Expert: ruth kraft - 4/2/2010

Question
My daughter will be 1 year in 2 months.  I pump milk for her during the day, and we nurse as often as possible during the evenings, nights and weekends.  I'm in no rush to stop the nursings, but I'd like to cut back on pumping after 1 year.  What is a good substitute for breast milk other than cow's milk during the day?  Will stopping pumping increase my chances of getting pregnant again?
Thanks so much for your time!

Answer
Hello :) Yes, reducing the pumping can increase your chances of ovulating thus getting pregnant but every woman is different. Some women it happens right away others take longer so you never really know. You can give the baby water or juice, with other solid foods and getting calcium in other ways milk is not needed and you may find the baby refuses it.  which is not a big deal. As long as they get calcium in other ways you don't need to worry. Many juices now even have calcium like orange juice :)

Good luck!
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