Dear Carm,
I breastfed through two of my pregnancies with no problems at all. In fact I was very thankful for the ability to get my little one to lie down for some quiet time when I needed to have a rest.
The people who give me the best support when I was in your situation were the Leaders from La Leche League. I found that the medical professions in Hong Kong were not very knowledgeable about breastfeeding and definitely not about breastfeeding while pregnant.
The next LLL meeting is on Tuesday 10th August at Kindermusik by Catherine Studio, Suite 1005A ,The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central, HK
To answer your questions:
1. Yes it is possible to breastfeed while pregnant. It is even possible to feed both a newborn and an older child. This is called tandem nursing.
2. I don’t know about the taste of the milk changing but often the amount decreases during the second trimester. For this reason if your first child is under a year it is advisable to monitor the child’s growth. That’s right the older child is more at risk than the unborn child.
3. It is my understanding that the uterus contracts a lot during pregnancy and not just during birth. Nipple stimulation or breastfeeding will only induce birth if birth was imminent anyway.
You may find the following web sites of interest:
I'm Pregnant and Still Nursing My Toddler--Must I Wean Now?
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/bfpregnant.html
Articles from New Beginnings, LLLI’s magazine for mothers on the topic of Breastfeeding During Pregnancy,
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBpregnancy.html
Best wishes,
Barb
