Breastfeeding and Fertility

Hi E.- I was surprised by my second pregnancy. I was very actively breastfeeding my 8 month old when I found out I was pregnant. I had not started my period again yet...so it was quite a surprise. My two boys are 17 months apart and it is wonderful! really.

Someone told me you are at your most fertile when you start ovulating again after a pregnancy. Never looked into it- but it seemed true for us.

Good luck!
A.

1 mom found this helpful

I got preg with #2 16 months after I had my son. Like you, I was still nursing and had not gotten my period back. After doing some research I decided, around 14 months postpartum, to take the herb Vitex (chasteberry), which is supposed to help regulate your cycles. There is pretty good clinical evidence that it helps. A few weeks later I noticed more and better quality cervical fluid, and 8 weeks after starting I ovulated for the first time -- and conceived my daughter! (No period between kids - I was charting temps so I had an exact date). I have no idea whether it was the vitex that did it or whether it was just time, but my sister took vitex around the same time, also still nursing, and conceived her son. You can get this herb at Whole Foods. I can't remember the dose I took now - maybe 2 pills 2x/day?

1 mom found this helpful

You absolutely can get pregnant. My first daughter was not even 9 months old (nursing 6x's a day, no bottles) and I got pregnant with #2. It did take us three months and I was taking my basil body temperature everyday and charting. I also became pregnant twice (I had one miscarriage and then a full term pregnancy) while my 2nd was still nursing. I NEVER had one period for a full 5 years, except for the postpartum bleeding. I didn't get my period back until my third was 14 months old. If you want a full proof way have sex every other day until you become pregnant. It worked for me three times! Good luck with #2!

1 mom found this helpful

Honestly, do not fret or worry. Worrying is the worst thing you can do if you want to conceive.

If it helps, I can tell you that I stopped breastfeeding my son in late August. This was just shy of his 1st birthday in September. I became pregnant in March and now have a second baby on the way in December! My kids will be 2 years apart.

I did not plan this at all. I was actually very surprised when i found out i was pregnant.

I know 3 people that got pg during breastfeeding...be careful.

I haven't read others' responses but I'm sure there are others who have had similar experiences as mine. I was exclusively breastfeeding my then newborn and had started progesterone only bc when we discovered we were pregnant. My firstborn was only 3 months at the time. My two are 11 months apart. So, regardless of your lack of period, it is possible to conceive while bf.

Does your daughter nurse at night at all? I would contact your Le Leche League Leader in your area and talk to her about it. They've seen everything. I know a lot of mom's whose fertility doesn't return for quite some time when they are still nursing. I've heard that if they nurse at night that can drastically effect your fertility so if she does you might want to try weaning her at night.

E.!
Contrary, breastfeeding does not make you infertile!
Many women have gotten pregnant while breastfeeding, never
having a period. Talk with your doctor and they will advise you. It may be just a matter of time before you get pregnant again! But do know for sure breastfeeding Does Not
cause infertility.

Although the other moms have said it well, I have to agree that you can get pregnant while BFing. I have a 26month old daughter that is still nursing before bed and I'm 20 weeks pregnant. One thing that really helped me get pregnant each time were the ovulation test strips that are sold on Amazon. They're cheap enough to use every day for a month or two if you want to check if/when you're ovulating. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Combo-Ovulation-Detection-Pregnancy...

You can buy them in different combos of ovulation and pregnancy tests. Good luck!

Hi E.! Just from experience, you can get pregnant while breastfeeding. I nursed my son until he was 19 months old. I got pregnant right around his 1st birthday, and I, too, had not had a period yet. I nursed him into my 30th week of my 3rd pregnancy. Just be patient, it will happen when it's meant to! Good luck and God bless!

You could investigate the possibility of using BBT (basal body temperature), charting, and checking cervical mucus to determine your fertile period (when you ovulate). Check out www.fertilityfriend.com and/or Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

And it might not take a while either. I'm sure you've heard the story of the 'exclusively nursing mom' that used the nursing as birth control only to get pregnant! Every woman is different. Start with learning more about your body and your cycle and you might find that getting pregnant could be easier than you ever imagined.

You can get pregnant once you start ovulating, which, if you don't get pregnant, is followed closely by your period. Women who get pregnant again before their first period haved timed sex (usually unknowingly!) with their first ovulation, so they never get a period.

