are older mothers/those who require ART to get pregnant more likely to encounter BF problems?

[readytobedone]

i had an ex-nanny friend tell me recently that where she used to live (major urban area) women had lots of BF difficulties because they were older and many had required IVF to get pregnant. she said it as if it were a known fact that older mothers/those who have IF issues tend to struggle more with breastfeeding.

i have never heard this correlation mentioned before. is it a fact, or just her own theory?

[PatioGardener]

I have heard anecdotal stories of those needing IVF/ART having more issues with brestfeeding (usually low supply related) - in fact the clinic I attended had questions about it on their intake forms. It was explained to me that many issues with fertility are hormonal - and many supply issues are hormonal too.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

I have heard anecdotal stories of those needing IVF/ART having more issues with brestfeeding (usually low supply related) - in fact the clinic I attended had questions about it on their intake forms. It was explained to me that many issues with fertility are hormonal - and many supply issues are hormonal too.

ah, thanks. i was kind of skeptical about this info just because this particular friend has been, shall we say, not the most BF-supportive person in the world

[PatioGardener]

I should also mention that the women who had fertility issues and supply issues did go to a breastfeeding clinic and were able to breastfeed Some supplemented at the breast, some by bottle, and some didn't have to supplement at all after getting some help. They were remarkable women

[1stBabyAt39]

Hmm, I've never heard this. I'm considered an older mom (39), and have had no issues BFing at all. I didn't have any fertility drugs or IVF though.

[lville71]

I really don't know anything about a correlation between older moms and breastfeeding problems. However, women with PCOS (like me) can have problems with infertility - and some women (not all - some even have oversupply) with PCOS can also have breastfeeding difficulties. This can be due to hormonal issues and/or breast development in adolescence. Lisa Morasco is an IBCLC who specializes in these kinds of issues and the following information comes from her research:

"In those that do have low milk supply, the problem may be physical. The later the onset of PCOS, the better odds a woman has of being able to establish a milk supply. Women with early onset PCOS may have underdeveloped breast glands. In others, Marasco explains, the breasts may develop normally in puberty but fail to go through the required changes in pregnancy that make milk production possible. The breasts may also develop normally, but the milk simply never comes in."

There are a number of different strategies to try to increase milk supply for us PCOS moms who struggle with this. If you look on the Breastfeeding Challenges forum, you'll see a lot of info about this. Hope that helps!

[LROM]

I was 42 when DD was born and we have been BF with the best of them! Not only don't I have supply issues or quality issues, but her first few months when people asked how old she was and I said, they kept saying "WHAT are you feeding her? She's so big and alert!" She's now 9 mo old and while she does eat pureed foods and some table food, on days when I have her all day and night she hardly eats anything but boob food, even though I offer other foods to her often.

So here's one older first time mom who didn't have any problem at all.

Seems like so far maybe there's a correlation b/w IVF and BF issues, but not age? Of all the things I heard that older moms might face, BF issues just connected to age aren't one of them.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by LROM

Of all the things I heard that older moms might face, BF issues just connected to age aren't one of them.

I think older moms are actually more likely to breastfeed than younger moms.

[Daffodil]

I was 40 when DD was born, and she was conceived through IVF. I had no supply problems. Some problems early on with getting her to latch, but I think that had to do with some issues of DD's, and my inexperience, nothing to do with my age. I had DS at 43, and breastfeeding went fine with him, never a problem.

[Buzzer Beater]

I'd love something more than anecdotal on this... if it's out there. I'm 45, going through ART at the moment (just got my positive!) and I can't imagine what might cause me a problem with breastfeeding. After my progesterone shots are done in the first tri my hormones should be the same as anyone else's in pregnancy, from what I understand from my RE. Maybe there is something I don't know yet...?

Sara

[FiveLittleMonkeys]

All of my children were conceived with the help of ART (IUI and IVF). I've never had a supply issue with any of them.

There might be some correlation for women who have hormonal imbalances that are the cause of their infertility. It would be an interesting study.

[aksign]

ditto here- conceived through ivf, older, not sure of cause of IF though (hormonal or not) But no supply problems, only some chomping due to tongue tie, I assume- didnt discover it til later. I agree with patiogardner as far as older moms being more likely to bf. I was amazed at how much time bf takes, though, so i think it is a huge benefit to be settled and stable as older moms sometimes are.

[allisonrose]

I'm a young(ish) mom who went through IF treatments. I have had no problem with my milk supply. Last week we achieved my goal of a year of BFing.

Now moving on to the next goal of two years