Breast feeding and return of menstruation.

[Writerwannabe83]

My DS is 20 weeks old and is exclusively breast fed.

It was my understanding that if BF is going well and baby is feeding effectively and sufficient milk is being produced then menstruation does not reappear following the birth - however, yesterday I started bleeding and am undoubtedly having a period.

Should I be worried? Does this mean I'm not making enough milk or that DS isn't getting enough?

Many years ago one mother said to me if periods return it means there's an issue with milk supply and so breast milk alone isn't enough to sustain a baby and Formula should be introduced. I really don't want to do that unless I have to.

Has anyone else had their periods return whilst EBF and it not be an issue??

Don't panic! It's fine. Your period can come back at any time. It can be a while before it does, but some unlucky women it can be as early as 4 weeks after delivery. Irrespective of breastfeeding.

The return of your periods can be related to a regular overnight long sleep from your baby. So if you've been having, say, a regular 5 hour overnight gap between feeds then that could be a contributory factor.

Utter bunkum from the other mother you spoke to ages ago. If you are fit and healthy, your body decides when it is ready to cope with another pregnancy, and off it goes on normal cycles again, breastfeeding or not. It's perfectly possible to be pregnant and fully breastfeeding at the same time (been there, done that).

No expert, but I don't think it means anything apart from you're a bit unlucky! My period didn't come back until 8 months (EBF to six) but a close friend also EBF to six months and she got her period at 3 months. Her DS was (and is) a healthy chunk of a boy. Unless you have some other reason to worry about your DS (poor weight gain etc) I doubt you have anything to worry about.

Mine came back when dd was six weeks old - she was exclusively fb and continued to be till she was 6 months. No complaints about quality from her

Bf! Not fb. She's not on Facebook

Mine came back at three months and I bf for a year. I wasn't having decent sleep either, that happened when dd was 2!

What you have been told is bollocks. Both my daughters have been bf to around 2 and ebf to weaning. My periods came back at 8 and then 6 months. in both cases I was still doing numerous night feeds.

In the nicest way Writer, I know you are prone to anxiety about bf. Try to remind yourself that almost all advice that contradicts what you observe in your own baby will be rubbish.

Oh, and I did blw with both, so bm was still very much their main nutrition when my periods returned.

Thanks everyone for all your reassurances,

I have no real reason to worry as DS seems very content in himself, he is his usual happy self and is having lots of wet and dirty nappies.

He has been a little fussier than normal over the last 3-4 days, reluctance to feed, arching, fidgeting, crying at the breast etc but I think it was because he was preparing to produce a dirty nappy He has seemed much better with regards to this today though.

His overnight feeding can still be quite erratic but he typically goes about 6 hours between feeds. He usually feeds 7-8 times in 24 hours but it can be as much as 10 times on some occasions.

I'm sure his weight is fine - I haven't seen a HV for weight check for over 5 weeks as I found that obsessing over that and the growth charts was just stressing me out. He certainly feels like he's getting heavier so that's good enough for me

I guess I need to do the inevitable now and see my GP about contraception

I have formula fed two dc and am currently breast feeding dc3. My periods returned bang on 4 weeks post baby with every dc.......(dc3 is certainly getting enough food!)

Did anyone notice their baby's feeding habits change around the time their periods returned?

DS is hardly feeding, has vomited after every feed for the last 48 hours and is now having drier nappies.

I don't remember anything changing, maybe he has picked up a bug? Keep feeding him to make sure he is hydrated - I'm sure someone will be along with better advice soon.

I like you I thought that bfing meant you didn't get periods. I knew you could be fertile but didn't think you actually got periods. I got mine when DS was 4mo so just shows how much I know :)

By the way I bf til he was 18mo

And another thing, a friend if mine who is still bfing her DD who is about 10mo desperately wants her period back so she can try for DC2 so her plan is to night wean so sounds like what others have said about not feeding much/at all at night can trigger them into returning

I'm bfing my 8 week old DS and had had a period already :(

He only gets a formula feed once before bed. I express in place of that feed and bf him through the night, so when I started getting pain which turned out to be ovulation pain, I had no idea what it was. Bloody nightmare!

Mine came back 6 weeks after I stopped bleeding (ok I am bitter about this) and I'm still bf ing DD whose now 10 months.

Mine returned very quickly. Within 2 months in one case but bf continued anyway. To well past a year and ebf for 6 months.

I found with one of mine that they did get fussy about feeding for 48 hours before my period and then settled as it started. Everything I read said that didn't happen and I began to think I was mad. Then a friend spotted the same with her dc2. So I think some babies do notice a change of some kind.

Er, Writer, that sounds as if he's ill. Call your GP as the vomiting is clearly making him dehydrated! I seriously doubt it has anything to do with your periods.

I actually called NHS direct that morning hubba and then took him to A&E. As Sod's law would have it he did two huge wees whilst we were there and passed the fluid challenge fine so doctor wasn't concerned. He was still a bit sicky on Saturday and Sunday but he's much better now

we thought our breast refusal last month was due to period returning. this month no refusal when period returned, just a bit fussier first day. what i did last month was start baby off with 5-10ml extracted into bottle then place her onto nipple and she took to it. it was sporadic for the next few feeds but didn't take long for baby to get back onto nipple without "tricking" her. due to the change we went to A&E just to be sure - all clear from them and they were very happy we went in anycase....don't give up try to stick to breast - we r all in it together!

My periods came back a month after the lochia stopped with all three pregnancies even though I was exclusively breastfeeding and still feeding through the night. Everyone's body reacts differently to the hormonal changes. Personally I would have loved another year of no periods each time but my body just doesn't work that way.