Birth Control Options After Baby

I was breastfeeding and knew I wouldn't be consistent at taking a pill at the same time every day. We looked at all the options and then decided to go with simple spermicide.

There's a foam spermicide that's ready instantly. It's really effective as long as you strictly follow the instructions. (pretty simple instructions.) You can find it at any grocery store. Buy 2 cuz it's hard to tell when it's getting low.

Also, you have to pee right after sex every time or you're likely to get a UTI.

The spermicide worked great for us until that one day where my husband said, "let's risk it..."

I love my copper IUD and my sister loves her Mirena IUD. It may not be the right option for everyone but it was perfect for me!

Any birth control can take up to a year to have fertility restored. However, MOST people have it restored within the next cycle. The decision on birth control depends a LOT upon how long you want between children. If you only want 1 year, an IUD isn't the most effective choice. If you want 3-4 years, after 2 1/2 years you could have the IUD removed and start trying.

The shots are basically the same as the hormonal birth control, just a shot you get every 3 months instead. One thing you need to be aware of is that if you are 1-2 days late getting the shot it won't be affective. Also, if you took the birth control on a REGULAR basis like prescribed and still got pregnant, the hormonal birth control may not work with your body!

I used the Nuva Ring. Worked well...no complaints. If it bothers you during intercourse it can be taken out as long as it is put back in immediately after. Took a few days to get used to but wasn't bad in the end.

Some other options you could try are: spermicide. As long as you don't have an ill side affect to it, spermicide works pretty good. IFV is a good brand you just buy at a local grocery store.

I personally have used the IFV and nuva ring. Both worked fine.

Since I have reacted very badly to the Depo Provera shots, I would hesitate to recommend them. In most women, it takes nearly 18 months for the shot to entirely leave your system and it has some pretty scary side effects.

The nearly 2 year wait for fertility to be restored was actually one of the minor side effects in my case.

There is a smaller waiting time, like a month or two, in most cases if you use a hormonal pill. You can get a low dose hormone pill and that worked for me. I got pregnant about a month after stopping that pill.

I have had a Mirena IUD for the past 2 years since I had my son and I LOVE it. Highly recommend it!!! You don't even know it's there, and it's very effective.

With an IUD, once it is removed, you are immediately fertile again.

All I have to say in response to some responses, is sometimes you do "family planning" AND birth control, and you still get pregnant. Happened to us. Abstinence when I knew I was ovulating and prevention the entire month, every time....and I'm pregnant and due in June! :) SO.... I, like you, have also had the question on what to do next time. I think I am going to do an IUD, as long as it works without them having to trim it too much. I've heard the more that they have to trim, the more it gets lost. That's my only worry so far. I'm in the same boat as you. We need to do something this next time after this June baby cause yeah, I will become pregnant again all to soon.. I'm sure of it!
My friend said that she also learned in her biology class that you can sometimes ovulate more than once in a month. It happens when you are especially enjoying intimacy - it's just nature's way, I guess. That's how we make babies too! So good luck to you. I'll be interested in looking at the responses also. :)

I also have the Mirena IUC and have been very happy with it.

Hello J.,

I had two children 17 months apart and I didn't want that to happen again. I couldn't take birth control because I have severe migraines. Also, we got pregnant on the condom, so that was out of the question. I had a friend mention the IUD and that was the best thing I ever did. That was over 10 years ago. Of course, you only keep them in for 10 years, but I had mine removed last year when I ended up having a partial hysterectomy. Anyway, an IUD can be put in at your 6 week check up from having the baby. For the first few months, you will need to check to make sure it is in place. Your suppose to check every month, but I never did. You and your spouse never feel it, unless it comes loose or undone, but in the 9 years I had mine, it never did. After it is in place, you will have minor cramping and a small period, but it will go away in a few days. Talk to your doctor and see what he/she says about birth control methods are best for you, especially if you want more children and how soon. I didn't want anymore. Two was enough for me, especially 17 months apart, so the IUD was my best choice as I mentioned before about the other options. Well, congratulations on your new little one. They grow up way too fast, so enjoye them while they are little. H.

You have every right to be skeptical, there is always a marginal chance that you may become pregnant on ANY form of birth control. If you REALLY want to avoid it, I think family planning is your best option. My friend/roommate is the youngest of 12...all 12 were conceived while her mom was on one form of birth control or another. She was actually conceived with an IUD. Her mom finally got her tubes tied. You're going to have to take responsibility, plan, don't get careless because you know what you'll end up with. Your grandma had to do it, and hers before her. We've really gotten quite lazy these days. But, that's probably your best bet.

