We want to start trying for number two, but I am breastfeeding. Is it going to make it hard to get pregnant? Any tips for being successful? He just turned 6 months, exclusively breastfed, haven't got a period yet, and he is just starting solids. If your periods haven't come back yet then you more than likely are not fertile. Its not that likely you will ovulate before your first period -its 22% or less and of that about half of those women that do ovulate before their first period while breastfeeding don't have a long enough luteal phase to get pregnant.
If you are closer to the 7 standards of ecological breastfeeding the less chance is of conception before your first period. The rate of conception when you meet all 7 standards is 1% the first 6 months and 6% after that until menstruation returns. That's 6% per YEAR not per month.
Its very possible to get pregnant once your period returns if you have luteal phase competency. Lots of women get pregnant while breastfeeding, nurse through a second pregnancy, and then nurse both nurslings after birth. I did, I got my period back around 5 months and was fertile but I didn't get pregnant until 12 months. With my second my period came back at 4 months which is just silly since I was nursing two and co-sleeping with two but apparently I'm just a baby factory.
There is no way to know what your body is going to do. You could be one of the very rare women that doesn't get their period back unless they wean.
However before you start trying to fiddle with your nursing schedule to bring back your fertility. Keep in mind that some women have a great deal of difficulty nursing during pregnancy because the hormones make them feel agitated during nursing, and some women have sore nipples. Pregnancy will also slow your milk production so it will take more work for baby to get the same amount of work and some will just refuse. Pregnancy also changes the taste of breastmilk so some refuse as soon as mom conceives. If you wait until your baby is older then you have more options if they wean or just don't get enough.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertil...
While it is possible for a nursing mom to become pregnant while she is breastfeeding and before she has her first menstrual period, it is rare. Most moms do not get pregnant until after their first period (often referred to as the "warning period"). Even after that, while some can become pregnant the first cycle, others will require months of cycles before pregnancy can occur. Still others (this is quite uncommon) may not be able to become pregnant until complete weaning has occurred.
The transition to full fertility
Several studies have indicated that fertility and ovarian activity return step by step (Ellison 1996, p. 326-327):
1. Follicular activity without ovulation (No chance of pregnancy.)
1a. Menstruation without ovulation (This does not always occur--see below.)
2. Ovulation without luteal competence (After the egg is released, fertilization may take place. During the luteal phase, the uterine lining is prepared for implantation as the egg travels down the fallopian tube and into the uterus. If the uterine lining is not adequately prepared for implantation, the implantation will probably not be successful.)
3. Full luteal competence (Full fertility -- at this point breastfeeding no longer has any effect on your chance of pregnancy.)
It is possible to have one or (occasionally) more periods before you start ovulating. In this case, menstruation begins during the first stage of the return to fertility --before ovulation returns. Cycles without ovulation are most common during the first six months postpartum. For other mothers, the first menstruation is preceded by ovulation - a longer period of lactational amenorrhea increases the likelihood that you will ovulate before that first period.
A very small percentage of women will become pregnant during their first postpartum ovulation, without having had a postpartum period. Per fertility researcher Alan S. McNeilly, this "is rare and in our experience is related to a rapid reduction in suckling input."
It is not uncommon for breastfeeding mothers to report cyclical cramping or PMS-type symptoms - symptoms of an oncoming period without the period - for weeks or even months before their period returns. When this happens, the body is probably "gearing up" for the return of menstruation, but breastfeeding is still delaying the return of fertility.
The amount of time that it takes for the transition to full fertility varies from woman to woman. In general, the earlier that your menses return, the more gradual the return to full fertility.
[...]
Do I need to wean to get pregnant?
Probably not. If you are still transitioning to full fertility (as discussed above), breastfeeding may affect the success of implantation. Once implantation is successful, breastfeeding should not affect a healthy pregnancy (see A New Look at the Safety of Breastfeeding During Pregnancy for more information). If your periods have come back and settled into a regular pattern, it is likely that breastfeeding is no longer affecting your fertility.
Many moms can conceive without deliberately changing their toddler's nursing patterns. There is no "magic" threshold of breastfeeding that will allow you to conceive -- every mother is different. Some moms need to stretch out nursing frequency and/or shorten nursing sessions to make it easier to conceive -- babies naturally do this themselves as they get older, so one of your options is simply to wait a bit.
Changes that are more abrupt tend to bring fertility back faster (e.g., cutting out one nursing session abruptly, rather than gradually decreasing nursing time at that session) --even if you continue to breastfeed a great deal-- this is why many mothers experience the return of fertility when their child sleeps through the night or starts solid foods. If you decide to make changes to your nursing pattern, the time of day that you make the change (e.g., cutting out or shortening a nighttime nursing session as opposed to a daytime nursing session) should not make that much of a difference. Current research indicates that nursing frequency and total amount of time at the breast per 24 hours are the most important factors, rather than the time of day that the suckling occurs.
A few moms do find it impossible to conceive while nursing, but this is not at all common.
Many mothers wonder whether breastfeeding will affect the reliability of pregnancy tests. It does not -- pregnancy tests measure the amount of the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in blood or urine, and hCG levels are not affected by breastfeeding. The developing placenta begins releasing hCG upon implantation; a pregnancy can generally be detected with a pregnancy test within 7-14 days after implantation.
