Can you get pregnant while BFing?

[inneedofaholidaybigtime]

Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding exclusively - no bottles / formula etc? I know that technically you can always get pregnant whether standing up, knickers on, sun shining, last day of the cycle etc etc, but it's very unlikely, right? Only token amounts of other food as DC only just started weaning. Context is I would rather not get pregnant again just yet but we do want another DC and don't want a massive age gap so it wouldn't be a disaster if it happened. Just wondered if anyone has any personal experience of getting pregnant while breastfeeding? Fast forward a few months and I'll likely be trying to get pregnant anyway. No periods yet at 6 months pp. Can't really be bothered to worry about contraception and not DTD that much anyway for obvious reasons!

At 6 months i don't think you can rely on breastfeeding as contraception

Yes, you can definitely get pregnant whilst breastfeeding. I became pregnant with my twins whilst breadtfeeding my 9mo DS. He was very slow to wean so was only having tasters of food, he was mostly breastfed.

Yes you can still get pregnant.

After 6 months of no periods after giving birth I would definitely recommend you take a test, if negative speak to your midwife/ health visitor/ GP.

Really @MichonnesBBF?! I thought it was completely normal to still have no periods when EBF?

You can still get periods while breastfeeding. The problem is that you would ovulate before a period so in theory you could get pregnant before having your first period

I was told that despite having no periods, you're still highly fertile. I don't know the biology but health visitor made sure to emphasise breastfeeding does not mean protected in any way. So.. I wouldn't risk it's

Yup.

Yes you Cavan. Nobody told MIL back in the fifties, so there's fourteen months between. DH and DBIL.

I did. That pregnancy was also conceived at the very end of the cycle outside of the fertile window.

Yes. I’ve got pregnant whilst breastfeeding (it was planned!).

It's happened to me 4 times!!

Yes. I know two people who got pregnant within a few months when they'd not even had a period yet. It's less likely, but even a 1% chance will mean a lot of women getting pregnant!

My periods didn't return for 2 years after DS1 and almost 5 years(! I did feed him until 4.5 but still...) with DS2. I still made sure to use contraception from day 1 after having them as I didn't want to increase my chances at all.

This method is only regarded as effective up to 6 months. There are 3 requirements for it to work:

The lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) requires 3 conditions.

All 3 must be met:

• The mother's monthly bleeding has not returned
• The baby is fully or nearly fully breastfed and is fed often, day and night
• The baby is less than 6 months old

I can only go from my own experience and non qualified knowledge,
6 month is to long not to have began periods again. I EFB and the health visitor was very vocal in getting contraceptives not too long after the birth.

I had my first period around 8 weeks after giving birth both times (both being EFB)

Some people don't get their periods back until they stop breastfeeding whereas others get them back quite quickly. The LAM method can be used but can only be relied on up until 6 months

YES. My doctor said no. She was wrong. Twice.

I got pregnant when dd1 was 9 months, was still bf but obviously also weaning but I hadn't had a period!

And before this so called 6 month mark. It IS NOT RELIABLE. AT ALL.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9678098/

I did

Went out to greet DH as he pulled in drive with DS on hip brandishing a positive pregnancy test and said shrieked
"this is why I am so tired"

what was I thinking???

Another yes you can.
That's why I got a sibling for my first birthday.

You can go years without a period whilst BF and it be totally normal. I do: I have to have stopped BF entirely (not even one feed) to get my period back, so every time have been period free for well over a year. I also have gotten pregnant my first cycle after birth twice, meaning I never actually got a period: I got pregnant from the ovulation which would have been my first period if I hadn’t got pregnant.

But some people ovulate despite BF loads. It’s hugely personal and there’s no way of knowing where in the spectrum you’ll fall!

I know loads of people who have. One friend had 3 kids in 5 years and not one period between each.

No periods for a year for me.
I personally know 2 women who fell pregnant when 1st baby less than 6 months and exclusively bf. It's not a safe form of contraception.

It's been hammered home to us at every midwife appointment since our baby was born that breastfeeding is not a reliable form of contraception.