Breastfeeding does slow down when a woman begins to ovulate. It's a practiced method of birth control. (see Toni Weschlers book Taking Charge of Your Fertility) But breastfeeding won't stave off your cycle forever. I began ovulating 16 months after baby no. 1 and 15 months after baby no. 2. Both are/were avid nursers, night and day. Though it can vary quite a bit, my La Leche League friends tell me that about 15 months is typical. Good Luck!

When you return to ovulation during breastfeeding is very personal. On average, a women breastfeeding begins ovulating at 14 months post-delivery (assuming she is STILL breastfeeding). (Your period and ovulation are not always the same.) This is average. I nursed, nursed while pregnant, then tandem nursed...you need to eat a lot, but it is a wonderful experience. Breastfeeding doesn't interfere have to interfere w/pregnancy.

Good Luck!

It may be hard to find out when you are ovulating (since you haven't had your period), but you can get pregnant. My co-worker's wife got pregnant while nursing and I have one friend in the U.K. that got pregnant too and continued to nurse her child during her whole pregnancy (which I personally wouldn't recommend).

i know a ton of pregnant moms that are nursing so it is entirely possible! Most nursing moms will get their periods by 13 months. Thats when I got mine. It is not regular now, but most people i know have a regular one. Good luck

Hey E.,

I breastfed my daughter until February this year until she was 15 months old. I was having a period the whole time I breastfed and we wanted another baby right away too but even though I was having a period, we determined w/ my ob/gyn that I wasn't ovulating regularly. She gave me a prescription for birth control to take for a few months but I decided against it. She said it would jump start my cycle and I would most likely start ovulating once I went off it. A couple reasons I didn't want to take the pill. One being that I'm Catholic so it's probably a pretty grey area since there really wasn't a medical need for it. The other, although deemed a safe drug to take while breastfeeding, it does get into the breastmilk a little and especially having a little girl, I was afraid it could mess with her fertility when she's older so my husband and I decided against it. We decided to at least wait until I was done breastfeeding to see if everything would start working again but I did start ovulating between periods soon around her 1st birthday in November so we decided that come Feb this year my husband and I would take a ski trip to Colorado during ovulation to try to get pregnant and what do you know, it worked. I had also decided that would be the perfect time for me to stop breastfeeding as well. It all worked out fine and now our babies will be exactly 2 years apart.

Not only can breast feeding keep you from getting pregnant, it an take up to 6 months for your body's hormones to regulate back to normal to actually get pregnant.

Although some people can get pregnant, there are others who will take longer.

I literally took 6 months AFTER I stopped breast feeding to get pregnant. Although I took the longest possible, it is possible to get pregnant more quickly. But you should be prepared for the outside time length.

Additionally, I had been getting my period since my daughter was 10 months. (We stopped breast feeding at 14 months) Apparently, you can still have your cycles and not get pregnant.

At about 3 months post breast feeding, we started taking all of the fertility tests just to make sure there was not a problem any where else and all initial diagnostics came back normal and fertile.

I wanted kids closer together as well, but we will end up with 2 yrs and 3 months which is still fairly close in age. Although I completely understand that feeling of wanting to be pregnant NOW!

Enjoy the time you have with your daughter now. As ridiculously cute as she is now, she will continue to get ridiculously cute over the next year!

I'm very glad that many other women do not experience what I experienced, but you should also be aware what are the long "normal" times as well. Hope some of the other fertility advice works for you!

I became pregnant while breastfeeding. My son was 14 months old and I had not yet had a period. At the time he was nursing 4-5 times a day and I did not "feel" like I had been ovulating, but surprise! Baby sister will be here in about a month! So, yes, you can easily conceive while breastfeeding. Just keep in mind that everyone is different and you just never know how long it will take. Good luck!

It is very possible to get pregnant while still breastfeeding because it happened to me! Just trust your body and know it will happen at the best time.

By the time my son was 1 he was nursing 3 times on weekdays, and 4-5 on weekends. In my case, my period came back when he was 13 months old. We had fertility issues conceiving our first, so we just decided to let things take their course this time. We used protection for about 2-3 months for job/scheduling reasons, but I conceived without help when my son was 18 months old!

I would say it may just depend on how long you've been at 3 feedings. If it hasn't been that long, your period may return soon. Or, you could be one of the women that would need to completely wean. If it were me, I'd give it a few more months. If you really are in a hurry, you might need to cut more feedings or completely wean. It just depends whether it's more important to you to keep nursing or to get pregnant :) Either way, you've done a great job making it to a year!

