IVF and breastfeeding study...

Hi, I've seen on the ABA website that a woman named "Jeanette Elliott" has written an article titled "Breastfeeding through IVF treatment: a case study" and I would love to read it.

Does anyone have an electronic version that they could email me? Or even just know of how I can get a copy? :pray:

Are you a member? One of your local counsellors might have a copy...?
The upshot, as I understand, is that weaning is not necessary if you have regular cycles while breastfeeding.

If the article itself isn't on the website, you should be able to buy a copy from the Lactation Resource Centre. There is a link to their site from the ABA site (they are part of the ABA), and I think their phone number is the same as the ABA's head office number.

GL hun.

Thanks ladies :)

I've called the ABA today and the lovely girl I spoke to said that there is someone that specialises in that area and she's going to try to either get her to ring me, or to get some info from her and call me back herself.

Marcellus, from what I've read I think you are right. I think that seeing as my cycle has come back over 4 months ago even while fully breastfeeding, that I may be lucky and be able to continue (even if I have to "pump and dump" while on the drug treatment. My understanding is that the prolactin made during breastfeeding can prevent ovulation, just not always (as in my case).

Yep, if your cycles are normal then it's obviously not having a detrimental impact on fertility.
I'm not sure you'd have to pump and dump. I might just depend what drugs you have to take as part of your protocol - if just the regular ones they're fine, though your baby may not like the taste. They can also affect supply.

Ooh, I'll have to look this up too - I'd be really interested to read it ;)

I've noticed on all of the drugs I've taken in past cycles, they all say to not take this drug whilst you're breastfeeding.

Our plan is for me to breastfeed this bub for 12 months & then start to wean so as we can do another cycle for another baby. (we don't want to leave it too long, but want to give bub the best possible start with breastfeeding, too).

If its possible to breastfeed throughout a cycle we may start trying earlier... but last time I breastfed, AF didn't come back until I'd fully weaned.. so I guess we wait and see if thats the case this time, too - will be chasing up the article for curiosity, definately ;)

Thanks :)

I got a call back from the ABA counselor :) She spoke to Jeanette Elliott who is their specialist when it comes to breastfeeding and IVF and pointed me to a section on the ABA website that had a podcast of Jeanette doing a talk on the topic. She even gave me Jeanette's phone number in case I still had questions!

The podcast was really good and answered a lot of questions for me. Am I allowed to post the link to it here?

The main points were:
~ Not all woman HAVE to give up breastfeeding
~ A woman whose menstrual cycle has returned regularly while still breastfeeding may not need to wean
~ Breastfeeding would least affect woman that are having FET's that don't require drugs
~ She went through each drug and talked about how effective it's transmission through breastmilk might be, and how to reduce the amount bub's might get. For example, drugs given by injection are probably given that way because they are less effective as oral drugs, therefore any that gets through the milk would be less effective than via injection, and also that the drug would first go through the baby's digestive system and get broken down more.
~ Most drugs are once daily drugs, so if you breastfed just before taking the drug, then wait as long as possible before feeding again it will lessen the amount in the breastmilk.
~ Many of the drugs used are found in a womans body at some stage in their menstrual cycle or pregnancy anyway (although usually at lower levels)
~ We need to balance the benefit of continuing breastfeeding vs the potential risk of the drugs.

Overall I was quite pleased with the info. I'm going to discuss it with my FS on Wed and see what he thinks. If he's not keen I'll even suggest that maybe I could feed DS before taking a drug, then express and dump the next lot, then go back to normal feeds...

Thanks for that
If it's not commercial (and not accessing something only for paid subscribers), link should be ok

Thanks for all that great info, Mylitta :) I'd be very interested in seeing the link if at all possible, also.

I have had regular periods since 5.5 weeks post partum (well, a couple of months of shorter and longer cycles at first then clockwork since) and am still currently demand BF.

I am planning on returning to IVF treatment in May/June (working through the logistics of it ATM) and as we have 3 embryos in storage I'll be going straight into FETs. I am expecting to do unmedicated/natural FETs despite the likelihood of still BF then because of my regular cycles but would be interested to know as much as I can about BF and both unmedicated and medicated FETs.

I was under the impression that I wouldn't be able to continue to feed my DD with FET drugs in my system were I to do a medicated cycle, but it's great to hear that this might not be the case, in case there is a need to fall back on medicated treatment instead of natural cycles. I have been told by my FS at MIVF that I would be fine to do unmedicated FETs whilst still BF and she supported this.

Link to the podcasts

The podcasts are in the grey box on the right. The breastfeeding and IVF one is number 22 on the list :)

Quick update: I had an appointment with my FS today and he is happy for me to continue breastfeeding during my IVF cycle. He actually wasn't concerned about the drugs at all (although I'm going to be on a fairly light drug dose), and said his concern would be that the lining of the uterus wouldn't be thick enough, but thinks that it won't be a problem for me :)

I'm still planning on timing the drugs so that I feed DS just before I take the daily dose, then wait as long as possible before his next feed, or maybe even give him EBM from the freezer for the next feed.

OK, I'm listening to the podcast now....

I had an apt with FS yesterday... and forgot to ask! :doh:

I'll be taking estrogen pills 3 times per day and progesterone pessaries 3 times a day through 12 weeks (if successful) ... I kinda worry about all those hormones for DS. I'll listen on and see if she talks about this sort of regime.

ETA - hmmm, doesn't seem to mention progynova (E2). The product's website says not to be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding - derrr, I have to take it till 12 weeks.

My FS said I had to stop BF before I could start - so I did at six months but now had three failed medicated FET's and wishing I had kept going! I will certainly keep this all in mind if I am lucky enough to get pregnant with number 2 and try for number 3 as BF'ing was magic.

Hey Lairdoz - that's one of the reasons Jeanette points to for not stopping. It's all very well if it works first time, but if you're left several cycles later with no new pregnancy it kinda sucks!
That's why I wanted to wait till DS was over 12 months before even thinking of going back to IVF, but I understand not everyone has the luxury of waiting even that long. Hope it works out better for you next time.

I've decided to offer DS feeds first thing, before the first progynova of the day, if he wants it. I'm usually so muddle headed from sleep deprivation that I haven't remembered to offer so far :doh:. Luckily DS doesn't care if there's no actual milk there anyway.

Marcellus, remember also that drug companies do often say to avoid while bfing to cover themselves. Dr Rodney Whyte at the Monash Medical Centre drug information line is the guru on drugs and bfing, so it can be very worthwhile to talk to him before making a decision. The number is in a sticky in the breastfeeding, formula feeding and solids forum.

Best of luck you all :hug:

Thanks for the reminder MR. Since I have to take it for the first trimester anyway, I'm ignoring the company's advice on that score.:rolleyes:

Well so far I've kind of ignored what I was planning on doing with breastfeeding just before giving myself the injections. I do it most of the time, but with DS teething he's been feeding more often (for comfort I think). Also, I read on one of the drugs websites that it stays in your system for 24-48 hours so I figure that leaving 3 hours between injection and feed probably isn't going to make much difference.

I also spoke to a drug rep about all the drugs having the "do not use during pregnancy and breastfeeding" warnings. She told me not to worry too much about it, because they have to put that warning there because no studies have been done to prove that it is safe. In fact, she said that they don't even know if it even comes through in the breastmilk at all. Gosh, you'd think that something that is going to be given to mums and mums-to-be would be studied more in pregnancy related areas!

Mylitta, the studies have been done for most drugs, but not by the pharmaceutical companies. That's why the information that Dr Whyte gives out is far more accurate than the info that comes with the drugs, or is on the MIMS database.