Breastfeeding and Mini-Pill

This is a question I would ask the doctor. I know you have to switch up when you quit nursing completely because the mini-pill is only effective (and it's not 100% unfortunately) while you are nursing so check the fine print with your doctor on that supplementation question.

And I don't know about all women but I weaned my daughter at 20 months, started on the regular pill and my milk was gone in a heartbeat! I'm glad I didn't take the regular pill while I was nursing her like they said I could! (slap to the forehead over stupid doc recommendation) Glad I was smart enough to do my research.

I'm actually still on the mini-pill and haven't nursed in 18 months! I asked my doctor about it and his thought process is that I should be on the lowest "effective" dose of hormones possible! More is not always better...

You have some conflicting information about the effectiveness of the mini-pill. My understanding, like Jen B., was that you could use the mini-pill as long as you want and it will be effective, but that as long as you're breastfeeding (especially early on), that's the pill of choice as it won't interfere with milk production. That being said, my doctor switched me to the regular pill when my son was about 9 months because she felt my milk supply was well-established at that point and the regular pill is a little more forgiving in terms of the time you take it and missed dosages, etc. I had no problems nursing my son until I weaned him at a year while on the regular pill those last 3 months. Bottom line, I guess, is talk to your doctor!

I stayed on the mini-pill until my boys were a year old. By then I had either stopped breastfeeding or was doing a combo of breastfeeding and supplementing. It worked fine with me. My sister has been on the mini-pill for years because other pills give her migraines and it has been effective for her as well. I think the key is being consistent with when you take the pill. Hope this helps.

You won't want to change unless you are going to stop breastfeeding altogether. The combination pill will dry you out. You can use the mini pill as long as you like, it is effective and if you don't deal with negative side effects, it will work fine as long as you want to use it, breastfeeding or not. But if you are breastfeeding at all you will want to use it or some other form of birth control that does not interfere with breastfeeding, your dr can advise you about all safe forms during breastfeeding.

If you are breastfeeding at all stay on the mini-pill. The hormones that are in regular birth control will show up at the same levels in the baby's bloodstream as they do in yours if you take regular birth control and breastfeed.