Contraception After Birth

[MorelloKiss]

Hi,

I was just looking for other people's thought/options you have reserched on contraception after the birth.

DP and I used the pill before we started TTC. However, although I know that the mini pill is OK if you are breastfeeding (I hopefully will be) I dont want to put anything unecessary in my body, and DP being a bit of a purist about these things would also not be too happy.

We have used condoms in the past, and will again as necessary, but tbh we dont really have the same experience with them so I'd rather not have them as a long term solution.

I thought about a coil...?

Also, thought it worth mentioning I am the main breadwinner and need to be back at work for a mmimum time to accrue the right to more maternity payments, so catching unexpectedly before I am back in work would be really bad for us as a family

Thanks

I was thinking about the coil too, though never used it before so can't offer much advice.
Once you've had your baby you'll have a 6 week check up with your GP and contraception is one of things he or she will discuss with you. If you want to make a decision sooner, you could always make an appointment with your GP now to see what your options are?

I had the non-hormonal coil for a couple of years before pregnancy. I could not recommend it highly enough. Apart from initial pain of putting it in and a couple of days mild pain afterwards we never knew it was there. Very easy to take out when needed as well and I got pregnant shortly afterwards.

I had the Mirena coil which is hormonal however is fine while breastfeeding. Had no problems with it, very light periods which stopped altogether after around 6 months. I didn't want the copper coil as I used to suffer badly with heavy periods before going on the pill and had read that the copper coil can make them worse, and irregular.

Depending on how long you plan to breastfeeding for, you may be able to just use condoms for that time then go back to the pill - between recovering from the birth, baby in the room with you, and sleep deprivation it can take a while for sex to be a regular occurrence again :)

I had a copper, non hormonal coil for a year and it was fantastic. No heavy periods, they were lighter than before if anything, and regular as clockwork. Cannot recommend it enough. They talk of pain on insertion but it hurt for about 3 seconds and honestly was nothing at all.

Thanks all, good to know.

The other thread on here about getting pregnant while on mat leave hasn't made me feel much better though!

How reliable is the copper coil?