GP said I can’t get pregnant while breastfeeding

[Daisieblues]

Hi all.

Have just been the GP for preconception ‘advice’ as my daughter is 13 months old and I haven’t had my cycle return since giving birth.

He told me it’s lactation amenorrhea and pulled this up on google. He said the only thing I can do is stop breastfeeding.

I don’t want to stop feeding yet, any advice please? 🙏

It’s different for all women, so it’s no point comparing yourself to others who got pregnant whilst ebf at year. It took a year for my period to come back and I didn’t bf. Some women it can take longer, and some need to stop bf or massively reduce before their cycle returns and they can conceive again.

I got pregnant whilst exclusively breastfeeding and continued to BF her until I was 7 months pregnant.
It’s true that BFing can cause periods to not return for a while but saying you can’t get pregnant is just wrong.
I’d ask for a second opinion.

I think that’s why I found it frustrating as if I’d said I didn’t want to conceive but not was using contraception, he would’ve advised me to start using it. Just felt like a massive oversimplification.

thank you, it is a really hard decision. I definitely don’t want to stop all together 😣

You probably don’t need to rush then unless you really want a very small gap. Why not give it six months and just see what happens? Your baby will be eating more and drinking less milk then and you can reassess then. You might be pregnant by then 🤷‍♀️

I knew it was incorrect advice but not really sure what else I can do ☹️

I agree with this. I do understand the urge/desperation to start trying for another but you clearly want to continue bf and in a few months it's likely you'll feel clearer about it and also that weaning - if that's what you choose to do at some stage - will be easier for you both.

Again, what advice did you expect?

Breastfeeding is not a full proof contraceptive method. If you didn’t want to be pregnant then of course he would suggest using a contraceptive because breastfeeding isn’t a guarantee. But, for some women, it is and it will prevent pregnancy. You just don’t rely on it for contraception just in case.

In your case, it is suppressing your ovulation and preventing pregnancy. There is literally
nothing else you can do other than either wait it out or stop breastfeeding. He cannot govern you any other advice or give you anything to help. There is no pill to take for this.

It is not the same as going for advice on contraception during breastfeeding.

I know you’re right, it’s so hard not to compare to other women 😣

Well I did so 😂 same for at least three friends. Maybe it's quite situation specific advice? We started TTC when my toddler was 16mo and if anything he'd ramped up the amount he was feeding when he realised I was trying to limit feeds. That said, my period had come back already. Give it some time, I think mine came back around 13/14mo PP.

I would say though OP, gently, really think about if you would rather wait a few months anyway. I am bloody exhausted already, really low iron and I'll have a slightly over 2y age gap between mine. 2 under 2 is no joke.

My toddler only started sleeping a bit better after about 16mo anyway and we're now down to one feed per 24h in the early hours - he actually slept through last night until a very reasonable hour for the first time! I think I'd be struggling even more if we'd conceived a bit earlier, as much as I really wanted another baby

The thing is, there’s nothing wrong or unusual about your situation. There’s no reason to test your hormones for example. This isn’t infertility, it’s just the effect of breastfeeding hormones or maybe just being postpartum. So you either wait and see or reduce/stop feeding.

It is not incorrect advice. Plenty of people get pregnant breastfeeding. Plenty of people also do not. It is an entirely natural process and different for everyone woman.

You have gone to the GP to say that, for you, the breastfeeding is preventing it. His answer is to stop breastfeeding or wait it out. There is literally not other advice to give.

He isn’t saying no one can get pregnant while breastfeeding. He is saying that it appears that you may not be able to, they cannot give you a pill to help with that and your choice is to wait or stop. It could happen - you could be pregnant in a month. Who knows? But if you want the best chance at it, then reducing breastfeeding may help.

its so dependent on who you are. Breast feeding both mine was a nightmare, both stopped at 4 months. It took months for my period to come back. They are close enough together that I was asked if I was feeding eldest when youngest was born. I just laughed and explained.

Thank you again.

with all due respect no this is not what he said. It wasn’t specific to me at all, he point blank said you cannot get pregnant if you are breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is not a reliable contraceptive.

Well that's a big fat lie! I got pregnant with my 4th baby 9 months PP while breastfeeding on demand day and night with no period at all. I think they say the first 6 months your somewhat "protected" but I wouldn't stop breastfeeding as it's most definitely possible. I also continued bf throughout.

Like others have said 13 months is still early days, cycle will come back eventually might just take longer with breastfeeding.

I got pregnant with my second whilst breastfeeding and periods never actually came back - I just got pregnant. So that's a thing. So if you are having unprotected sex do test regularly... it led to a lot of confusion with me having no idea the conception date as I was waiting for periods to come back so I didn't find out until 11 weeks and would have wanted to be taking pre natal vitamins in that time (baby is totally fine and now a strapping pre teen).

On a totally separate note, the royal college of midwives did update their advice a few years back to say leave it at least 2 years between each pregnancy to allow your body to fully heal from the last one. Obviously you may want a shorter age gap which is totally your choice but I do wish I'd known this myself at the time. I have a lot of problems with knees and hips etc which have been caused by pregnancies too close together so not fully healing from one before starting the next.

He’s absolutely categorically wrong. I also tandem fed as my 1st was just under 3 when I gave birth; I fed him till 4 and am just about to stop the little one.
I have a friend who tandem fed, and another who stopped breastfeeding at 2 months pregnant. Your Gp is a dangerous idiot!!

My cycle didn’t return until after I stopped breastfeeding, I got pregnant the following month. It isn’t the case for everyone but it is our natural way of spacing children but only works if you feed on demand, and a lot (plus do not rely on it!)

My period returned when I went back to work and so had longer stretches between feeds (10 hours 3 or 4 days per week). You are already at work, so it sounds like things are different for you, and you may need to cut back bf further if you want to conceive.

It's understandable the GP isn't proceeding with further tests though, when likely this is the significant factor for you, given your periods haven't returned. You may find it easier to cut back bf in a few months. I night weaned at 12m and then cut down to twice max a day at around 18m. Both mine continued to feed for ages after that, so it didn't end breastfeeding.

My second child could tell you that 😂

It might take longer for your to come back while you are breastfeeding but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't. If you don't feel ready to stop feeding (and you're only 26) I'd give it a bit longer and see what happens.

You could try having bigger gaps between feeds. Night wean and see if that makes a difference, rather than stopping breastfeeding altogether.

That may or may not help.

There’s some very useful info on here:

https://www.carolsmyth.co.uk/perinatal-infant/breastfeeding-resources/posts/2017/june/breastfeeding-fertility-and-subfertility-1/?fbclid=IwVERDUAUeZ4lwZG9mBWZkaWQWUO0cp8ttFe5apK96RrAqC_349cs42mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4bU4EaEpnC0cB2FUGJ_MQb9dmhzQGyZvU0VmAWp3uOU5n61IRYtvn24gI_TQ_aem_dkzGILw8jZn3XqQgj7CXGA

It sounds like for you, breastfeeding is still suppressing ovulation, if you cut down the night feeds that can sometimes help.

You went for advice, you got advice, you don’t like it. Keep feeding and when your cycle comes back you can get pregnant again. Yes you could get pregnant at your first returned cycle but you seem to have lactation amenorrhea for now. It’ll pass. It’s not rocket science. it’s also not the best thing for your health to have one every year.

Ive had two children and breast fed both.
My period didn't return until a few weeks after I had completely stopped (both > 1yo and minimal feeds for a while as I was back at work).
So in my case, breastfeeding definitely blocked my ovulation.