Did you conceive whilst breastfeeding?

[duggeehug85]

Just having a wee wobble but understand it's time to use contraception and get the map pill which I will do.

What are the chances of getting pregnant whilst exclusively breastfeeding? I have a three month old who is exclusively breastfed and doesn't take a dummy. I've had unprotected sex several times over the festive period.

Anecdotally did you or anyone you know fall pregnant whilst exclusively breastfeeding?

Yes! Twins actually! Unfortunately one was unviable. Wh have 14m between our boys. I'm knackered!

For ref, I ebf. No bottle supplements as he refuses. No periods either. Conceived literally the only time we had sex as had an extremely demanding baby. The Kellymom article certainly rings true for me!

Yes I did
I was still occasionally breastfeeding at 6 months pregnant
There is 17 months between my DC

Yes

I had my first period exactly 2 weeks after both DDs slept more than six hours... And that was a one off. I believe the frequency of the feeding matters as well- if they are good sleepers, you are more likely to have ovulated.

DD2 was conceived when we were still feeding, but DD1 was a year old. I fed until 4 months pregnant. I know several tandem feeders... And a triple feeder!

I fell pregnant with my son whilst exclusively breast feeding my daughter, I had no periods and had surgery and was told it would be difficult for me to fall pregnant again!

Just over a year and my son arrived!

I have a friend who got pg when her dd was 6 weeks old. She was having a really hard time and feeling terrible, and thought she was just finding motherhood hard. By 6 months she was basically bedridden because her body (and mind) was struggling to cope with back to back pg and looking after a newborn. It was awful.

I hope as a GP you don't tell people it's impossible to get pregnant whilst breastfeeding, because yes you can, however unlikely.

Sigh.

Go back and read my post again. Or the Kellymom link posted above. Or any other reputable source about the use of breastfeeding as a contraceptive.

Yes, I did but DD was 2 years old.

Yes, I did

Thing is, 98% effective still means 2 in 100 women getting pregnant. That's a lot of (presumably unintended) pregnancies every year.

I also doubt statistics when it comes to this sort of thing, data collection during my pregnancy and birth and follow-up was shockingly piss poor. As someone who works alongside data scientists and loves a good number crunching for some new insights... I couldn't believe how simplified the government and NHS stats are. I don't ever recall anyone even asking if our pregnancy was planned or not; I recall having the talk about contraception post birth because of the increased fertility afterwards but the current pregnancy I'm not so sure about. I did get handed around midwives though so perhaps my data collection wasn't as robust as it should be.

Op, get yourself some proper birth control. That's the key item here!

I have @AppropriateAdult. Luckily my GP told me that although it was a fairly effective method of contraception, it was up to me whether I wanted to use another form such as condoms as well. I would be royally annoyed if they had said I didn't need anything else, when that's not always the case as there is a chance, when you get the pill they highlight that it's not 100%- it's only fair that breastfeeding women are told the same.

That’s all fine, Tetran. I’m just confused as to where you got the idea that as a GP I would tell people it is ‘impossible to get pregnant whilst breastfeeding’. I assume you either didn’t properly read my post, or don’t understand statistics.

A friend conceived her DS while EBFing her DD at 6 months old. Do. Not. Risk. It.

Yes I did although my eldest was approx 18 months and only feeding a couple of times a day.

Me (sort of!)- I EBF Dd1 until 6 months, stopped because we wanted to start trying for another (thought it might take a little while)- took a test 3 weeks later and was already pregnant with dd2! (Pissed my OH off a bit, he was looking forward to the 'trying' for a while....).

They might say 98%, but never underestimate the 2%!

Yes I did. DS1 was around six months old and I was still breastfeeding but had dropped a couple of night feeds. My periods had come back at four months postpartum so I knew I could get pregnant and was happy for it to happen. I just didn't expect it to happen quite so soon as it had taken 11 months to conceive DC1. Having two so close together has been fine, though.

I did. My boob monster was 8 months old and still feeding day and night. I had one “accident” and I was pregnant. I had a termination. Lesson learnt the hard way, would not recommend.

Yes I did, although slightly older baby. The risk is low if your baby is feeding very regularly (every 3 hrs 24/7). If you are missing the odd feed due to baby sleeping longer / mixed feeding / going out for a few hours, then it's possible that you are fertile.

Once at 6 months pp exclusively bf, once at 12 months and again at 2 years

Yes, twice! First time was first ovulation after dc1 - we were very happy, but he was only 6 months, so a small gap! Period came back a bit later with dc2 - more like 9 months - but I was still breastfeeding her when I fell pregnant with dc3 just after she turned one!

I got pregnant while EBF. DD was 6 months

Sorry 4 months!

Am I right in thinking that you're going to get the morning after pill because you've had sex several times over her festive period? (Apologies if I've misunderstood)

I think there's a 72 hour window of opportunity for the map to work (and the sooner the better) so assuming the first episode of festive period sex was longer ago than that then it obviously won't provide full protection.

My midwife told me I'd be very fertile after the birth. I used condoms while breastfeeding as I didn't want to run the risk.

@firstimemamma - I've had it now. To be honest I just wanted to hear about other woman's experiences. I've read the kellymom information and didn't use any contraception till DD1 was about 6 months and didn't conceive till she was1. The difference this time is that i don't want three children under three. I've been daft but what's fine is done and time will tell!

I fell pregnant with my second when ebf DC1 was 7 months.. was still feeding him at least 3 hourly during night as well as day and hadn't had a period.