What to do if you are pregnant during breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a feeding method that many mothers pay more attention to, and the secretion of milk is also crucial. Many breastfeeding mothers find that their milk secretion is gradually decreasing and their menstruation is delayed, which makes them worry about whether they are pregnant again. In fact, there are many factors that affect milk secretion. Diet and living conditions will directly affect milk secretion. Delayed menstruation is related to endocrine and estrogen secretion. So what to do if you get pregnant while breastfeeding?

What to do if you are pregnant during breastfeeding

First of all, we cannot conclude that we are pregnant just because of delayed menstruation. Irregular menstruation is normal during lactation. We cannot suspect that we are pregnant just because our milk supply decreases. These are all unfounded. It is true that milk supply will decrease after pregnancy, but the opposite is not true. If you think you are pregnant and your menstruation is delayed, we still have to use scientific methods to determine whether you are really pregnant, just like the test before giving birth, use pregnancy test strips to test, or go to the hospital for B-ultrasound or blood tests.

If you are sure that you are pregnant, the first thing we need to consider is whether to keep the baby. If so, we first need to consider the issue of breastfeeding the older baby. The older baby must be weaned. If the baby is already older, then there is no need to worry. But if the baby is still young and is in the breastfeeding period, then we need to consider whether to have an abortion. Because pregnancy affects the secretion of milk, your baby may not be able to breastfeed due to pregnancy.

How long is best for breastfeeding?

How long is best for breastfeeding? The World Health Organization recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of age, and that other foods be supplemented while continuing to breastfeed from 6 months to 2 years or longer.

It is best to wean your baby between 8 months and 1 year old. If your baby is fed with breast milk and given complementary foods at the same time, and he or she accepts the complementary foods well, weaning can be delayed. Of course, it is also possible to persist until natural weaning. However, if the baby is in poor health or is sick, especially if the baby has allergies or intestinal problems, it is recommended that the mother breastfeed until the baby is over 1 year old, which will help the baby's physical recovery.

Generally speaking, if the mother chooses to completely wean her baby at 8 months, she can gradually reduce the number of breastfeeding times and replace it with complementary foods starting from 6 months. In addition, you should also pay attention to the weaning season. It is best for mothers to choose spring and autumn. The temperature at this time is neither high nor low, which is more suitable for weaning the baby and the baby can adapt easily.

Breastfeeding time for working mothers: The latest maternity leave regulations in our country are now 98 days, which means that many new mothers have to go to work during the breastfeeding period. For working mothers, it is best to breastfeed the baby until about 1 year old. Working mothers can express breast milk by hand or with a breast pump into sterilized bottles before going to work, and then store them in the refrigerator. When the baby is hungry and needs milk, family members can help warm the breast milk with hot water and then feed it to the baby. In addition, once refrigerated breast milk is warmed up, it cannot be refrigerated again, even if the baby is not fed. It must be discarded. Don't be reluctant to do so. Because drinking repeatedly heated breast milk will be bad for the baby's health.

In fact, continuing to breastfeed is also a good way for working mothers to maintain a close relationship with their babies and make up for the time that the mother is not with the baby. Therefore, working mothers should pay attention to the time of breastfeeding and not wean the baby too early because of work.