Pregnancy & Breastfeeding?

Question

I have a 1 month old baby & I breastfeed him. I heard that while you are breastfeeding that u cant get pregnant again. That when u breastfeed that u cant ovulate?? Really sounds kinda odd... I didnt want to get back on birth control yet & thought that if this is true that I could do it that way... Is there ANY truth to this Or is it just another old wives tale?

Answer 1

It's very unlikely that you will get pregnant in the first six months. You have to follow certain rules if you want to rely on breastfeeding as birth control. I'm just trying to recall them from memory: No supplemental bottles at all, baby must nurse every three hours (four hours at night), baby must be younger than six months, and don't start solids at all until at least 6 months (you shouldn't anyway). If you happen to have a period, then you can get pregnant. Those are the rules for relying on lactational ammenorhea as birth control. I wouldn't trust it, but many women do. If you're concerned about the pill interfering with milk supply, ask the Dr for a mini-pill (progesterone only) or use condoms. Congratulations!

Answer 2

Totally NOT true.

If *ALL* the following conditions are met, then breastfeeding is as effective as condoms for birth control:
- Your baby is less than six months old
- Your menstrual periods have not yet returned
- Baby is breastfeeding on cue (both day & night), and gets nothing but breastmilk or only token amounts of other foods. (EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding and frequent round the clock feedings help keep fertility away longer.)
Note that I said about as effective as condoms. That DOES mean that there is a failure risk, just like any other method of birth control.
Learn more about "LAM" here -
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html

You should really wait *at least* 2-4 more weeks before you consider any kind of hormonal birth control so you are past the 6 week growth spurt. Then, for MOST mothers, Progestin-only contraceptives are considered OK while breastfeeding. MOST moms will not have any problem with taking these.

Progestin-only contraceptives come in several different forms:
- the progestin-only pill (POP) also called the "mini-pill" (Micronor, Errin, Nor-QD, Ovrette, Microval, etc)
- the birth control injection (Depo Provera)
- the progesterone-releasing IUD (Mirena, Progestasert)
- the birth control implant (Norplant, Implanon).

DO NOT take a combination pill or anything that contains estrogen as this can damage your milk supply.

More on birth control and breastfeeding:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/birthcontrol.html

I have gotten pregnant while nursing twice and nursed those children through all (or most) of the subsequent pregnancy. My oldest two tandem nursed after the second was born.
http://www.nursingtwo.com

Answer 3

Many a baby has been born using breastfeeding as a method of contraception. What you say is sort of true. While you are breastfeeding ovulation is suppressed, but for how long is different for everyone. I nursed for 15 months, and my cycles started back at 8 months. So, while it does provide some protection it is not fool-proof. More importantly, before you have your first period (when you know that you are once again fertile), you will have already had your first ovulation. So, it's very likely that you could get pregnant before you even figured out that you were fertile again.

Answer 4

You CAN get pregnant while you breastfeed. With my first one, I was expecting not to have a period until I was done breastfeeding. Imagine my surprise when I had my period exactly 28 days after birth. Many women don't have their periods and do not ovulate while breastfeeding, but counting on that as your only form of birth control would be a mistake unless you are ready to be pregnant again.

Answer 5

There is some truth to it, but it's not 100%. I have a great book called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. I always recommend it to anyone not wanting to be on birth control pills.
She says this about breastfeeding:

You can use the LAM (Lactational Amenorrhea Method) if you meet the following three criteria:

1. Your menses (period) has not returned
2. You are fully or nearly fully breastfeeding (fully = around the clock, whenever your baby is hungry, with no supplements, nearly full = you supplement no more than 15% of feedings)
3. Your baby is less than 6 months old

She explains the three in more detail in her book. I highly recommend getting a copy. It's great!

Answer 6

Some moms who breastfeed don't ovulate for as long as they breastfeed. Some start ovulating after 2 months. There's not really any way of telling which you will be, so if you don't want to get pregnant I would use some other form of birth control.

Answer 7

From kellymom:
"Exclusive breastfeeding (by itself) is 98-99.5% effective in preventing pregnancy as long as all of the following conditions are met:

Your baby is less than six months old
Your menstrual periods have not yet returned
Baby is breastfeeding on cue (both day & night), and gets nothing but breastmilk or only token amounts of other food"

I am 15 months post-pardum and i still havent gotten my cycle back. My son has been eating other food since about 8 months and still nurses on demand.

Check out this link:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html#prevent

And then heres some info on birth control:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/birthcontrol.html

I would just be careful (i.e. condoms or spermacide and pullout) and then worry about birth control after your get your period.

Answer 8

If you breastfeed exclusively, it is common for ovulation not to return, but it is not guaranteed. It is best to use an alternative form of birth control, such as spermicide and a condom, until you stop breast feeding. At your 6 week postpartum check-up, your doctor generally discusses birth control options with you. Personally, my periods did not return until my babies were weaned.

Answer 9

If and only IF you follow the rules breastfeeding can be used as an effective form of birth control.

The rules and effectiveness can be found here. There are a few different methods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational_Amenorrhea_Method

Breastfeeding and Fertility
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html

Getting Pregnant While Breastfeeding (delibrately)
http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/resources/ttc-while-bf.html

And if you chose to use a hormonal method of birth control what you need to know:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/birthcontrol.html

Answer 10

Oh baby girl is so true, while you are breast feeding you can still get pregnant because it happened to my friend. Someone told her that it would never happened and when she found out she was pregnant a few months later she was so upset and cried for so long. Discuss the options with your doctor and see what is safe for you to take while your still breast feeding. So mean while make sure you are careful because you will get pregnant and I don't know if you are going to be able to handle another baby in diapers...Good luck and Bless you for being able to breast feed because I was not able to do it but I will try and see if I can this time around