We study the production amplitude for the reaction N N → N N π up to next-to-leading order in chiral perturbation theory using a counting scheme that takes into account the large scale introduced by the initial momentum. In particular we investigate a subtlety that arises once the leading loop contributions are convoluted with the N N wavefunctions as demanded by the non-perturbative nature of the N N interaction. We show how to properly identify the irreducible contribution of loop diagrams in such type of reaction. The net effect of the inclusion of all next-to-leading order loops is to enhance the leading rescattering amplitude by a factor of 4/3, bringing its contribution to the cross section for pp → dπ + close to the experimental value.