Tell me about breastfeeding and fertility...

[NoviceKnitter]

I know you can't treat it as contraception, but if you wanted to conceive what are the chances while breastfeeding, esp if AF not back yet. Not planning this right now but beginning to think about planning ahead...

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

if you are exclusively breastfeeding and feeds are never more than 4 hours apart - i was told by a GP that you would probably and i stress the probably wouldn't ovulate for 9 months

it's very unlikely that anyone would exclusively b/f for 9 months or that a 9 month old would still always have a fed every 4hours - IMO

[pooter]

I still havent had a period and ds is 1yr and 1month!!! wtf is going on? im still bfing on demand but he is getting 3 solid meals a day too. Its quite a bonus actually, but i am beginning to wonder/worry about it. Dont want him to be an only. How old is your dc novice?

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

it used to thought that you wouldn't fall pregnant while you were b/f - i think this is why there was quite often 18m to 2yrs between children - so watch out pooter i think your time's nearly up!!

[KristinaM]

I had no af for 7 montsh after DS1 was born. then one AF, then got pg ( a surprise )

i had no AF for 11 montsh after DS2.

both Bf a lot and went onto solids at 6mo

you can get pg without an Af becuase AF is the end of a cycle not the beginning IYSWIM

[luvaduck]

if you are exclusively breastfeeding and not having periods then its success rate as a contraceptive is 90%. compared to say the combined pill which is 99%. so unlikely to get pregnant but can't rely on it!
HTH

[chipmonkey]

I bf ds3 for 2.8 yrs, was ttc for one year of that and only got pg 2 months after stopping. I did have periods and obviously he was on solids long before that but it still affected my fertility, IMO.

[luvaduck]

oh and the baby has to be under 6 months

i was taught the 90% figure by faculty of family planning on a course

however just found this which says its 98-99% effective if those 3 criteria are met.
www.rho.org/html/cont-lam.htm

[mummypig]

Me too chipmonkey, and pooter, I didn't have any periods until ds2 was about 18 months old, and those were very irregular and basically only prompted by being away from him for >24h. It took me about 9m to conceive ds3, when ds2 was 2 1/2 to 3yo, and I was only bf ds2 once a day by then.

vintageviolet, my ds2 had severe reflux and did best on small, frequent feeds. So even after introducing solids he was probably bf more frequently than every 4h. But just to be safe, we did use contraception (on the few occasions we had sex ) until we were actively trying to conceive.

Anyway, there's some useful info about bf and fertility on kellymom.com.

[NoviceKnitter]

Thanks very much that's very helpful.

DD is 8mo and still bf on demand with no sign of cutting down despite solids. Was kind of wanting to be trying for DC2 by the time she's 1 but based on this I can't see my body being ready - stil I suppose that's half her life so far again so lots can change....

[crokky]

NoviceKnitter - it varies from person to person. I bf my DS for 6 months, then he started solids and I continued to bf. 2 weeks after he started solids, my periods came back on a regular 28 day cycle. I continued to have them regularly for the next 6 or 7 months that I continued bf. When DS was just over 12m, I was on one single bf only at night. When I stopped bf, I had a mega long cycle (about 38 days) then the next cycle resumed at 28 days. I was using ovulation kits so I know I didn't ovulate at all whilst bf, even when it was down to 1 feed per day. I stated ovulating again when I stopped bf. I couldn't get pg whilst bf, even on the one feed and this is how some people find it. However, some people can get pg giving 10 feeds a day etc. You can never tell which one will be you!

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

crokky - i totally agree!
even though i knew logically and scientifically that i was highly unlikely to concieve whilst exclusively b/f, there was no way i wanted to take that risk - i know several people who f/f and had 2 kids under 2yrs - scary thought for me and they were totally run ragged

[Fennel]

I conceived while bf (planned) and another time my periods came back while I was exclusively breastfeeding.

It's apparently not a good contraceptive if your baby is sleeping through the night. both those babies slept through the night very young, at a month or so, so the bf didn't work as a contraceptive. You have to be feeding round the clock, apparently.

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

yes you have to be exclusively breast feeding every 4 hours at least

[Yorky]

DS is 13mths and still feeds once a day, this is my 3rd period since he was born so starting ttc seems more realistic now. Hw was exclusively breastfed till 6mothns and I didn't have my first AF till he was over 9months

[TheProdigalShow]

I was bf my dd every 2 hours day and night and af returned! I personally feel that I was robbed. However, 5 months later she still feeds 6 times in a 25hr period (she's 9 months old) and although I have a regular cycle, my luteal phase is completely messed up. So, I have regular periods but couldn't get pregnant even if I wanted to. I don't!

[NoviceKnitter]

But if you haven't had your period yet the most you can possibly have ovulated is once? Is that right? Or is it possible to ovulate more than once without a period (I'm guessing not...)
Fennel was AF back when you conceived while bf?
TheProdgialShow what's luteal phase?
Thanks everyone

[bobblehead]

I had cut dd1 down to about one feed a day before I got af back (it was about a week before her first birthday). Dd2 was conceived after 2 periods and is now 10m. No sign of af yet but she still feeds constantly at night, so I'm interested to see if af will come back at a year despite this, or if it was cutting the feeds that did it last time....

[CantSleepWontSleep]

If you ovulate, you will definitely get a period (unless pregnant!), but you can get a period without ovulating.

Luteal phase is the time between ov and AF.

My periods came back when dd was 9 months, despite still feeding 9 times a day. She had just stopped feeding regularly at night though.

I managed to conceive again when dd was 23 months and still bf.

[SofiaAmes]

I didn't get my period back until ds was 11 months (was exclusively bfing until 6 months) and then got pregnant with dd a month later. HOWEVER, my mother got pregnant with my brother while still exclusively bfing me and before she had gotten any periods at all.

[luvaduck]

actually you can get a period without ovulating - they are called anovulatory cycles. just to confuse things.
but if you fulfil those 3 criteria its as reliable as the pill.

[LyraSilvertongue]

I got pg while bf DS1. But he was over a year old by then so not feeding as often.

[Tea71]

Am reading this with interest as am TTC
My DD is 9 months and was very excited when my AF came back last week after she cut out one of her breastfeeds (down to three feeds a day now).
I know that you can have an AF without ovulating, but is it the breastfeeding that stops you from ovulating then??

Am going to buy an ovulation kit just to see if I'm ovulating or not, but if I'm not, does that mean I have to stop breastfeeding altogether if I want to ovulate ? - would rather not stop bfeeding.

CAn anyone advise?

[evenhope]

I bf my eldest until she was 15 mo and her brother was born 4 months later. I bf him until he was 15 mo and no 3 was born 9 months later. BF him until 15 mo and no 4 was born 9 months later (and the eldest had taken 18 months to conceive in the first place)

Currently BF DD2 11 mo and AF only came back last month.

[susiemj]

My MIL had 4 dc five and under. It doesn't work!

My GP has just put me on a new version of the mini pill called Cerazette which doesn't interfere with bf and has a 12 hour 'window' in which to take.

[Jennster]

Just a note though. If you ovulate you will get af but just because you haven't yet had af, doesn't mean you haven't ovulated...for the first time. No af for 3 years here, dd 2, ds 7 months