Expert: Pat G - 11/10/2009

Question
I had a c-section two years ago with my first child.  I have had no abortions, very easily go pregnant with my first, no complications with that first child.  I had the c-section because Ethan was to big to have vaginal.  I wanted to get pregnant right away because of my age (32) but I can't seem to get pregnant again.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Hello, Lois,

I don't know of any reason why your Caesarian should prevent you from becoming pregnant again.

Did you have gestational diabetes? It's always possible that when a woman has some kind of medical abnormality, that will make it more difficult. You aren't really that close to the time when fertility tends to take a sharp drop. That would be around 35 or so. However, you also didn't tell me how long you have been trying. It is said that you should start to be concerned about not getting pregnant when you have tried for a year.

It will help if you learn how to tell when you are fertile. You cannot be using any hormones. For more information, go here: http://fertilityuk.org/ Learn to recognize fertile mucus, which is clear and slippery and stretches like a raw egg white. Time sex for the occasions when you have this mucus.

If you haven't become pregnant in a year of trying, it would be time to start to see a doctor about this, and it would also be a good time to consider adoption. Adoption is a wonderful alternative, although babies can be scarce. But we have four adopted children in our family: two children and two grandchildren. The love you feel for your adopted child is no different from the love you feel for one you grew yourself, and if you want, you can breastfeed an adopted child, and that helps the bonding. La Leche League will help with relactation. But basically, stimulating the nipples as if expressing milk will first produce colostrum and then milk, and also, I had a pediatrician who told me about an African group he worked with where the grandmothers breastfed the grandchildren. They basically drank lots of fluid and went to bed with the baby and let the baby nurse on demand. Takes a day or two. Of course, a lot of these women were bare-breasted, so their nipples were tougher, so a person who doesn't live that way will have to be more careful. But I nursed both my adopted ones, and it was a great help.

Good luck. Let me know when you become pregnant. :)