Getting pregnant while still breast feeding....
Posted by mom2Phoenix on Oct 28, 2010 · Member since Jul 2010 · 25 posts
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this one? I am breastfeeding a 17 month old and I am hoping to get pregnant with number 2 with in the next 6 months or so, but I still don't have my period. Did any one out there get pregnant while still nursing? I'm not gonna stop nursing anytime soon either :)
Just wondering
I got pregnant with my second baby while still breastfeeding my first right around the time you want to try. My milk just kind of dried up over a month or two, which painlessly weaned my first. My cycles had resumed as she grew and got busier and nursed less.
I have heard decreasing night time feedings can help resume things..I actually heard it as the opposite, "keep up nighttime feeding to decrease chances of pregnancy" so I would assume it would have the opposite affect...and I am sure you are probably sick of nightime feedings anyways if you are still doing them!
I guess that and making sure you have sufficient calorie intake?
Good luck!
Thank you ladies :) Im just gonna take it easy and make sure I eat good and have fun trying :P
My mom got pregnant with my brother when she was still breastfeeding me. I would have been 6-7 months old when she got pregnant. Apparently I weaned myself shortly afterwards...my mom's theory is that the flavor of the milk changed because of the hormones or whatever. I don't know (or really want to know ::)) any details about how easy/difficult it was to get pregnant again, or whether she had her period, or anything like that. So I don't know if that helps you at all...other than maybe some encouragement that it can be done.
Just from what I've read, breastfeeding is effective birth control only if you're doing it around the clock, every 4-5 hours or so. If you're breastfeeding less often, like only 3-4 times a day, it's not very effective anymore. I don't know how often you're feeding but I wouldn't imagine a 17-month-old needs to be breastfed every 4 hours. If you are still feeding him/her 6 times a day, you should probably try to cut back.
I dont think i'd want the details either! Thanks for the encouragement :) My little girl feeds through out the day and night, but not like a new born. She sometimes just wants the nipple for comfort. I think it would just be more difficult to figure out when your ovulating. Im not gonna overthink it, just have lots of fun trying. Cause what is baby making with out the fun!
Just from what I've read, breastfeeding is effective birth control only if you're doing it around the clock, every 4-5 hours or so. If you're breastfeeding less often, like only 3-4 times a day, it's not very effective anymore. I don't know how often you're feeding but I wouldn't imagine a 17-month-old needs to be breastfed every 4 hours. If you are still feeding him/her 6 times a day, you should probably try to cut back.
I disagree....my wife is breastfeeding our 4 month old daughter (exclusive every 4-6 hours, no formula or other food) and she resumed her periods 2 weeks ago. Every woman is different so it's going to be different for everyone, but as a very general average, our birthing class instuctor told us the same thing
According to many medical opinons (including my doctors when I asked when I had my daughter) it can be a birth control method for a small percentage of women. Very small. But in your case I would say ask your doctor. good luck on the future little one.
Thank you all :)
I also got my period when my exclusively breastfed daughter (every 2-3 hours at the time) was 4 months.
I just want to clear this up. LAM (lactational amenorrhea method) is very effective (98-99.5%), when used correctly, just like any other form of birth control. To be used correctly, the following conditions must be met.
1. Your baby is less than six months old
2. Your menstrual periods have not yet returned
3. Baby is breastfeeding on cue (both day & night - no more than 4 hours between daytime feedings and no more than 6 hours between feedings at night), and gets nothing but breastmilk or only token amounts of other foods.
So if your baby is less than 6 months old but your periods have returned, no, breastfeeding is not effective birth control. If your baby is more than 6 months old, breastfeeding cannot be relied upon for birth control either. If you are feeding your baby any solid foods, you cannot rely on breastfeeding for birth control, at any age. And of course, like other forms of birth control, LAM is not 100% effective...there will always be a small percentage of women who get pregnant even when all the above conditions apply to them.
I've known several people who got pregnant when breastfeeding their babies/toddlers, I'm not sure if their periods had returned yet or not. The older your baby gets and the more solid foods he eats, the more likely your next period (and therefore ovulation) is eminent. Periods returning is the sign that your body is ovulating again. Note that you ovulate before your period, so it is possible to get pregnant with the first ovulation and never bleed. Some people get their periods back when exclusively breastfeeding (like me and dprince's wife), others have to wean completely before their periods come back - most people fall somewhere in between.
I became pregnant with my second child when my first was ten months old. He was eating solids but still nursing a ton. I didn't have a period either. It was SHOCKING!! OY!
My son was still nursing when I got pregnant with my daughter. He was three years old at the time. My cycle had only recently come back. He was mostly nursing at sleep time and for comfort. My milk never dried up, and, according to him, the taste didn't change. I nursed him throughout my pregnancy......it became very painful near the middle because of the hormone changes. I just gritted my teeth and continued on. After my daughter was born, I tandem nursed them for about four more months. It was a wonderful experience. They would look into each other's eyes while nursing, and they are still very close. My boy and I agreed on when to wean, we had a talk about it and it went very smoothly. He is five now, almost six and my daughter is almost two. She is still nursing.
My biggest bit of advice is to make sure you eat. Don't feel guilty about eating extra......you will burn a lot of calories with all that nursing and baby-growing! I didn't eat nearly enough, and am still catching up. As long as you are eating whole foods and getting excersize, you should be just fine! Good luck, I hope to see a pregnancy announcement soon :)