Breastfeeding - which contraception?

[megonthemoon]

DD is 7 weeks old and DH and I think she will be our last child. Until we've definitely made the decision probably in a few years, when DH will have the snip, we'd quite like to use contraception that we don't have to think about rather than faff with diaphragms or condoms:)

I'm breastfeeding and having fed DS for a year intend to go at least that long with DD so it needs to be compatible with that. So I know I can't take the combined pill.

I'm assuming my only options are mini-Pill, coil and Mirena. Not keen on the mini-Pill as I'm a bit rubbish at remembering to take the pill right on time.

My GP is all for Mirena but I just wanted to get a bit of advice from other people as none of my friends have used it. Any ideas/thoughts/experiences of this or other contraception?

[Tanso]

My baby is nearly six months old, i am breastfeeding and i just had a coil fitted.

I intended on getting a mirena but the doctor explained that because i had an emergency c-section and had only dilated 1cm it may be difficult to insert a mirena.
There are two sizes of coil, small and large so she advised the small.

Mirenas contain hormones which mean you will have light periods. Coils do not have any hormones so often periods become heavier and more painful.

Two weeks after insertion my first period since the pregnancy came. I dont know if it was because of the coil or just a coincidence in the timing. It has been horrible. Shocking pains, changing tampons really frequently. When i was a teenager (before i went on the pill) periods were like this.

So if you are keen to get back to your natural body rythms go for the coil. If you want light periods go for the mirena.

Breastfeeding is still going strong even though my period is here (I dont know if thats supposed to make a difference)

The insertion was not too painful, actually not really painful at all

[Tanso]

Also, the doctor told me about the implant, a thing they put under the skin in the arm. It sounded great, until i heard that it normally lowers libido considerably

[thisisyesterday]

we're using condoms as i'm not happy using anything hormone based while breastfeeding

don't want coil as my periods are awful already.

so will watch this thread with interest to see if there are any other options!

[nymphadora]

Watching too

[janek]

my doc told me that a mirena is like taking half a mini pill per week, so not really much hormone, i had one fitted a year last may, when dd2 would have been 6 months.

i bled for a while afterwards (ie period, not injury), which was a bit annoying because dd2 was a big girl, with a big appetite and my period had not yet returned.

i also noticed a tendency to blocked ducts once i'd had it fitted, i don't know if that was a coincidence, but i tend to think not. this took 3/4 months to settle down.

since then all has been well, no periods to speak of, libido same as usual, infinitely more convenient than condoms and according to doc a 1 in 800 chance of failure, more reliable than me being sterilized.

[CrawlingInMySkin]

What about the patch or nuva ring? the hormone levels are really low from what I have read.