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? 🙏

My cycles came back very lightly at 13 months PP and we were trying for our second. I had some acupuncture to help things at 16 months postpartum, then fell pregnant at 18 months. I continued to breastfeed my first until she was 3 (9 months tandem feeding), and then continued to feed my son until he was 3 also.

So, it can definitely be done! I loved breastfeeding so much.

yes I don’t like being given incorrect advice- which was it’s not possible to get pregnant with any amount of breastfeeding.

What a lovely reply, thank you 😊

All that tandem feeding- you are a super star!

I got pregnant while breast feeding. My second baby was born when my first was 23 months old. I tandem fed them. The eldest stopped breastfeeding at 5 and the youngest at 4. I worked full time apart from mat leave of about 6 mths.
i was told my milk would dry up when I went back to work, when I got pregnant etc. i fed both of them on demand and they just gave up naturally.
it is impossible to know how anyone’s body / baby will behave. I certainly never planned any of it

Agree. My periods came back each time at around 12 months, and dropping one daytime feed was the trigger.
I got pregnant while breastfeeding , after my periods returned, and carried on breast feeding through my pregnancy.

I tandem fed after getting pregnant again when my oldest was 17 months old. I wouldn’t worry about it for a few months unless you specifically want to conceive within a short period of time. In all likelihood your cycles will come back in a few months and you can still have a close age gap. If you really want to speed things up then night weaning is going to be the most effective thing to bring back your fertility.

Yes, thanks I’m aware.

Did he actually say that you couldn’t conceive? It worries me this misinformation medical professionals are spreading - my mum breastfed all her children and gave birth twice in the same year. It’s very possible!!

Your title suggested he said it was not possible, which is rubbish, everyone knows from TV/everyday life it's possible, but bf does make it less likely, which is why some women used to use it as a (bad) method of contraception.
I was just worried a doctor thought it guaranteed no baby!

that’s exactly what he said yes

I know 🤦‍♀️ I’m going to try and change GPs if I can 🤣

My periods always came back when I night weaned, soon as the baby was sleeping through the night I was pregnant again 😂Age gaps are 27m, 16m (good sleeper!) 21m, 21m.

He’s an idiot and wrong.
You can get pregnant while breastfeeding.
It’s less likely you will get pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding a young baby but once they’re being weaned onto solid food and you’re feeding less your fertility will return to normal eventually.
With both of my babies my periods returned when I was down to one feed a day, but every woman is different.
Why not give it another few months and see what happens unless you’re in a particular rush.
Also remember you will ovulate before your first period!

Aww bless you 🤣 mines not slept through since she was 2 months old (first and only time 😅) so probably where I am going wrong…

@Daisieblues , breastfeeding makes conception unlikely. It doesn't mean it can't happen. I don't believe a second opinion will tell you what you want to hear.

Mine came back at 13 months, 13 months and 14 months. And I fed all until at least 18 months. A proper reduction in amount of milk did the trick for me.

I got pregnant whilst EBF. I breastfed them both for a while, my supply never dried up. I was feeding a bit less than you though. I think my period came back after 14 months

I got pregnant while exclusively BF. My baby was 12 months old and I had not had a single period.

Prior to that pregnancy I had to have IVF so it’s not as if I was unusually fertile either.

Good luck to you 💕

I only have (and wanted) 1 DC so no personal anecdote about conceiving the 2nd one but my periods came back around 18 months and I was still feeding day and night- she was always a terrible sleeper! So hopefully you don't have too long to wait 😊

I also know 2 friends who conceived whilst breastfeeding.

My understanding is that breastfeeding does make it more unlikely you will get pregnant. But not that getting pregnant is impossible as some folk do as can be seen on this thread. . What do you want the doctor to do? So it is what it is. That's nature and the doctor can't control that.

I haven’t RTFT but personally my cycle didn’t return until 24 months pp and I convinced immediately after my next cycle, whilst still BF. I have to admit I was getting rather impatient.

OP, was there something more you were expecting from the doctor than the advice you were given? Without wanting to sound pedantic, it’s quite widely known or available on google that EBF can prevent your period from returning and therefore mean you won’t be able to conceive. Were you hoping there was some medication available to you to bring on ovulation or are you worried about secondary infertility? If you’re willing to reduce feeds you may find your period returns but you may also find your BF journey with DC1 needs to come to an end if you’re really keen for DC2 sooner than later.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but are you having enough sex? My periods came back really soon when EBF, I think about 4 months. But our sex life was terrible for about 2 years due to sheer exhaustion, so that was pretty effective contraception.

The doctor has told you what to do to try get your cycle back. Maybe there isn’t any other alternatives. We all know women can get pregnant whilst breastfeeding but we also know it can change hormones so it does prevent pregnancy. Looks like your options are stop breastfeeding, carry on breastfeeding and hope to conceive or stop breastfeeding and hope to conceive

If I remember correctly, periods usually return when night feedings calm down. But if you're working 3 days a week, baby will be feeding more to make up for the separation.

My periods returned after 14-15 months.

I did fall pregnant whilst breastfeeding (intentionally) and we were only feeding in the day by then (first was a toddler so sleeping through). BUT my ovulation dates had changed, so it was only when I started using ovulation sticks, that I found out I was ovulating much later in my cycle to the norm. So adjusted the sexy time to match and bam, got pregnant with my second.

Your GP is a knob to tell you to stop breastfeeding. SO many women fall pregnant whilst breastfeeding because their knobhead GPs have told them they "can't get pregnant whilst breastfeeding".

Doctors that tell women that they can't get pregnant due to breastfeeding, or endometriosis, or PCOS, should have to pay child maintenance to those who then fall pregnant in these situations because they then haven't used any contraception (only half joking).