Is breastfeeding birth control?

[Mya's Mommy]

Hi Mamas,
Ok, so I know the technical answer is "No." I know you CAN get pregnant while BF, but really what are the chances? My DD is 1 year old and I still don't have a period yet. She is still BFing about 5-6 times a day/night. She does not drink any other milk or juice, just water. I am not using any birth control, but don't want to get pregnant again yet. Am I nuts or is BFing a fairly good form of birth control?
Thanks!

[lizziebits]

Breastfeeding affects every women differently, and as I've just discovered, every pregnancy differently.

If your baby is
- under 6 months old,
- does most sucking at your breast
- sleeps less than 6 hours at a stretch as night and
- doesn't go more than 4 hours during the day,
and you've not yet had a period, the chances of getting pregnant are very slim. ( I think it's something like 97-98%).

However, once any of those factors change, the chance of getting pregnant increases. With my son, I didn't get my period back until 17 months, and we weren't able to get pregnant until he was over 2.5 (14 months after my period returned). My prolactin levels were very high with him.

With my daughter (who is just over 2 months), I've already gotten my period back and seen fertile cervical mucous.

So the short answer is: maybe. But you can't just assume it will work (unless you meet the qualifications posted above), you really need to be paying attention to signs of returning fertility.

[MommatoAandA]

I got my period back my second post partum month and EBFed, never offered bottles and was never away from my baby. But like the last post said, if you are not having a period your most likely not ovulating (with other factors, like baby under 6 months and the others she listed). If you dont mind an oops, its birth control.

[texmati]

nope. ask me how I know!

[*MamaJen*]

No. Breastfeeding, especially at one year post-partum, is not an effective form of birth control.
I got my period back at like eight weeks pp while nursing around the clock. But even if you haven't gotten your period back, you could get pregnant on your first pp ovulation.
Unless you're okay with an oops baby, I would find more reliable birth control. Even pulling out would decrease your odds.

[kittywitty]

Nope! I have three that were conceived while bf.

[Smokering]

Yeah, not at that stage. I wouldn't risk it - particularly bearing in mind that if you did get pregnant, your milk supply might drop or disappear and your current baby could end up suddenly/prematurely weaning. If that's something you'd be sad about, it's extra reason to use BC. I think it's something like 70% of women whose milk dries up during pregnancy?

[sosurreal09]

well i would not risk it but then again i got my period back right away while EBF. i have paraguard though and it didnt even hurt to put in and i have no side effects and its hormone free IUD so its pretty sweet actually.

[fyrwmn]

not a very reliable for m of bc. our 3 angels were conceived while i was bf dd. granted we were ttc, but we got pg with the first when dd was 12mo. the beautiful surprise i'm currently pg with came about when ds was 8 months old. it was only my 2nd ppaf, ds was nursing every 2 hours around the clock, and we were barely having any sex. i wouldn't change things for anything, but we did think we were a bit safer

[miss_honeyb]

Check out the book "Breastfeeding and Natural Child-Spacing" by Sheila Kippley for LOTS of great info on this topic. But like the first poster said, once any of those factors changes, your chances go up. I think it's around 6% if you're BF and have NOT gotten your period back yet. Once your period comes back it pretty much doesn't matter if you're bf.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

I'd say no because i know someone who was exclusively bf her 2nd dc and she got pregnant with her 3rd and has less than 12 mths between them both and i have conceived 4 times while bf also.

Though everyone is different but i wouldn't rely on bf as a form of contraception because even if you haven't had a period yet whats to say your body isn't releasing an egg at the moment you have unprotected sex, you never know when your fertility will come back after having a baby so if your not wanting a surprise (or happy accident as i call it) then you'll need something else in place.

[jwpsgurl]

Nope! I am on my 2nd pregnancy while breastfeeding and not getting a period. DD1 was 6 months and just started solids when I got pregnant with DD2. DD2 was about 20 months, barely eating any solids and nursing 5-6 times a day and all night long when I got pregnant this time. We were hoping to get pregnant, so it worked out, but I would definitely use some for of birth control if you are avoiding!