Breastfeeding As Birth Control

And now that we have your attention....

We wanted to have a quick chat about your cycles and the effects of breastfeeding directly after pregnancy and birth.

Lactational Amenorrhea refers to the temporary period of infertility that occurs when a woman is breastfeeding and not menstruating.

When a woman is producing milk-through breastfeeding or manual pumping-her body has higher than normal levels of a hormone called "prolactin". This hormone is responsible for milk production, but it can also affect menstruation and fertility.

(If you'd like a bit more info on the hormones involved in breastfeeding, read THIS post that we wrote on the topic.)

So if you've heard Grandma recommend using breastfeeding as a form of birth control and thought it was all just a weird "old wives tale", you may want to think again!

While this has historically been used as a natural means of spacing pregnancies, there are a few key points for you to consider:

• LAM (lactation amenorrhea method) is only going to be effective until your body decides to lower prolactin and start ovulating again. Most women aren't actively tracking their basal temps or using ovulation testing strips daily, so you probably won't know UNTIL you get your first postpartum period. You could be fertile without knowing!

  
  

• As prolactin is the reason for this pause in menstruation, regular milk production and removal is necessary. We don't mean occasional feeds or a few pumping sessions a day. We mean round-the-clock, consistent breastfeeding/pumping.

  Within a few weeks of dropping all night feeds/pump sessions, many women will see a return of their cycles!

• Every woman, pregnancy, and postpartum are different. One friend could have her cycles return in three to four months, while another friend doesn't get hers back until the twelve-month mark. Add in the varied experiences of breastfeeding mothers/babies, and there are a lot of different factors at play!

• It is fairly common for a quicker cycle return when exclusively pumping instead of feeding at the breast, so that should be considered if relying heavily on LAM.

For these reasons, this method is considered most effective in the first six months after birth, and only when exclusively breastfeeding. Even though it IS a form of breastfeeding, pumping involves slightly different mechanisms and has less biological feedback between mother and infant. These subtle differences can impact hormones more than you would think, and should be factored in.

It will most likely be recommended that you combine LAM with another form of birth control if there is a strong need or desire to prevent pregnancy.

While birth control use is an extremely personal decision, we hope this has given you a bit more insight into LAM, and whether it could be an option for YOU. As with any medically related decisions, we always recommend you speak to a physician and bring them all your questions.

What is something you used to consider an "old wives tale" but then later learned there was some truth to it after all?

Let us know in the comments!