Women
Breastfeeding During Pregnancy
Question
I would like to ask whether, according to halacha, a pregnant woman is permitted to continue nursing her toddler, who has been nursing since birth, assuming the woman is healthy and the pregnancy is normal. I have heard all kinds of answers on the matter, both from doctors and lactation consultants and from women who have nursed; some say it is permitted and some say it is forbidden. I wanted an answer from the perspective of Jewish law. If the answer is negative, that it is forbidden to nurse, I would like to know the reason. Another question: is it true that according to halacha one must nurse until age two, or was that a halacha that applied in the past and was later changed?
Thank you very much in advance.
Answer
Hello
It should be stated first that the custom regarding women has changed greatly from the time of the Talmud until the present era. In Talmudic times, women did not get their period until twenty-four months after giving birth, even if they were not nursing. Likewise, women were accustomed to nurse for twenty-four months after childbirth. These things have certainly changed today, and reason suggests that the weakness of the generations caused this, as with many other matters.
As for the question of whether breastfeeding during pregnancy is appropriate or not: of course, the practical answer to that can be given only by a doctor. However, for the sake of study alone, one may see what the practice was in Talmudic times in such cases. The Talmud (Yevamot 42b) explains, according to Rashi, that if a woman became pregnant during the nursing period, she would stop breastfeeding because the milk during pregnancy is not healthy milk for the infant, and would begin feeding the child milk and eggs. And this is the language of the Talmud: "Perhaps she will become pregnant and her milk will curdle ... she feeds him with eggs and milk."
However, Rambam, who in addition to his standing as a great authority in Torah knowledge was also a physician by profession, explains differently (Rambam, Laws of Divorce 11:25), and according to his explanation it emerges that a pregnant woman may continue to nurse, even though pregnancy affects her milk, provided that the nursing mother adds to her diet foods that restore her milk, such as milk and eggs and the like. And as for the second question, there is no halacha that obligates or advises nursing until age two; there is only a halachic mention that this was the common practice in Talmudic times, and no particular guidance can be learned from that. One may conduct oneself this way today or refrain from it, according to each mother’s own judgment. However, the view of doctors is known: it is highly advisable to nurse for a certain period, a year or more, even in the age of substitutes. There is no true substitute for mother’s milk.
Good luck - Menashe Yisrael
