Postpartum contraception - am I being paranoid?

[mg707]

Just wondering if anyone has experience, reassurance, or advice.

Situation: 10 weeks postpartum, exclusively breastfeeding, no bottles, though baby is going 5-7hr stretches at night. Thank goodness but also worried about fertility returning! I have had one episode of spotting but no "period" as such.

We use condoms only. Despite following every instruction under the sun, checking for leaks and tears afterwards etc, I still smelt sperm in my discharge afterwards. It seemed mechanically impossible for sperm to escape with the way we applied it. Am I paranoid or is there still somehow a chance of leakage? Is there another explanation for that smell? It disappeared by the morning and no symptoms of infection. Does the spotting still count as a "period" thus opening the possibility of pregnancy?

I will of course take a pregnancy test in due course. In the meantime, do you have any words of wisdom? I'm freaking out by all the sayings that fertility returns with gumption post-partum.

Please remember that even though breastfeeding and no period you can still get pregnant. Happened to my best friend, condom split and she was pregnant 10 weeks postpartum.

Could it be the condom smell that you’re smelling?

My period returned bang on 6 weeks postpartum but around 5 weeks I had spotting so can only assume that it was my period beginning to return.

Thanks for your reply @Hiddenvoice. There was no apparent split. The sight (leakproof, the way it always looks) seemed to contradict the smell (different to usual, not infection-y) - and I don't know which to go by! That’s helpful to know about the spotting. Mine happened once nearly 2 weeks ago and nothing since.