03/31/2026
I love when studies back up what I’ve said for years.
At TFD we have many clients who have been on a fertility journey and used IVF to conceive. We know the ins and outs of an IVF pregnancy, and we can talk about those differences with families.
One of the things I noticed years ago is that breastfeeding, in particular milk supply, is more challenging for many of our IVF clients. In my completely unqualified-not-a-doctor-or-researcher way speculated that the same underlying conditions and hormonal situations that made conception difficult, could possibly be influencing milk production postpartum.
Now, this study which just came out is not really examining the WHY, it does confirm that use of formula in hospital (26%) and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge (down 12%) is different for those who conceived with IVF.
This study was quite large, nearly 600000 births over a period of 8 years, with nearly 20000 being IVF conceptions. The researchers were also careful to screen for confounding factors, both pre- and post- birth. This means they accounted for socio-economic indexes, BMI, maternal age, and smoking history, as well as postpartum haemorrhage, NICU admission, hypertension, diabetes, and more.
Now, one of the conclusions of this study is that early lactation support may improve these outcomes. And while I absolutely agree with increasing that support, I think that we need more study to prove that true. If, in fact, these differences in breastfeeding rates are caused by underlying factors, it is less likely that any intervention will impact supply.
The thing I hope parents take away from this study is that if they felt guilt or shame or body disappointment after an IVF pregnancy and not being able to breastfeed or breastfeeding exclusively, don’t. There are factors we still don’t fully understand and that you aren’t responsible for.
PMID: 41314325.
