DM - You cannot get PG while BF

[DragonWithAGirlTattoo]

I know its the DM, but really?

"It has also meant that Jessy will remain an only child with the couple, who had planned to begin further IVF when their son was six months old, told conception won't happen while Ms Krevantin is still breastfeeding"

But the extended breastfeeding has made conception impossible

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3211362/Mother-breastfeeds-son-four-says-keeps-ADHD-control.html#ixzz3k08v0SPf

A spokesperson from bpas told MailOnline: 'Women are coming to our clinics having become pregnant by mistake.
'Often, their GP has told them that breastfeeding is an effective form of contraception.
'It is an excellent for of contraception - if you do it exclusively. If you miss one feed, it is not reliable.
'Exclusive breastfeeding can provide highly effective contraceptive cover, but only if strict criteria are met.'

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2282763/Unplanned-pregnancies-rise-new-mothers-wrongly-rely-breastfeeding-contraception.html#ixzz3k09cOj5T

I thought this was an old wives tale and google says...

"Yes, women can get pregnant while they are breastfeeding because although they are less fertile during this time, they may not be infertile. You may not get your period for a few months after childbirth but your body will release an egg two weeks before you resume menstruating again."

Lactational amenorrhea can be a very effective tool for contraception if babies are feeding regularly, under 6 months and mother hasn't had a period etc all the info says not as effective after 6 months.
For me my LA lasted 9 months, 12 months and 19 months so a fairly effective form of contraception for me but people's interpretation differs. I've know people say it didn't work and then turns out they were giving a bottle of formula overnight or they've gone back to work or baby goes to grannie's every Tuesday for the day.
how it works

I didn't start my periods again til 13 months and 19 months after my dds. I did fall pg while bf dd2 but she was 22 months and just having morning and bedtime feeds, so I wasn't expecting bf to be an effective contraception by that point

I certainly wasn't giving formula or having anyone else look after DS - he was only 14 weeks when I was pregnant again.

I very luckily I know became pregnant within 4 months with DS. DD was a one shot wonder as is the planned baby that I am currently pregnant with

My GP has said that she wonder how quickly people who are relying on breastfeeding as a contraceptive would have become pregnant anyway. Her view is that it is not a very reliable method

WoT, as I said above, I was feeding round the clock. I never, ever gave formula to either of my babies, no dummy, baby never away from me (co-sleeping, sling wearing). DD never went longer than 2 hours between feeds day and night. I ovulated when dd was 11 weeks old.

I've said this before on here and people have said 'oh people do say it didn't work for them and it turns out they're utter liars'. I find this quite offensive (I know you weren't referring to me btw and were making only a generalised comment ).

Believe me, we met ever condition going.

It is effective. As effective as condoms. The 1% will of course be attracted to these threads so it's rather skewed as a snapshot but we do exist and we're not making up stories.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen but going from my experience in BF support often people hear 'BF protects against pregnancy' and don't look into it any further, they are usually the ones who get pg.
The stats are 98% effective under 6 months etc. Some people do (quite unfairly IMO) have a return to fertility a lot earlier despite exclusive, on demand BF but they are in the minority both IME and according the current evidence.

You can have ivf whilst breastfeeding

PermetsTu - I can imagine that would be very frustrating.

It worked for me until periods returned at 6 months.....I then got pregnant 2 months after as didn't use other protection in the heat of the moment

Erm my periods only started again when DS was 2.5. He's 3 in November and, despite having regular periods for 6 months, have been unable to conceive. I've been having unprotected sec since about 6 weeks. Think I must be a massive freak of nature!

YokoUhoh - nope, not massively unusual. Have you been tracking your fertility at all? Apparently the length of luteal phase can have an impact on ability to get pregnant.

Yoko, that could just be your natural ability in conceiving - and not related to BF'ing

I tried to get pg 12 months after first DC and 2nd dc is 3.5 years younger

I was BFing every 3 hours at least through the day and night (really clingy child, yes I was knackered) until my child was 1 and I force-weaned him at night. I'd already got periods back at 3 months, and conceived my second child when my first child was only 10 months, first month of trying.

If I'd believed this LAM thing and had unprotected sex 2 weeks before I got my first post-birth period (which again, was at 3 months, with a child feeding every few hours AT LEAST through the day and night, never apart from me) then most likely I'd have been pregnant even sooner.

I thought it was MOST unfair that I got my periods back so quickly, with such a demanding baby as I had, but I suppose the upside is that I was obviously very fertile and conceived my second as soon as I wanted to.

We tried for 6 months with dd2, and she was conceived the month that dd1 cut down to one feed rather than two.
When not breastfeeding at all I conceived first month both times.

So it is perfectly reasonable for me to suspect that it did effect conceiving, but it didn't stop it.

My periods came back after 9 months and I stopped breastfeeding at 16 months, by which time I was 2 months pregnant!

my son was fully breastfed and 3 months old, not sleeping through etc, and I got pregnant. Apparently youre very fertile for after childbirth

Great-grandma, nine children, extended breastfeeding, had a baby every three years, perfect.
Read 'Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing', if you can get hold of it.
If you want to use breastfeeding as a contraceptive, you need to allow constant access to the breast and exclusively breastfeed in the early months (up to a year), so perhaps don't rely on breastfeeding alone until after the baby is three months old and breastfeeding is fully established.
You need to watch your mucus (mucous? sp) secretions and know when you start to ovulate again.

Whoa stop the bus! What is breastfeeding jewellery?

I ebf for 6 months, until weaning. On demand, co-sleeping etc.

Periods returned exactly 4 weeks after I gave birth, and straight back into a 28 day cycle.

another here who started ovulating at 14 weeks while exclusive breast feeding.

It would like have been earlier except I had retained products of conception that got removed at 12 weeks post partum.

Some peoples ovaries are not inhibited by EBF....

I've been pg four times whilst bf so I'm very clear that it doesn't work as a contraceptive.

That said, it took 14, 16 and 20 months respectively for my first AF after each of my three DC so I'm sure there's some effect. Each time AF came back when there was a longer gap (10-12 hours) between feeds at least once a day.

MIL was very keen to point out to me and DH that breastfeeding is not a contraceptive. Apparently that kind of thinking is how DH appeared so quickly after his older sibling.

By DM I thought you meant your mum at first!

I've always heard that your periods usually come back when your baby first starts to go 6 hours without a feed at least once a day, usually at night. This happened to me when both of mine were about 3 months old (although it was a lot longer before they went more than about 2 hours during the day!) DS2 was conceived on the 3rd or 4th attempt when DS1 was 10 months old and still bf about 4 times a day.

Dm conceived my dsis while breastfeeding, I was 6 weeks old. She never had a period, blamed it on bf, finally realised she was pregnant at 20 weeks!

Breastfeeding does limit the chance of you getting pregnant IF you are BF on demand with no supplements, allowing comfort feeds and your baby isn't sleeping more than 5-6 hours. If your 'baby' is 4 years old then it isn't a contraceptive because the hormones aren't being released often enough as you aren't feeding them every 2-3 hours.

It is possible even beyond weaning, but I wouldn't recommend anyone risks it unless getting pregnant again doesn't matter.

I bf DS2 for 27 months, no dummies - comfort fed round the clock, every 45 mins. He was a velcro baby. I didn't intend to do that, it was just the way it turned out. I didn't have a period at all during that time, so with the pregnancy I went three years without one. I'm assuming I didn't ovulate during that time and we didn't use any contraception. I didn't get pregnant. I was 30.

As far as I understand it, its the number and frequency of sucks that suppresses ovulation and you do have to be feeding round the clock.