I used the ring for about a year. I used it continuously for 9 weeks with a ring in (switiching rings every 3 weeks)and taking 1 week off. I thought it was great, nice to not have to take a pill everyday, nicer to only have a period once every 3 months. the side effect I experienced was more of a decreased libido. So I love the ring but it has it's drawbacks. Also, when I went off of it to get pregnant, I stopped using any method in July and experienced a very wierd cycle where I would have sworn I was having morning sickness. I even pulled off the road twice because I felt so nauseated. However, I wasn't pregnant. When I did get pregnant (the following month) I didn't have morning sickness at all. So.. for what it's worth. Hormones do wacky wacky things.

When my daughter was 3 mos old I went back on the pill. It was fine. Funny as after both times of stopping the pill I got pregnant again in three months. I was on the pill since I was 17, had no problems and had them adjusted accordingly to my age. I had my babies at 36 and 39, with no problems.
If you are thinking of having another child soon (within a year or two) I would do something that can be out of your system fairly fast. I am now not on anything as I wanted to give my body a break (I am divorced and not dating) so it has been a huge positive not having anything in my body hormonal wise.

J.,
I can't say much about the fertility issues, but I have had an IUD in for the past year and a half and it's been great! I like is so much more than the pill or the patch that I took before. The most discomfort I felt was a little cramping a couple of days after it was put in, but since then, I've felt great! Good luck!

taking control of your fertility is a great book and i think natural planning would work if the correct information was had. i'll admit, eventhough this book gave us the info we needed to get pregnant, not wanting a baby right away, i've been a little skeptical about actually trying "natural planning" but if you're committed to it, and follow the info given, you will likely have great sucess, i know people who actually thought they couldn't have any more kids because they'd been practicing natural planning for six or so years and she had severe endometriosis, but the first month they decided to try for another baby they were pregnant, so used correctly, natural planning is SUPER effective. . . good luck with your search for answers and your new baby boy!!!!

I had the IUD after my second and I must have been one of the few that did not enjoy it. I spotted non-stop for 10 months straight, i had severe back pain which i went to the doctor thinking it was kidney infections but the pain only lasted 1-2 days then just went away (must have been ovulating) Had headaches and I usually don't get headaches. The doctor said that these weren't associated side effects of the iud but after its been out I havent had any of those symptoms. I also felt bloated. It isn't for everyone and thank goodness my insurance covered it. I think I had to pay a little more for taking it out but i didn't mind just add it to my tab. My sister loves it so i guess i am just a bit of a weirdo. I am back on the pill and of course hate it and occasionally forget to take it on time (hopefully this doesnt cause baby 3 but if it does it does and I know my husband will get snipped then!)

Im not sure what your personal beliefs are but I was going to go with an IUD until I did more research and found out that it prevents implantation NOT fertilization. My personal belief is that this equated an abortion and so I chose not to do an IUD. We chose NFP with a backup of a diaphragm if we found we could not adhere to planning part of NFP. So far so good. I think you need to talk to your doctor and do research and really examine your options and find out what will work best for you and your beliefs.

Try reading the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. It teaches in depth the Fertility Awareness Method. You check out the website too. www.tcoyf.com. It is NOT the same as rhythm or natural planning but it is natural. It just teaches you to know and understand the many tiny signs your body gives you to let you know when you are fertile and when you are not. It took me a couple of months to learn to decipher my own signs and you may find that to be true too. So during that time you might want some birth control in addition but once you know your own body well enough than you won't need anything but your own expertise and you know yourself better than anyone else. Then you can scrap all of those other kinds that mess with your hormones and cost a lot of money.

I will echo the others hear who sing the praises of the IUD. It does give you immediate return to fertility. The only down side I can see is that it is expensive if insurance doesn't cover it & if you want to try to get pregnant again within a couple of years. But if the expense doesn't bother you, it's a great way to go.

If you plan on nursing the baby, your doctor will put you on the mini pill. It still allows milk production, but prevents pregnancies. You have to be very diligent in taking it at the exact time each day or its effectiveness goes down. I'm a huge fan of the pill. you have control over when you want to start and stop taking it and your fertility is restored immediately.

I have tried about every method of birth control there is out there!!! As for the pill... I had HUGE problems with it, and could never get my periods regular while taking it, so I stopped... (which explains my 2nd child) so after she was born my Dr. recommended the shot which caused me to have a non-stop period for 4 months so I didn't get another shot and decided to try the 'natural method' (which explains my 3rd child)... after that I had an implant in my arm (I forgot what they are called)... which caused constant problems, soreness in my arm, and had it removed... (which explains my 4th child)... after he was born my Dr. in a last attempt put in an IUD. I really had no problems with it, in fact it actually made me regular! and, it was sooo nice not having to worry about taking pills, putting hormones into my body, etc. I did have one problem after two years with it, and had to have it removed. However, I was able to catch the problem, (it had moved from where it was supposed to be) because I couldn't feel the strings like you are supposed to be able to do. As long as you check monthly like the Dr. advises, I never had any problems with the IUD, and once I had it removed, we decided to have another baby... within 3 months I was pregnant. (Yes, BABY 5). It's a tough call to make, good luck!