TTC while EBF - can it be done?

[bartlettpear]

I am hoping to be pregnant again by November (due to work contract and health insurance plan year).

Has anyone out there gotten pregnant 6 months PP while EBFing?

I know that my LO is less than 2 months but i know it can take awhile to get your cycle back. I don't want to stop BFing but have any of y'all supplemented at night and got your ovulatory cycles back?

 

[Mynxie]

The average length of time before af returns is 14mth according to kellymom and ebf for 6 months is apparently the most reliable form of contraception, so long as you feed at least once every 4 hours, so based on that, yes cause anything is possible, but it's unlikely.

Be careful about supplimenting cause it will affect your milk supply.

 

[Jo.t]

My period has just returned baby is 6m but does sleep 12hrs at night x

 

[Kellen]

My middle sister wouldn't be here if it wasn't possible. Parents were told that it was an effective contraceptive if they EBF... My sisters are 16 months apart.

 

[Lara310809]

Breastfeeding is NOT a good form of contraception. Obviously if you are one of the ladies who doesn't get their period while they are BF, then it's great, but you never know whether you're that person. I have BF two babies, and I got my period back at 6w and 12w respectively. and the first period is not a good time to start using contraception, because chances are you already ovulated. A period comes at the end of the menstrual cycle, so you usually ovulate two weeks beforehand, which means, before you get your first period, you could technically be ovulating at any time. It is not a good method of birth control if you actively want to prevent pregnancy.

As for TTC when you're BF, I was EBF until my daughter was 14m old. And I mean exclusively; she wasn't on solid food until after that. She would feed every 2hrs around the clock. We were TTC from her birthday, and I WAS ovulating. Apparently BF produces a hormone or a chemical that can suppress ovulation... For MANY but not ALL women. Again, it's important to stress that. You may have periods, but you may not be ovulating. Alternatively you may ovulate from only end ovary, or on alternate months, etc. there's no rule really. That can make it harder to conceive.

Having said all that, we conceived on our second cycle, while EBF. There is a group of ladies in either the BF section, or the TTC section that have a group about TTC while BF, and between them they have a lot of information about it.

 

[CheshirePanda]

Agreed. Not a good form of contraception!
I EBF and got period back at 3 months.

 

[dan-o]

Mine came back when LO started solids last time, but my cycles were short with a very short luteal phase. I did actually fall pregnant while still ebf but had an early MC. Once DS stopped BFing, at about 10 months, my cycles improved and I fell pregnant with #2 just after he turned one. We are ntnp again now, dont think we'll get lucky anytime soon though! Good luck, plenty on here have managed it!

 

[Celesse]

LAM (Lactational amenorrhoea method) is 98%+ effective if you fit the criteria, about the same as condoms.

Breastfeeding must be the infant’s only (or almost only) source of nutrition. Feeding formula, pumping instead of nursing,[2] and feeding solids all reduce the effectiveness of LAM.
The infant must breastfeed at least every four hours during the day and at least every six hours at night.
The infant must be less than six months old.
The mother must not have had a period after 56 days post-partum (when determining fertility, bleeding prior to 56 days post-partum can be ignored).

There's a lot of anecdotal evidence out there, people who got pregnant whilst breastfeeding, or know someone who did. But if its only someone who you know, especially when it happened a long time ago can you be sure they fit the full criteria for LAM? And if you did fit the criteria for LAM and got pregnant you'd be more likely to share your story than the 98% of us that didn't get pregnant before AF whilst exclusively breastfeeding a baby under 6 months.

So there is a 98% chance that you will NOT get pregnant when exclusively breastfeeding a baby prior to 6 months if your AF doesn't return.

Even if AF does return there is a much higher chance of a luteal phase defect when your periods return earlier (ie prior to 6 months). This basically means there will not be enough days between ovulation and menstruation for the egg to implant.

For me fertility returned after the children were STTN and feeding less that 4times per day.

But STTN on it's own doesn't mean AF/fertility will return. It depends on your own individual threshold.

 

[xxlovexx]

I EBF, and bed share and AF returned at 4.5 months pp. DS is now about 10.5 months old and I got my first positive ovulation test yesterday! (6th pp cycle and I've been testing for 3-4 months) Our routine is still the same, DS still sleeps in my bed, doesn't sttn, and he's EBF. I think there's a lower chance of getting pregnant while EBF, but it's definitely not impossible. Good luck! My cycles are still off due to breastfeeding and range from 26-37 days :/

 

[Lara310809]

I agree it's effective IF your period doesn't return, but for the simple fact that you could be ovulating at any time, it's like playing Russian roulette, and for that reason I don't agree with doctors etc telling women that its as good as other forms of contraception.

 

[kalyrra]

I have a friend who got pregnant 8 weeks postpartum, and she was EBF. She never had AF, she ovulated first. So it's totally possible, it just depends on your own cycles.

I've been EBF, and I just got my first AF at 5.5 months, but I think it was anovulatory. LO has been STTN since he was about 10 to 12 weeks old, and he eats about every 2-3 1/2 hrs during the day.

 

[snowfia]

AF didn't return for me at all and I fell pregnant when LO was nearly 13 months.
But then I know someone who's AF didn't return and fell pregnant again when her LO was 2/3 months.
It's just different for everyone.