Contraception?

Question

How soon after giving birth do you need to start using contraception? Im breastfeeding as well and i've been told this delays ovulation. I don't want another baby yet, but still undecided on long term contraception choice.

Answer 1

Whenever you have sex it needs to be protected. Breastfeeding is not always fail proof. You can still get pregnant when exclusively breast feeding.

If you dont want another right now, you need to be using condoms until you can use something else.

Answer 2

You can get pregnant while breastfeeding. If you really don't want to get pregnant, use condoms until you decide what you want.

Mirena, the progesterone IUD has hormone but I believe the dose is so low that it won't affect breastfeeding, ask your ob though.

Definitely condoms, and have a pack of Plan B (morning after pill which is over the counter for 18 years old and up) in case the condom breaks. It is ok to take Plan B, it shouldn't mess up the breastfeeding because it is just a once time dose.

Answer 3

You can get pregnant while you're breastfeeding. You should either use condoms or talk to your doctor about a copper-based intra-uterine device like ParaGard. These are hormone free, over 99% effective and recommended as safe and reliable birth control for nursing moms. There are risks, of course, though not any more than with the pill or the shot. It's a good option when hormone-based birth control is off-limits. Most insurance plans cover it.

Answer 4

Lactation Amenorrhea Method/Ecological Breastfeeding is a very effective method of birth control -if you follow the rules. However for many moms the rules are not practical. LAM is 98% or more effective for the first 6 months, ecological breastfeeding is effective until the return of menstruation however the rules are even stricter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational_amenorrhea_method
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html
http://ccli.org/nfp/ebf/summary.php
http://www.bygpub.com/natural/breastfeeding.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9262927&dopt=Citation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7672141&dopt=Citation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1346183&dopt=Citation
http://www.waba.org.my/specialpages/lam/lam.htm

If you are breastfeeding the other options for birth control are progestin-only contraception such as the min-pill, mirena, depo-provera, and norplant. However it is advisable to take the mini-pill for at least a month or two before committing to something more permanent.

Non-hormonal methods such as barrier (condom, diaphragm, contracpetive sponge), and other behavioural methods (natural family planning, withdrawal, periodic abstenence) are also safe.

However I am really sick of hearing that LAM is not a "real" form of contraception when study after study shows it is AS effective as the birth control pill. Just because people fail to understand there are RULES to using LAM doesn't mean it doesn't work when used correctly.

Answer 5

If you are breast feeding I would suggest that you use condoms and avoid any other contraception as they all have a chemical basis.

When breast feeding, you certainly can still get pregnant.

Example: Gave birth to my son in September, breast feeding, had a tubal ligation day after he was born. Guess what....had another son the following December just after the older turned one.

Nothing is 100%

You don't want to introduce anything chemical basis, especially those that include hormones into breast feeding. Do what's best for you child, use condoms.

Answer 6

Look into temporary solutions then, condoms, pills, patches. Breastfeeding or not you can easily get pregnant after giving birth.