You're unlikely to have periods if you are exclusively breastfeeding and your baby is under 6 months.
Exclusively breastfeeding means that you are:
- giving your baby no other food or drinks
- feeding in response to your baby's cues (including during the night)
- not using a pacifier (soother)
If you have unprotected sex during this time, your chances of becoming pregnant are around 3%.
Contraception and breastfeeding
Your chances of getting pregnant may increase when your baby is about 6 months old.
This is when your baby starts to take food and drinks other than breast milk.
You may trigger ovulation earlier if:
- you leave gaps of 6 hours or longer between breastfeeds
- you miss feeds during the night.
Prolactin (the milk-making hormone) levels are usually higher at night. Prolactin can suppress (stop) ovulation.
Fertility
You will usually know when your fertility returns because you will have your first period after pregnancy. This means that you have already ovulated.
Every woman is unique and your fertility will return in its own time. Some mothers get periods very early on while breastfeeding. Others may only get their periods back after the first year of breastfeeding.
Bringing fertility back sooner
To bring back your fertility sooner, try changing your breastfeeding pattern. There is no general rule around breastfeeding frequency that leads to the return of fertility.
Abrupt changes in breastfeeding generally brings back fertility quicker. Keep in mind that you and your baby would have to be ready for this change. Suddenly stopping breastfeeding can impact the bond your baby is enjoying.
Getting pregnant before your first period
It is possible to get pregnant before your first period after pregnancy. But it is unlikely that the first egg released will result in conception. Generally, you must have a regular cycle of ovulation and periods to sustain a pregnancy.
Increasing your chance of pregnancy
The best way to become pregnant is to have regular sexual intercourse. This should be at times where you both feel ready to be intimate.
If you're feeling an increased desire to have sex, this may be a sign your fertility is returning.
Return of your periods
If you are having regular menstrual cycles it is likely you have returned to fertility.
Long, short, or irregular cycles can be a sign that your cycles are not yet fertile. Keeping a record of your periods can help you to identify that your body is ovulating.
How to tell if you're fertile
If you want to know more about your fertility status, you can use simple family planning methods.
Toni Weschler, MPH (Master of Public Health), includes a section on charting during breastfeeding in her guide Taking Charge of Your Fertility.
Fertility treatment and breast milk
If you're worried about how a medicine affects breastfeeding, talk to your GP and fertility expert.
Is breastfeeding a form of birth control?
Breastfeeding isn’t just a healthy way to feed your baby. It can also be a form of birth control — but only done in a certain way.
How does breastfeeding prevent pregnancy?
When you exclusively breastfeed — meaning you nurse at least every 4 hours during the day and every 6 hours at night, and feed your baby only breast milk — your body naturally stops ovulating. You can’t get pregnant if you don’t ovulate.
No ovulation means you won’t have your period, either. That’s why breastfeeding-as-birth control is also called the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). “Lactational” refers to breastfeeding, and “amenorrhea” means not having your period.
How effective is breastfeeding as birth control?
When you do it perfectly, the LAM birth control method can be about as effective as hormonal contraceptives (like the pill). About 2 out of 100 people who use breastfeeding as birth control get pregnant in the 6 months it can be used after a baby is born.
Breastfeeding won’t prevent pregnancy if you feed your baby anything other than breast milk. So if you breastfeed but also use formula, LAM isn’t a great birth control method for you. It also doesn’t work if you use a breast pump — you need to nurse your baby if you want your breastfeeding to prevent pregnancy.
It’s important to remember that breastfeeding can only be used as birth control for the first 6 months of a baby’s life, or until your period returns. After that, breastfeeding is way less effective — especially as the baby begins to eat solid foods and sleeps longer at night. Be ready to use another birth control method at 6 months, when your period returns, or if you start feeding your baby food or formula.
How do I start using breastfeeding as birth control?
You can start using LAM as soon as your baby is born. It may take a little while for you to get used to breastfeeding. Lots of people need help in the beginning, especially if it’s your first baby. Most hospitals have people who can help. And you can check out La Leche League for information, resources and support.
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