I am 40 and would like another LO after this one

Starfish02807

I am 40 and would like another LO after this one is born. I plan to BF and I know that keeps you from getting your period maing it hard/impossable to get pregnant. Any ideas on how to handle this?

ELF4321

Did you have any fertility testing done before you got pregnant this time to determine your ovarian reserve and whether there are any other issues that could affect your future chances?  

Just by way of example, I had fertility testing done at age 36 because DH and I had been TTC for two years with no success, and was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve.  The doctor said my ovaries were aging prematurely and similar to an average 40-41 year old, and that my chances of getting pregnant on my own without medical intervention with those numbers was only 5%.  I'm not saying that to scare you, because I got lucky and fell into that 5% and got PG in our last cycle trying on our own before we were scheduled to do IVF.  Just wanted to give you some perspective on what the odds might be at your age.

There are certainly women who are able to have healthy pregnancies well into their 40s without fertility treatment, but that is the exception, not the rule.  You may need to weigh the importance to you of BFing this LO against the risk of not being able to have a second child (at least not easily or on the time frame you are hoping).  I know it's a really difficult position to be in. 

stever

ELF4321:

 You may need to weigh the importance to you of BFing this LO against the risk of not being able to have a second child (at least not easily or on the time frame you are hoping).  I know it's a really difficult position to be in. 

This is certainly true. I was in no hurry to TTC #2 and it was a good thing since AF didn't come back until I weaned DS1 cold turkey at 18 months. DS2 is almost 5 months and AF hasn't returned this time either.

Fertility varies and time for AF to return varies but the fact is you never can know until you try/have testing or whatever.

Good luck to you.

ChristieandChristopher

While breastfeeding certainly does contribute to hormonal influences suppressing the return of menstruation, remember that when your body is ready, ovulation occurs about 2 weeks before day one of your new cycle.  AF is the just the outward sign of probable fertility with an egg already being released.  So, if you are wishing to conceive , you should try your best to have regular sex with your husband whether or not you are breastfeeding because you just never know.  Everyone's body is different, but just to tell you, I was still breastfeeding my son at nine months and along came AF and #2.  Try not to stress too much about it, too.  Good luck!

ridesbuttons

I remember feeling the urgency to have a second right away due to my age; DS2 was born the same year I turned 40. 

You can get pregant while breastfeeding.

I got pregnant 9 months after having my first.  Have sex every other day or so when you are ready to start TTC.

ETA: it took nearly 6 months of trying to get pregnant for me both times

anchiba

I know several members of my immediate family (grandmother, aunt, cousins) who got pregnant while breastfeeding. So it's possible.

lukafoo74

I BF almost exclusively for seven months, got my first period at eight months post and was pregnant with my second at about 10 months post. BF isn't a reliable form of birth control, but it was for us. It happened faster than I thought. I am 38.

sucredee

Although not 100% effective, BF is supposed to be pretty good birth control while you are exclusively BF (so no solids and I think nursing is better than EP although I'm not positive about that).

I EBF for 6 months but the solids were very slow going so she continued to BF very frequently still. I got AF at 7 months shortly after I went back to work. Weird thing is it was only part time at 3 mornings a week and so the only difference was that I pumped instead of a feeding 3 x a week but she continued to nurse very frequently. On of my friends BF both of her kids. With one of them she got AF at like 3 months and the other one AF didn't return until her LO was completely weaned so you just never know. 

I wasn't planning ton getting pregnant again however so from a fertility standpoint I don't have much to add. Plus we had to use IVF to get pregnant. There are plenty of people who get pregnant though while BF.  

Cclinnard

I am 38 and have a 17 month old and I had to have IVF due to blocked tubes. I plan on doing IVF again in April the first time around I only had 7 eggs and only two had enough cells to transfer so I am a little worried about how many eggs I will have this time around! Good luck!

3sthecharm

I got pregnanat with my 2nd and 3 rd pregnancies while still BFing....and continued Bfing and then Tandem feeding wasnt a problem