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Original poster

Did you conceive whilst breastfeeding?

85 replies

duggeehug85 · 27/12/2019 13:56

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?

OP posts:
Nowgimmeagin · 27/12/2019 17:46

I did! My breastfed baby was 4 months old

Nowgimmeagin · 27/12/2019 17:47

Should have said, my periods hadn't returned either but we were keen for another so wasnt the end of the world by any stretch

SchoolMumsAreTheWorst · 27/12/2019 17:51

Yep....my mum. There's 12 months between my sister's.
Then she was ebf and taking mini pill and still got pregnant so another 12 months gap between sisters 2 and 3.

ShinyGiratina · 27/12/2019 17:51

I stopped BFing at 13m and 20m and both times did not have a period until 2m after.

I stopped feeding at 13m partly because I was ready to TTC.

I would always use a reliable method of contraception as it's impossible to know if you are ovulating prior to a return to periods.

Thehop · 27/12/2019 17:53

I had fertility treatment for my son and fell pregnant with his younger brother whilst exclusively breastfeeding him when he was 12 weeks old. No dummy, not even a sniff of expressing.

They’re great fun now, being a year apart, but it was a shock!

Pipandmum · 27/12/2019 17:53

Yep know two people who got pregnant who exclusively breastfeed. Get on that pill asap - I took mini pill while breastfeeding.

4butstilllearning · 27/12/2019 18:02

Yes, I conceived ds2 when dd was 6 weeks and exclusively bf!

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 27/12/2019 18:11

My dd did, and didn’t realise until she was about 14 weeks gone. Not a problem though - they’d left it up to Nature, just hadn’t ever thought Nature would oblige so soon. The dcs are only 15 months apart, so number one was still v largely BF when dd conceived.

It’s def. not a reliable method of contraception!

Selfsettling3 · 27/12/2019 18:40

Last week my 5 month old slept for 4 hours from start of one feed to the start of the next on 3 occasions and that was enough to trigger my period. Of course she hasn’t gone that long between feeds since.

MamaFlintstone · 27/12/2019 18:43

I know three women it’s happened to. Including one whose first baby had been via ivf.

PumpkinP · 27/12/2019 18:48

Yes I did but despite bf exclusively no formula at all, no dummy cosleeping , everything , my periods still arrived back at 5 weeks each time Sad

Katrinawaves · 27/12/2019 18:50

Yes. My IVF and EBF baby was 3 months old when I naturally conceived his sister Smile

lanbro · 27/12/2019 18:51

Dd2 was 9 months and still bf but obviously not exclusively. I had been on the pill but conceived dd2 immediately after stopping it with no period

avocadoze · 27/12/2019 18:51

Yep. Got pregnant with dc2 when dc1 was 12mo.

phlebasconsidered · 27/12/2019 18:51

Yep. Me. No period at all, still fully bf on demand at 6mo. Never had a period, no other signs, only found out because I had my hormones tested for other reasons. Continued to bf ds until 4 days before dd was born when he just stopped. Got a coil fitted soon as after dd.

CheesePleaseLoueese · 27/12/2019 18:55

Yes me. EBF and baby was 10 months old. I'd had a few periods by then...

stealthbanana · 27/12/2019 18:57

I didn’t, but did fall pregnant while on the minipill and still breastfeeding when IVF baby DS1 was 15 months old. I’d only had one period (and didn’t ovulate at all prior to having DS1). Go figure - if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be! Would just be very wary of the minipill as I subsequently found a lot of women like me....

Graphista · 27/12/2019 19:22

Yep I know 3 in real life 2 of whom first babies less than 4 months old at time of conceiving and one similar to a pps post had needed fertility treatment to conceive no 1 so if was a major shock!

Ebf is not contraception if you're not wanting that close age gap you need to be using actual contraception

starsinyourpies · 27/12/2019 19:51

I knew one, pregnant with twins when baby three months. Ended up with 3DC under one!

Stegosaurus1990 · 27/12/2019 19:54

My periods came back at 6 weeks PP and baby was EBF - he didn’t have a drop of formula. I felt very short changed. I could theoretically have gotten pregnant before my first period.

Babyfg · 27/12/2019 21:23

I did twice. But my periods were back and regular and children were over six months. It's a reliable method of you meet all the criteria (efb , baby under six months, no dummy, no periods, feeding more than every six hours etc) if you don't meet one of them then it's not effective.

EC22 · 27/12/2019 21:25

Once while I exclusively breastfeeding, but I had missed a feed. My periods always returned quite quickly, as soon as I miss a single feed my ovaries bounce back into action!

Original poster
duggeehug85 · 27/12/2019 21:42

@starsinyourpies ShockShockShock

OP posts:
Witchend · 27/12/2019 21:50

I did.

But not straight away.
With dd1 and ds we conceived the first month of trying.
With dd2 I was still bf 2x a day. We tried for about 6 months, then I cut down to 1x a day and conceived that month.

whiskey03 · 27/12/2019 21:54

My husband is about 11 months older than his sister and MIL was breastfeeding.

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