I still breastfeed because I don't think is wrong to do it he finds confort.  I understand most moms in this forum don't agree of breastfeeding past a year old, but we all have different opinions I don't see anything wrong with it.  Good Day

[Crritter]

I don't necessarily agree with nursing past a year, nor do I disagree with it.  It's up to the parent, but my Dr. also advised me that after a year there really is no benefit.  I was told that your baby should be eating regularly and drinking whole milk, after a certain point the antibodies from your milk no longer help your little one.  At least that's what I was told, so I wasn't surprised that someone else was told the same from their Dr.  I agree that nursing a 4 year old would probably disturb me.  I have a niece who is over 2 and still takes a bottle and even that bothers me a little.  Anyway, just wanted to say I was told the exact same thing from my son's Dr.

[gunnersgirl16]

Hi emma10 Thank you for the info is nice to find people like you where i live all moms they stop at 6 or 9 months and they look at me like i'm crazy because I'm still breastfeeding my son, my concern to all this is that I  want another baby so I was wondering if I could get pregnant while breastfeeding but I guess not everyone has the same opinion and I'm totally ok with that I just don't want people to judge me because I'm still breastfeeding anyways Thank you for the info. Good Day

[kristenlj]

okay..little late posting a comment on here but i cannot go without saying this in the hopes someone like me will come across it one day...

I am horrified that 2 diff Dr.s would tell their patients there is no nutritional value after a year. I D I O T S !!!! is what i have to say. I am very much an -upper class women who breastfed my daughter who is 6 till she was 2 yrs 4 months. Have a 17 month old son who is still nursing...and yes he eats very well...all foods. You people are so un-read and so misinformed its pathetic. World wide- Org says till at  LEAST 2 years old...we are the only country who is ignorant and looks crooked at women who go past 6 months. While i do agree, beyond 2ish is a little much...there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH going till 2 yrs old. my daughter is THE BEST well-rounded, secure individual around. You people need to read "why  breastfeeding a toddler ( google it). Shame on you passing judgement  on mothers doing what most mothers should be doing...giving every bit of attention and nurturing to their infants/toddlers.
              very disturbed by the ignorance of american people!
              Dr's should be cursed out!

[Tina22]

You can absolutely get pg while breastfeeding. I have 3 kids, started af for 2 of them at 6 weeks post partum and at 7 months with the other. What that means is that I ovulated when my babies were 4 weeks old and could have conceived at that time if I had sex then. It was amazing to me to think I could be pg again when my baby was less than 1 month old! Even for all the mothers who have not had their period while breastfeeding, the easiest way to get pg when they think they are "safe" while breastfeeding is that they ovulate, then 2 weeks later af begins and they never even knew they were fertile. So if you are adamant about not being pg, do not rely on breastfeeding to avoid it! Otherwise, if you want to get pg, its certainly possible despite not having af. If you cut down on bf that much, nature will take over and your body will probably start realizing its time to become fertile again and nature will take over! Good luck!

[vibes490]

Hi
I just wanted you to know that I breast fed my daughter until 16 months old. I had cut back and it was mostly at night that I was feeding her. I too wanted to have another baby and thought it was impossible untill 2 weeks ago I got a positive result from my doctor. I am now waiting for a scan to see how far along I am, because I have only had 1 period since she was born. So it is possible. But it is a lot more difficult because you might not ovulate when your not getting your periods. I'm sure it will happen for you too. By the way I have now cut my daughter off the breast, she didn't take it very well the first 2 nights, but now she has been sleeping all night for the past 3 nights for the first time since she was born