Ivf whilst breastfeeding?

My clinic would not do IVF while breastfeeding. I think their rule was you had to be done for 3 months before starting the process of another transfer

I don’t know the answer to this but I just wanted to say good luck!!xXx.

I did medicated IUIs while still breastfeeding- I had resumed my periods though. (Many of the same meds). There’s a blog of someone who did IVF and she went into each medication pretty thoroughly and described her process. I can’t remember the name, but try googling ivf while breastfeeding.

5 replies

Thank you !!

This is the blog post- https://www.google.com/amp/s/babydustdiaries.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/breastfeeding-through-fertility-treatments-ivf-and-fet/amp/

You shouldnt breastfeed while trying. Breastfeeding is like a way of telling your body its "busy" so it may help to increase the chances of getting pregnant of you stop

It's not safe. You need to take hormones to do ivf that are passed through breast milk. Your baby would develop breasts!

1 reply

I’m not quite sure that would be true. These hormones that are being put in are the same as those that are in your body during pregnancy and breastfeeding is safe during pregnancy. Are there other drugs in the process that might not be? Yeah probably, but the hormones aren’t necessarily the problem. Best case is to just talk to the fertility dr about the concerns and your breastfeeding situation.

I wouldn't risk it. Imagine all the hormones. And it makes sense that you increase chances of procedure being successful when not breastfeeding.

My IVF clinic will refuse treatment until you are no longer breastfeeding. The hormones can get to the baby through the milk so I would recommend stopping.

We did medicated IUI and we're on our way to IVF. I had to stop breastfeeding before starting the medicine. I already had a regular period, but they said the medicine wasn't safe for breastfeeding

I did ivf and they also didn’t allow BFing whilst stimming.

Hi. So agree. My clinic also says its a nono. So lets analyze it, if you shouldnt drink alcohol while bf then the same applies to all the hormones and chemicals that are in the ivf treatment cycle that is given to ur bb while bf. Good question though! GL!

My fertility clinic won't do treatments while BF. You might have to ask what their policy is, as different doctors use different drugs. Good luck, mama!

Yes, my fertility doctor had no issues with it. I am now tandem feeding and both are thriving.

6 replies

No, he said the medications are artificial versions of hormones that would occur naturally in a pregnancy and was satisfied my child was over 12 months. I didn't observe any side effects.

Thank you! Did your doctor say there could be any side effects? Some clinics say you need to stop bf and others say it’s fine so I’m confused but don’t want to give up breastfeeding but also scared if I wait too long my chances of success will drop

I did, my son was 7 months old when I went through IVF for my daughter. I researched the medications they used and came up with the decision that I would continue BF. As some have mentioned there is a potential of not being successful but I was willing to keep that in consideration. Because of my “advanced maternal age” I wanted to act quickly but was also not willing to give up that bond/benefits with my son. You will need to have your prolactin levels within “normal range” which for me meant I had the blood test after not nursing through the night (just bottle fed breast milk) and I was fine. Your periods do have to come back, but in my case they returned at 4 months even with nursing. Let me know if I can help with further questions!

1 reply

Hi Danielle! Thank you! I’m in a similar situation because of my age I don’t want to wait until I have finished breastfeeding as it may be in 2 years! I’m not sure when. I was concerned because some clinics allow it and others do not? Mine allows it and have talked about having minimal amount of stimulation (mild ivf) did you have this as well? I cannot use my natural cycle unfortunately because the success is not high for me with that. My clinic doesn’t have much experience with breastfeeding and ivf, do you have any info on it? Thank you

I haven't experienced this personally, but I have looked into it, in case we need to do an embryo transfer for baby #2. (Baby #1 is an IVF babe) some doctors won't do it because bf can interfere with the body's natural production of estrogen. It depends on the Dr though. Some will, some won't. Love the pic btw. ❤️

I would personally be strongly against breast feeding whilst in IVF si ply because any medication you take will be in your milk aswell and then transfer to your baby, I wouldn't want to take that risk. I would stop BF and go onto formula or pump as much milk as you possibly can whilst you can and freeze it x

My dr said we could do a frozen transfer while breastfeeding but I would need to wait until I was done breastfeeding to do a stimulated cycle as mentioned above. Good luck!!

1 reply

Interesting! I wonder if I could pump and when the hormones have left my body then go back to breastfeeding

Can you undergo IVF if you are breastfeeding and as a result still haven't had a period since birth? I really dont want to have to stop breastfeeding to have treatment if i can help it.

My dr said it’s safe but I could pump and dump during the week of meds