Will birth control pills help start up my cycle while breastfeeding?

[SAMarshall]

Hello!

I've never posted on this forum before, and I hope this is the appropriate place for this question! We are not currently trying to conceive (I am about 5 months pregnant), but we already know we want another child soon after this one. I'm concerned because my period does not return until I wean completely from breastfeeding (at least that's how it has been with the first two), and I want to get pregnant before this growing baby reaches 12 months old. I don't want to wean before that, though. I've read info online about trying to breastfeed less or pump bottles to try to get my period back, but honestly, I don't think that will work for me. I pumped all the time with my first and my second slept through the night from an early age. 

I'm wondering (and I know this seems counterproductive) if I start taking some kind of hormonal birth control pill right after the birth of this child, will my period return? And then if that works, if I stop taking the pill will my period continue? I actually really do not want to take any hormonal birth control (it took us two years to get pregnant with our first and I wonder if it was because of those darn pills), but I really do want to get pregnant relatively soon after this baby is born. 

Again, I hope this is the right place to ask this question. I know I am not currently struggling to get pregnant, so I don't want to make light of anyone's situation. I am just really hoping to get my fertility back ASAP! Thanks!

[Jaimee]

Okay, I have to preface my answer with the disclaimer that I do not have scientific evidence back this up....

I would say no, I do not think that taking the BCP would cause your fertility to return sooner.  While bfing, you would be prescribed a progestin-only pill so as to not disrupt breastfeeding.  If you are only taking progesterone then I don't see how this could cause ovulation to occur sooner.  Estrogen and LH are needed to cause ovulation and then sufficient progesterone is needed to sustain your luteal phase long enough to allow an embryo to implant.  Using artificial hormones, I would think, would only serve to prevent your body from producing these on its own so once you went off the pill your body would need to work even harder to get into gear.  Again, this is just my thinking and not backed up by personal experience or scientific studies. 

Our bodies regulate when they are ready to regulate.  Your overall health will affect this timing as will breastfeeding frequency and your genetics.  If it took weaning to cause your cycles to return the last two times, I would assume the same would happen this time as well b/c that appears to be how your body responds to breastfeeding.  I'm not sure there is much you can do to change that.  It's nature's way of making sure our bodies can handle another pregnancy.    Honestly, if you absolutely know that you want to be pregnant by the time this baby is a year old, it sounds like you would need to wean around 6-8 months so that your body has a few months to regulate and for you to get as healthy as possible before TTC again.  I would also recommend charting during that period to see what is happening with your cycles and when you start to O again and have a fertile length LP.   

I know this is a tough and very personal decision.  But, just speaking from a personal standpoint now, I am having a hard time with the spacing of my last two children.  I'm 35 weeks pregnant now and my youngest is only 21 months old.  It's been very rough being pregnant and dealing with a toddler.  He ended up weaning during my pregnancy and I've felt very rushed to push him through other milestones like potty training and sleeping in his own room.  I feel like I'm not as present for him b/c I'm pregnant and generally not feeling well a lot of the time.  And after this baby is born, I worry about how much attention I'll be able to give to my toddler and what emotional effects it will have on him.  Spacing children just 12 months apart would exacerbate all of these issues so I would urge you to keep thinking about these things, too.  Good luck!

[fazer6]

I was on the progesterone only pill and so didn't have a cycle at all. My son is 2 in december and I came off the pill and 49 days later I finally ovulated. Personally I imagine that if I hadn't beeno n the pill it would have been sooner. So I can't see the pill help cycles coming back sooner, all it's going to risk is them taking longer to come back or regulate. If you want to see my chart it's linked from the main page of the nursing mamas thread.  I had a time when my body geared up to O but didn't. YOu can see how wonky my temps are (probably thanks to bf and co sleeping though) and my cp. I unfortunatly think you're going to have to leave it up to fate, or wean earlier. But make sure you are emotionally prepared to wean, you may end up regretting it if you did it too soon.

[SAMarshall]

Thanks for the replies! I figured I would just have to wait it out, but thought I'd ask around just in case!

I know, logistically, it's better for my body to have some more time to recover between pregnancies. I don't know why, but I just really want to have our 4th baby right away! And that's assuming I'll get pregnant when I want to. Oh well. Our first two are 22 months apart, and then there will most likely be a 24-month space between children 2 and 3, so I guess that's what we'll stick with!