In pregnancy, if you’re not taking in enough calcium, some will be withdrawn from your bones to nourish the growing baby. Bearing a large number of children multiplies your risk, as does carrying a single multiple pregnancy (eating for three—or more—is even more difficult than eating for two). Pregnancy later in life may pose more of a problem, since you’ll have less time (and lower ability) to make up for any loss. The key to protecting yourself will be to take supplements, particularly calcium and vitamin D, in addition to a prenatal vitamin, during pregnancy, and eat a variety of foods rich in those nutrients to guarantee adequate intake for both (or all) of you.

Never having borne a child also increases your risk of low bone density, though the reasons are not well understood.

BREAST-FEEDING

The benefits of nursing your baby are well documented, but you will need to take precautions to make sure it doesn’t leave you with softer bones. In order to make sure your breast milk has sufficient calcium for your child, nature has arranged it so that calcium from your bones will be added to it if enough isn’t otherwise available. Some studies show that mothers breastfeeding their infants may drop up to 5 percent of their bone mass (although there is disagreement on this point). Bone density seems to be regained quickly once the children are weaned, but the moral of the story is that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements (in addition to continuing the “prenatal” vitamin your doctor prescribed) to ensure you get as much calcium as your body needs is a wise move, in addition to including in your diet many foods rich in these nutrients. Mothers young enough to still be building up to their peak bone mass should be extra careful, as should mothers old enough to be closing in on menopause (which is no longer particularly uncommon).

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