Q&A: I'm breastfeeding, pregnant, and have a pain in my pelvis. What could it be?

by Dr. Gerard M. DiLeo

I am currently eight weeks pregnant and still breastfeeding my last baby. I have pain in my pelvis, but it doesn't seem to be related to the breastfeeding. What could be causing the pain?

It's quite possible the pain you are experiencing may be related to your breastfeeding. Nipple stimulation causes uterine contractions. Until recently, this was thought to possibly endanger the pregnancy with contractions, but all of the evidence now proves this to be harmless.

"Tandem" nursing, as it is called, has been proven to cause no harm and in fact is beneficial when you take the needs of the breastfeeding baby and the psychological needs of the mother-baby relationship into account. You don't need to stop nursing unless the pain it causes (if in fact it IS the cause) is too excruciating to tolerate. If the pain you feel is bearable, you can relax in that it's not harming your new pregnancy.

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