Silly question regarding the Duggars, etc

[lovesdolphins]

OK, this is only half-way serious. You know how Mrs Duggar just had her 17th kid, well, I was thinking that really cut down on her ovulation opportunities, being that she breastfed, and probably didn't ovulate much between pregnancies either.

Here's the question - do you think that she will hit menopause late?

 

[annaapple]

Good question! I'm sure she would say she will hit menopause in God's good timing ;-) In any case, her chance of ovarian and breast cancer is significantly reduced.

 

[sparassidae]

I don't think so necessarily. I think you have more ova than you will ever use, and menopause comes not necessarily when you "run out of eggs" but also when they "pass their expiry date".

I am not a medical professional, I just think I have read this somewhere.

 

[jgonz]

I've read that menopause Can be delayed by having a larger number of pregnancies. However, what exactly that means, I don't know...

I'm thinking that Mrs. Duggar may be one of those women who ovulate and are fertile In Spite Of breastfeeding (which is unusual) because most of her children are very close together.

 

[3Princessmom]

Is it really unusual for women to ovulate while bfing? I've heard MULTIPLE stories of women getting preg while bfing and have a friend who just got pregnant while bfing. I've heard the oppisite, that most women WILL ovulate when bfing, so don't count on bfing as a form of bc. I don't know, I didn't bf personally. Just what I've heard.

As for the OP, I have no idea!

 

[jgonz]

No, you can't count on breastfeeding to stop you from ovulating. However, if you exclusively breastfeed (no pacifiers, bottles, solid foods, or pumping) and feed the baby on cue day And night, then you can "assume" that you're not ovulating for approximately 6 months. (They pick 6 months because that's the typical time for starting solids.) It also has a lot to do with the mother's hormone levels and how balanced they are (I've found).

I personally, didn't get my period back with my last 3 babies until they were 14 mos, 15 mos, and 17.5 mos old, respectively.

 

[Sunset2009]

I'm thinking that Mrs. Duggar may be one of those women who ovulate and are fertile In Spite Of breastfeeding (which is unusual) because most of her children are very close together.

Michelle Duggar actually stops breastfeeding her children when they are 5 months old so she can get pregnant again.

 

[jgonz]

Michelle Duggar actually stops breastfeeding her children when they are 5 months old so she can get pregnant again.

Ah! I wondered! Thank you!

 

[BananaCake]

Michelle Duggar actually stops breastfeeding her children when they are 5 months old so she can get pregnant again.

Wow, that's kind of bizarre.

 

[sparassidae]

And personally I find it quite sad.

 

[BananaCake]

Well, I understand weaning and switching to solids or regular milk (though 5 months is a bit early) or weaning to switch to formula (though I personally don't see why someone would do that), but weaning for the sole purpose of getting pregnant again when you already have tons of kids? It just strikes me as strange and possibly even contrary to God's intention for being "quiver full".

 

[meganahan]

And personally I find it quite sad.

I nursed my first until she was 22 months old, and my second until she was 20 months old. The girls are 18 months apart, so if you do the math, it will be very clear that I got pregnant while I was nursing and then nursed through the pregnancy.

I got pregnant with my younger daughter as her intake of solids was increasing a bunch. (well, ok, the pregnancy actually coincided with a course of antibiotics too)

With both girls, my period started back at 6 weeks even though there was no supplementation for either. And with the seond one, I was nursing TWO babies and still got my period back. I just don't think that was fair!

 

[sparassidae]

I nursed my first until she was 22 months old, and my second until she was 20 months old. The girls are 18 months apart, so if you do the math, it will be very clear that I got pregnant while I was nursing and then nursed through the pregnancy.

I got pregnant with my younger daughter as her intake of solids was increasing a bunch. (well, ok, the pregnancy actually coincided with a course of antibiotics too)

With both girls, my period started back at 6 weeks even though there was no supplementation for either. And with the seond one, I was nursing TWO babies and still got my period back. I just don't think that was fair!

Yeah, that isn't fair at all. I have at least 1 year post partum with no periods (mind you, there is a lot of breastfeeding).

I also breastfed while pregnant, and tandem nursed for all except this current baby. My (now) 3yo weaned herself when she was only 2 1/2 yo, a few months before child #4 was born. I was quite sad.