Pregnant while breastfeeding, should mothers wean their babies?

Whether breastfeeding but not weaning pregnant is a question many mothers ask when they know they have one more baby and their older baby is still breastfed.

Is it necessary to wean the baby, if not weaning will affect the health of the baby as well as the fetus in the womb and what should I do? To give the correct answer and have the best decision, let's learn more through the following article.

Must weaning from mothers who are breastfeeding their babies?

Many women think that when they are breastfeeding, they need to wean their babies immediately. supply for mom. However, if the health of the pregnant mother and the fetus is not abnormal, the mother can completely continue to breastfeed without rushing to wean the baby.

According to health experts, when the baby is nursing, the mother's body produces a quantity of the hormone oxytocin that stimulates the uterus to contract and affects the fetus, but it remains extremely low and does not cause harm. So if the mother is breastfeeding her baby completely healthy, without having to encounter any serious problems, she can still be pregnant with normal parallel breastfeeding.

When should a pregnant mother not continue to breastfeed?

If the woman is completely healthy, it is possible to continue breastfeeding during pregnancy. However, in some cases women should consider weaning their babies when:

Multiple pregnancy

Have a history of bleeding, premature birth or miscarriage or difficulty getting pregnant

Being diagnosed is more likely to experience miscarriage, premature birth, or other obstetric complications

Doctors recommend limiting sex during pregnancy

If you fall into one of the above cases, women should stop breastfeeding and see a doctor for the most accurate advice to avoid possible unfortunate consequences. Because in this case, very mild uterine contractions can also cause the mother to experience unwanted obstetric complications such as miscarriage, premature birth ...

What should pregnant mothers pay attention to while breastfeeding?

Ensure proper nutrition and rest

If you decide not to wean your baby during pregnancy, the most important thing is to eat a balanced diet to ensure your own health, breastfeeding your baby and your unborn baby. The amount of calories to add to the body depends on each stage of pregnancy and the age of the nursing baby:

In the first 3 months, the mother will need to eat about 500 more calories / day if the baby has started to eat solids or 650 calories / day if the baby is under 6 months old and exclusively breastfed.

In the middle 3 months of pregnancy, mothers need to supplement 850 calories / 1 day

1000 calories per day for the last 3 months.

Additionally, women should take vitamin D and folic acid supplements during pregnancy. Do not forget to add calcium through food by eating dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and beans on the menu and drinking 3 cups of warm milk per day.

When mothers breastfeed during pregnancy, mothers will often feel tired. Take care of yourself by taking time off to restore your health; Ask a relative to help with housework, shopping ... to avoid stress and exhaustion.

Consider when to wean your baby

The time when mothers should consider starting to wean or restrict breastfeeding are the last months of pregnancy. At this time, the pregnant belly has grown so it is difficult to breastfeed and increase the feeling of fatigue and headache in the mother. More seriously, breastfeeding now will cause real uterine contractions, adversely affecting the fetus in the abdomen.

In the first days of life, colostrum is a very important source of nutrients. Mothers need to wean their older babies first to be able to prioritize this source of milk for their newborn babies. Weaning early before the next baby is born will reduce the mental damage compared to weaning after the baby is born. At this time, when the baby grows up, it is easy to feel abandoned by the mother, and the baby will win over the mother, thus developing self-pity and affecting the baby's psychology and affection later.

When deciding to wean, mothers should also gradually cut down, gradually relax breastfeeds so that babies get used to the lack of breast milk and practice supplementing formula and nutrients from outside.

Epilogue

Breast-feeding during pregnancy is a decision that requires the mother to be physically and mentally healthy. If you feel that there are problems during the parallel breastfeeding, you can consult a doctor to make the most reasonable decision.

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