For more information, see Getting Pregnant While Breastfeeding by Hilary Flower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational...
Ecological breastfeeding
Ecological breastfeeding is a stricter form of LAM developed by Sheila Kippley, one of the founders of the Couple to Couple League. Studies have shown it has a 1% failure rate in the first six months postpartum, and a 6% failure rate before the woman鈥檚 first postpartum menstruation.[3][4] The Seven Standards of ecological breastfeeding are slightly different from the LAM criteria:
* Breastfeeding must be the infant鈥檚 only source of nutrition 鈥?no formula, no pumping, and (if the infant is less than six months old) no solids or water at all.
* The infant must be pacified at the breast, not with pacifiers or bottles or by placing a finger in the mouth.
* The infant must be breastfed frequently. The standards for LAM are a bare minimum; greater frequency is better. Sucking should include non-nutritive sucking when the infant cues the mother, not just breastfeeding as a means of nutrition. Scheduling of feedings is incompatible with LAM.
* Mothers must sleep with their infants in the same bed to allow for nursing throughout the night. However most medical experts consider this to be a dangerous practice which should be avoided.[citation needed][5]
* Mothers must not be separated from their infants. This includes substitutes for mother such as babysitters and even strollers or anything else that comes between mother and physical contact with her child. Babywearing (using cloth carriers) means tactile stimulation between mother and child and increases access to the breast. Any separation from the mother will decrease the efficacy of ecological breast feeding.
* Mothers must take daily naps with their infants.
* A mother must not have had a period after 56 days post-partum (bleeding prior to 56 days post-partum can be ignored).
[edit] Return of fertility
Return of menstruation following childbirth varies widely among individuals. The closer a woman's behavior is to the Seven Standards of ecological breastfeeding, the later (on average) her cycles will return. Average return of menses for women following all seven criteria is 14 months after childbirth, with some reports being as soon as 2 months while others are as late as 42 months.[citation needed] Couples who desire spacing of 18 to 30 months between children can often achieve this through breastfeeding alone.
Although the first post-partum cycle is sometimes anovulatory (reducing the likelihood of becoming pregnant again before having a post-partum period), subsequent cycles are almost always ovulatory and therefore must be considered fertile. However, some women find that breastfeeding interferes with fertility even after ovulation has resumed. Luteal phases being too short to sustain pregnancy is a common example. It depends on if you are exclusively breastfeeding or not. If Ryden is older than six months, you've got your period again, and he's eating some solids, then yes, you can get pregnant again. I would chart your basal body temperatures and check your cervical fluids to determine when you are fertile. Breastfeeding can cause you to have fewer periods or ovulate later because breastfeeding suppresses your estrogen levels, and you need estrogen in order to release an egg. When you start seeing creamy and eggwhite cervical fluid, that's the time to have sex in order to conceive. However, it's also important to take your temperatures to make sure you actually ovulated. Some breastfeeding women will have those fluids, but they don't actually ovulate because their bodies are trying to produce enough estrogen but don't quite make it at the time. Then, they'll have the fluid a few weeks later as their body tries again, and eventually, they release the egg. I hope I didn't confuse you with all that. Basically, yes you can get pregnant while breastfeeding, but you need to watch your body for the signs that indicate ovulation. Good luck! Can I conceive while nursing?
Expert Answers
Robert Zurawin, obstetrician and fertility specialist
Yes. In general, you're less fertile, but not infertile, while breastfeeding. Although you may not menstruate for months after giving birth, your body usually releases its first postpartum egg before you get your first period. So you won't know you've ovulated until two weeks later 鈥?when you menstruate.
If you know you don't want to get pregnant while nursing, begin using birth control as soon as you start having sex again. Many doctors recommend barrier methods such as condoms or a diaphragm, but some think the newer low-dose oral contraceptives are safe to use while breastfeeding and pose no harm to your baby. Ask your doctor about the "mini-pill," which doesn't contain estrogen, a hormone that can interfere with lactation, only progestin.
That said, if you're breastfeeding your baby exclusively, day and night, you may not menstruate again for up to a year after giving birth. If your baby sleeps through the night at an early age, your period probably will return more quickly 鈥?typically in three to eight months. The same is true if you're supplementing with formula.
In other words, the more often your baby nurses, the longer it may be before you get your period again. Experts believe this is because breastfeeding curbs the hormones that trigger ovulation. But remember, you could start ovulating again at any time after three months of lactation, and you probably won't know when it happens. If you want to make sure you don't get pregnant, use some form of birth control every time you have sex. You can still get pregnant while breastfeeding and it's not a dependable source of contraception. However, breastfeeding has been shown to create contraceptive like effects in the reproductive system. If you haven't had a period then you most likely haven't ovulated yet. Without ovulation pregnancy isn't going to happen. Bottom line, it might make it harder but not impossible. Breast feeding is basically a natural form of birth control. Of course it's much less dependable than other forms. Maybe 75%.....
Yes, it's going to make it difficult (but not impossible) to get pregnant until you start weening and get a period. Well, although breastfeeding is known as the natural birth control by some, like any birth control it is not impossible to become pregnant. It will make it a little bit harder, but I am sure it will be fine. Good luck! That's a myth! You can still get pregnant while breast feeding. |
