TTC & Breastfeeding

[Louise2019]

I have a 7 month old baby and am hoping to conceive number 2 soon so they have a small age gap. DC has been EBF until we started weaning and still feeds 5/6 times a day and 3-5 times during the night. I took the mini pill from birth until approx 6 months ago as I was worried about getting pregnant sooner. I haven’t had a period since coming off the pill and have POAS which was negative. DC has a dummy and doesn’t really comfort suck on me.

Does anyone else have experience of getting pregnant (/or not) when breastfeeding. I’ve read that breastfeeding can be a contraceptive but all the advice seemed to indicate that it’s unlikely to work as a contraceptive and only potentially works in very specific circumstances.

Thanks

Yes. I got pregnant with DC2 when DC1 was 7 months old & I was still breastfeeding. My periods came back four months postpartum, as soon as DC dropped a couple of night feeds. The pregnancy was planned but happened much more quickly than expected. The small age gap was tough, but great fun as well.

I got pregnant breastfeeding when dd was 8 months old. My periods came back when she was 7 months.

It is possible but I think your periods have to be back again. Have you spoken to your gp about it?

I’ve not properly spoken to the GP as I’ve only been off the pill for six weeks, although I have mentioned it to them as I needed a prescription for a higher level of folic acid. I wasn’t sure if 6 weeks was too soon to go to the GP. I got pregnant with DC whilst on the pill so I have no idea what to expect in terms of time frames when TTC

It can take a healthy couple up to 1 year to conceive. After that, you'd be offered fertility tests.

When breastfeeding, if your periods don't come back it means you're not ovulating so you're unlikely to conceive. Dropping a feed in the night may bring them back though if you and your baby are comfortable doing that.