I've always heard that you can get pregnant while breastfeeding even though you are not getting your period and if you don't want another pregnancy to use birthcontrol.

You should talk to your ob/gyn.

Hi,

I exclusively nursed my son until, at 13 months, he started eating solids. He still nurses several times a day/night. I got my first period when he was 14 months, and now am quite fertile (he's almost 16 months now). We wanted to space our children no closer than 2 years apart, so at the 15 month mark I needed to be fertile, and I am!

Good luck!

I got pregnant when my daughter was a little less than 12 months old, and I was still breastfeeding. She breastfed until she was 14 months old, too.

Well, you might want to to talk to your OB. My daughter is 11 months old and also exclusively breast-fed. I've been getting my period for about 4 months now... Everyone's body is different, but certainly there are lots of woman who get pregnant while still nursing an older sibling...

www.kellymom.com is a great brestfeeding site.

My doctor told me I would never get pregnant if I was still nursing my 16 month old daughter. That's an old wives' tale, though. I was nursing my daughter 2-3 times a day and got pregnant on the second try (I just weaned my daughter three weeks ago, when my son was born). If you are concerned that nursing will get in the way with getting pregnant, you could try to cut it down to two times a day. I had a friend who stopped nursing for two weeks before she ovulated each month, then resumed after she ovulated. Your OB/GYN can help you with this. Good luck!!!

Had not had my period for 6 months and ended up pregnant. When the time is right you will be blessed again. All in good time. Would not start to worry about it.

It is VERY possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding, but if you haven't started your period and are not ovulating then you won't. It is possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding if you haven't started your period either, but you would have ovulated. I know a few ladies who got pregnant before they started their period, but it's because the first cycle they ovulated they conceived. You should probably start it soon since she's already 1 yr old, but every woman is different so I guess it could be a while. I got pregnant with my last 2 while breastfeeding. Maybe talk to your OB about it, or if you are really wanting to get pregnant now consider weaning. But even weaning won't gaurentee a period right away, it could still take a while. Good luck in whatever you decide!

My own experience was that I did not start menstrating until I stopped breast feeding. I have 2 other friends who got pregnant while breastfeeding but had not started their menstration. In there case they must have gotten pregnant on the first ovulation that would if they had not gotten pregnant led to their first menstration. I stopped so as to conceive and then went on to have 2 miscarriages. In retrospect I wish I had breast fed a little longer but I am now 43 and so time was on my mind. If you are still younger, I would breast feed as long as you want to. If it is any comfort, based on early childhood development research, it is suggested that a 3 yr gap between children is ideal as it allows the first child to get through those first 3 yrs as a baby/toddler and the interaction between the children is often better - less competition. So perhaps you can enjoy breastfeeding and your little one and stop when you and your little one are ready. Of course that is a very individual choice.

Don't believe that, I breastfeed all my kids until they were 2 and even feed premies after. My girls are a year and a day apart. I did not have a period for 8 years, with breast feeding and having kids. I found a cool doc from Sweden over here, who told me everything about pregnacies, breast feeding, and womenly problems. In the U.S. we are hung up on not asking the docs everything, ask, and if they don't like what you ask found one that does.

It isn't a fertility issue, but rather nature's way of making sure your have a strong, healthy babies. I say this because as soon as I weaned my daughter, I started ovulating again and immediately get pregnant. No issue getting pregnant here, just a body that is smart enough to know that caring for one baby is more than enough ;-)

Just a FYI, I had my 365 days after the first and was breastfeeding at the time. I didn't have a "period", just went to my doctor telling him I thought I had the flu, wondering if it was safe to continue nursing. After doing a test he came out and informed me that I was expecting. So anyway. It is possible. Good Luck. My children kept me busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are now just about 18, 17, and I have 2 more,,, 14 and 12.

Well... I got pregnant with my second ds when ds1 was 14 months old and I was nursing a LOT more than 3 times a day! Just because you haven't gotten your period doesn't mean you aren't ovulating. I nursed during my pregnancy to 5 months, weaning ds at 19 months which is much earlier than I wanted to but I was having contractions.

Do not stop nursing just to get pregnant. You can have your hormones checked to see if you are ovulating.

E.:

it is unlikely that your infertility is related to your breastfeeding/ lactational amenorhea is limited and effective ( again usually) only when babies are exclusively breastfeeding.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions