Still Nursing, Have Not Had Period and Trying to Conceive

Updated on June 19, 2007
R.H. asks from Harwood Heights, IL
14 answers

I am still nursing my 9 month old son (2 - 3 times a day) and my period has not returned. My husband and I want to start trying to get pregnant again so how do I know when I am ovulating? Do I go by the last time I had my period in Nov. 2005 or when I had my son in Sept. 2006? Can I get pregnant while I am still nursing? Thanks!

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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

Yes you can conceive while nursing. And yes this can happen w/o a period. Honestly, I would talk to your ob/gyne. Good luck.

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C.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi R.,

I got my period back while I was still nursing and got pregnant again after about only 2 periods....again, while I was still nursing :) We had actually decided to wean our daughter completly (we had been starting to introduce formula and it seemed that our daughter might have had an intollerance to milk or lactose because she was doing much better on soy formula than on breast milk) and less than a week later I found out I was pregnant again. Total surprise but definitely a welcome one. I had asked my nurse practitioner if it was possible to become pregnant without actually getting a period and she said it would have to happen during ovulation before you get your first period again, so unless you time it perfectly without knowing it, chances are you're going to have to wait until your period comes back....but definitely ask your doctor, because I'm not an expert.

Good luck!
C.

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J.R.

answers from Chicago on

I didn't ge tmy period until my kids were almost weened. I will tell you one thing. Tandem nursing isn't so great and unless you want to expose the new baby to every germ your other child brings home,like the stomach flu and strep throat, it's better to wean before the baby comes.

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A.

answers from Chicago on

I did not get my period back until I totally weaned my kids (2 of them). Everyone's body is different - you may be able to get pregnant now, but maybe not until you totally wean. You could try using one of those ovulation kits... Good luck!

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J.H.

answers from Chicago on

Yes you can get pregnant while nursing. I had no idea I was pregnant while I was nursing and taking Errin Birth control. I found out when I was 17 weeks along so I would not worry about that. For my first pregnancy I bought a home ovulation kit by Clear Blue Easy, it was like $40-50 but well worth it since I have PCOS and didnt ovulate for 4 months, but it was accurate and I got pregnant the first time I ovulated. Its easy to test, the same as a pregnancy test.....I would suggest the digital one, that is what I used. Good luck!!

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L.M.

answers from Chicago on

You can definately get pregnant while nursing and without a period. A friend of mine did 4 times! She's only had like 2 periods since she's been married!!

I'd recommend looking into the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. By taking your temperature and charting what your body is doing you can not only know if you are ovulating, but you can know when you are most fertile and then if you are pregnant. Best wishes to you! :-)

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A.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hello, women do conceive while still nursing, but it isn't that usual, esp. when you don't know when your ovulating. I would talk to your doctor and see if they can do some blood tests to check your hormone levels?? I nursed my son for 8 monthes and didn't get a period until almost 3 months after I stopped nursing. I would think it was best to check with your doctor and hopefully they have the answers you need. :)

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N.S.

answers from Chicago on

You may not be ovulating so you could air on the safe side and start trying now just don't get stressed cause it'll cause you too much aggravation. Good luck conceiving and hope it happens easily.

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S.G.

answers from Chicago on

My period didn't return until my daughter was about 10 months old. You can get pregnant while nursing!!
Have you tried ovulation kits? I recommend the book Take charge of your fertility. It will help you pin point your fetile times each month ( that is "if you ovulate every month- some women ovulate every other month) Good luck to you.

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A.K.

answers from Chicago on

This is an old wives tale but the second best birth control is nursing.lol The first is abstanance.lol BUT, I know women who nursed and got pregnant. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck on getting pregnant.

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E.M.

answers from Chicago on

You can definitely get pregnant while nursing as my son was a nursing surprise, but fair warning, your milk production will stop when you are pregnant b/c everything will go to building the placenta and the growing baby. Also, there is no real way to tell when you are ovulating b/c of the hormones when nursing, the kits won't work. Either cut back on nursing to slowly ween your baby and you may get lucky, otherwise I'd wait till you stop nursing if you really want to plan the pregnancy. Good Luck!

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J.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi. It took me 2 years to get pregnant with my first and thinking since my periods weren't regular after, we weren't protecting and 1 month later, i was pregnant. Now they will be 14 months apart. It CAN happen and does. So if you aren't in a hurry, just be relaxed and just try. You definitly can ovulate without having a period and for sure, you can get pregnant while breastfeeding!

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K.

answers from Chicago on

I still nurse my 12 month old son and still have not gotten my period back either. Yes, it's possible to get preg while nursing, but yours may not reappear for several months yet, depending on your body. You can tell when you've ovulated if you chart your temperatures. I've been charting since my son turned 6 months old (still no ovulation for me) - your period will follow about 12 days after you ovulate - unless you're pregnant, in which case your temp will stay high. Check out the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Wechsler. Great book. Tells you how to figure when you're potentially fertile and when you've ovulated.

If you truly want to get pregnant soon you may have to partly wean your baby. IMHO, it's just not worth it to do that, but everyone is different. Our original plans were to have kids 2 years apart which would mean me getting preg in about 2.5 months. But it's just not that important to me for it to be EXACTLY 2 years, so I figure I'll just let my son keep nursing and at some point I'll get pregnant. Most likely I'll start ovulating in the next few months whether I wean him or not. I'm patient... :)

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M.E.

answers from Chicago on

From past experience, I can tell you that you can definitely get pregnant while nursing. I don't know the other answers, but hopefully this tidbit will help. Good luck!

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