getting pregnant while breastfeeding?

bmccartney

bmccartney

Cathlete
My husband and I are ready for another baby...but I'm still breastfeeding. I've read that the chances of getting pregnant are only 1-2% if the baby is younger than 6 months and the mother is exclusively nursing (Taylor is 4.5 months). We're actually starting a few other things like rice cereal and veggies, AND my milk is drying up so much now that she's sleeping ~12 hrs/night. So I'm hoping that this will improve my chances of conceiving, but I'd also like to keep up with the nursing at least 2x/day so she gets the health benefits from it.

Is it possible to still do this and also get pregnant? Anyone have any experiences with this? Thanks!

Bethany
 
I will share with you my experience and give you a little hope. :p I got pregnant with DS #3 when DS #2 was 4 months old. I never had a period between the two. DS #2 was exclusively breast fed until he hit his 4 month growth spurt and DH gave him some rice cereal. That was all it took and I ovulated right away (I'm thinking it was within 24 hours based on time of conception for DS #3.) It is definitely possible and that is why they say not to count on BF'ing as birth control.

Good luck to you! I love having my two boys so close together. It can be challenging but they are great buddies. :D
 
Prolactin (hormone that is responsible for lactating) suppresses ovulation. It is more difficult to get pg while breastfeeding. Once baby starts solids, prolactin levels go down a bit. I had no periods b/w baby 2 & 3 and was nursing plus solids. Baby was 15mos old when I conceived naturally and easily.

With your wee-one being so young, your chances of ovulating is much less with breastfeeding. With that being said, bf-ing is awesome and I would not give up the opportunity to do that to rush another pg. Enjoy your time w/your wee-one then get pg. Just my 2 cents. :)
 
Ok, please explain something to me... My baby is 6 weeks, Im breestfeeding mixing with formula, I had a c-section and my doctor told me to start taking the pill at week 3.

Its seem so long that I have not had my period yet... but now your post just confused me.

Please explain, Im a newly mom!
 
Nursing isn't 100% birthcontrol. That's why your doctor will prescribe the "mini" pill or progesterone only birth control pills while you are nursing. Your odds of ovulating increase as you add other non-breastmilk to her diet. Since you are mixing formula--your odds of ovulating are higher than a mom that is exclusively bfing (and using zero formula).

With that being said, you're chances of ovulating (being fertile) are decreased with any amount of bfing you do---so there's some "protection" while bfing, period.

I hope I didn't confuse you even more!
 
Hi there--

Bethany--I think your chances of concieving are pretty good. I believe that for breastfeeding to work to suppress conception, you have to be doing it every 3 hours pretty much around the clock.

Blessed--hi there! I think most doctors recommend a secondary "protection" from pregnancy, since you can concieve while nursing. I think how fertile you are while nursing depends on how much and how often you nurse and your own body's patterns--every woman is different.

Maggie :)
 
Thanks for the responses...

Is there any way to tell if I'm ovulating without buying those kits at the drugstore? Just curious. We're not really in a huge rush to get pregnant again, we just decided that we would let it happen when (if) it does.

Bethany
 
I would recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility (I can't remember the author). I learned about it from the great ladies on this site. It educates you about your fertility signs, so that you can increase your chances of conception or avoid it, depending on what you want.

Maggie:)
 
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