merina coil and breast feeding? possible to continue?

[mouseymummy]

I'm thinking of getting the Merina coil fitted as I have really heavy and painful periods and this helped with stopping them before I had my last.

Ds is 4 month so bf is pretty established now but. I'm worried about not being able to continue and I'd love to make it to a year!

I've tried to look on Google but found lots of conflicting information.

Has anyone had the mirena and kept on feeding?

It's called the Mirena, and Kellymom has some useful info here: kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/birthcontrol/. I loved mine before ttc DD and I plan to have another fitted soon - she is 6 mo. AFAIK, as the progesterone works locally and it doesn't reach very high levels in the blood, it's a preferred option for bfing mothers and as it doesn't contain oestrogen it should have minimal impact on supply, but I'm afraid I don't have first-hand experience to offer.

Yes, absolutely fine to continue - I did!
I had it fitted when DS was a couple of months old and weaned when he was nearly two.

I never really considered it would be a problem (GP was keen and knew I was bfing) and it wasn't!

I had mine fitted when dd2 was about 9 months old, and she weaned at 17 months. It had no effect on my milk supply or anything like that, although i did feel a bit crap for a few days and fluey, like i was getting blocked ducts/mastitis (this may have been a coincidence, i don't know).

It also made me bleed on and off for a while, which was a bit annoying as my periods hadn't returned at that point, but once that settle down i've not had anything worth calling a period since, which is fantastically convenient.

Thank you all for your replies.

Why did I not think of visiting kellymom. Can I still blame baby brain/sleep deprivation?

Janek, I had it after dd1, I only bf her for a few weeks though as I really didn't enjoy it and for 7years I only bled when it was first fitted, when it was changed and a few times in between. Considering I went from huge 7 day periods where I couldn't leave the house for the fear of leaking, I was amazed at how good it was!! I loved it!

Thank you all for your replies.

Why did I not think of visiting kellymom. Can I still blame baby brain/sleep deprivation?

Janek, I had it after dd1, I only bf her for a few weeks though as I really didn't enjoy it and for 7years I only bled when it was first fitted, when it was changed and a few times in between. Considering I went from huge 7 day periods where I couldn't leave the house for the fear of leaking, I was amazed at how good it was!! I loved it!