BF and ovulating...

[nickymorris]

I'm still excl BF and my periods haven't returned and while recently at the HV they reminded me that BF isn't a birth control method - which I knew (I've got a coil fitted).

I said that yes I knew because you ovulate before your period comes when the cycle restarts. She then went on to explain that you could be regularly ovulating but just not having periods.

Is she right - that you could have lots of ovulations without a bleed?

No. The hormones produced when you ovulate mean that you get the thickening of the uterus lining and when implantation doesn't occur you shed the lining.
I was trying to explain this to the DR at my 8 week check after DD.
As Hananflower says though you can have anovulatory periods which is a different thing entirely.

and you could ovulate and then conceive, in which case you wouldn't have a period

yup but with a coil its unlikely
Happened to me twice though. despite using contraception.

thanks guys for confirming my understanding... :-)

OK, I'm having a tiny panic here........ Do you really have to be feeding at least every 5 hours for bf to be 98% effective as contraception??? DS is 5 months and still exclusively bf but he has been sleeping 11- 12 hrs a night since he was about 12 weeks old. Now I read my little contraceptive leaflet they gave me in the hospital and it just said 98% effective if exclusively bf, under 6 months and not weaned (i.e. no formula, food or other drinks) - nothing about feeding every 5 hrs or dummies (he doesn't have a dummy btw, just a lot of thumb sucking), so I wasn't planning to start worrying about contraception until next month when I start weaning, but this has got me a little worried, although with my last two babies my periods didn't return until a couple of months after I stopped bf altogether, so hopefully it's not a problem for me (doesn't bear thinking about!), but still - shouldn't it add those caveats in the leaflet if they are an issue????

They should add the bits at least about long periods between feeds (especially at nighttime)
www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html
This is the Kellmom site. If you are interested I'd take a look.

Nelly the elephant - That leaflet is VERY naughty. Once a baby goes longer than 5 hrs and certainly as long as overnight ovulation can be triggered. If the change has been sudden, a trigger is even more likely. A sudden reduction in length of feeds can also make a difference.

my period came back as soon as DS1 went more then 5 hours without a feed over night, when he was about 7-8 months

then i got pg straight away

DS2 never went that long without a feed, but periods came back anyway when he was 12 months old

I found that too - when DS went longer than 5 hours without feeding, which was at 16 mos, my periods returned. I also get the nipple pain with nursing when I'm ovulating. It lasts 5 - 7 days.

Oh sorry - forgot to add - I did have one cycle when I ovulated (as demonstrated by ovulation belly pain that I always get - before DS and now, as well as an ultrasound showing maniacally active ovarian follicles) but didn't get a period. My theory is that my hormones didn't have their act together enough. The cobwebs in which my ovaries were encased after 24 months of no activity cracked, but there wasn't enough endometrial activity to produce a period. That month was Not Fun. It was almost (almost!!) a relief when I did get a period the next month.