Natural Child Birth Control

I breastfed my baby as well and went on a low-dose pill (I believe the name was Micronor.) It worked just fine, and as soon as I was done with the BF, I went back to the regular pill. It worked wonderfully for me.

All I know is that my second child was less than 3 months old, I hadn't had a period yet, and I got pregnant with my third!!
Whatever you do, be careful....it's easier than you think!!

I am surprised that your doctor told you that that was a good method of birth control. That is only supposed to work if you never pump or ever give a supplemental bottle. of course i dont know your body and how it works, but i know several women who were breastfeeding and turned up pregnant. my neighbor right now is actually more than 20 weeks pregnant with twins, and her son just turned one. She wasn't having a period, so she was already about 10 weeks when she found out. It can work sometimes but like i said it is very tricky, and i think just too much of a risk, if your breastfeeding and willing to take the pill you can take the mini pill, it is safe for breastfeeding, i took it with my son. I hope this helps you and everything works for you. Cograts on the baby girl.

Your doctor is more than likely talking about LAM -- it's not effective for everyone though. I'm one of the 2% who became pregnant 3 months post partum while exclusively breastfeeding.

Now, after my 2nd child was born I invested in an OvaCue fertility monitor and it saved me I believe! It was recommended to me and I got another friend on it. It's not FDA approved for preventing (they're working on that right now b/c more people use it for that) but conceiving. And once you do get your cycles back you can learn when you ovulate and when to abstain, if you so choose to go that route.

Just don't trust the breastfeeding "rule"! And do your research on all of the natural methods -- there's a lot out there.

I don't think that your doctor is talking about breastfeeding as a method of birth control. I did this method for a while and it worked for me. what you do is begin taking your temperature before you step a foot out of bed every single morning. Once you do this for a while, you will notice that some days your temperature is higher than the other days. this means that you are fertile. to do this you need a basal thermometer. You can get them at the drug store for a litle bit of nothing. I got the walgreems brand and it works fine. In addition to that you are supposed to check your mucus. I know this sounds gross but it has a different consistency when you are fertile. When you are fertile it is thinner/runnier than your non fertile days. Last, track your cycle on the calendar. Don't stop using condoms though until you have figured out your cycle and can predict your fertile days based on the rise in your tempuratue. The following website describes the 3 steps listed above some more. If you do all of these togeher, it is a pretty reliable birth control method. I had a neighbor that used this method for 5 years and they havent gotten pregnant yet. I used it for a year and a half. I hope this helps you out some. If you would like to talk more feel free to message me or email me at ____@____.com

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/postpartumsex/3603....

Hey girl,
I'm glad you asked. Yea, trust what your doctor says if you want to get pregnant really quick!! Do not rely on "Natural Feminie Control" to keep you from getting pregnant. There are birth control pills to take while you are breast feeding called mini pills or POP's. If you don't want to do that please use some other form of birth control. Otherwise if you don't use anything just because you are breast feeding you will most likely get pregnant right away. Sometimes doctor's don't know what they are talking about.
Good luck, S.

Sounds to me like he might be giving 99% of his effort in drumming up more business......

C.

If your menstrating your fertile, no matter how much you breastfeed. Friends who have used this natural method have a name for others that have used it: Parents. I used the diaphram after I had my son, I loved it and it worked great.

Hi there-- read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility," by Toni Weschler-- it's available through the public library. Great book, it walks you through everything, and if it's done correctly, it works extremely well. This is NOT the old "rhythm method"! :)

HTH,

J.

I just had a baby about 6 weeks ago and I am breastfeeding also. Breast feeding can be used as a method of birth control, called the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). However, three conditions must be met to ensure its effectiveness:

Your baby must be 6 months of age or younger. After your baby is 6 months old, you are much more likely to become pregnant and need to use another method of birth control to prevent pregnancy.
You must fully or nearly fully breast-feed your infant, meaning that the baby receives only breast milk or receives supplement, food, water, or juice only infrequently. For example, the baby can receive 1 ounce of supplement per week for each month of age. Also, breast-feeding must be maintained with both day and night feeding, and no long intervals can occur between feedings. This is because the hormone used to produce breast milk also prevents conception. These hormones run rampant at night so you must be breast feeding at night as well. This is why if you want to make a schedule for your baby to sleep through the night early on this method should not be used.
You must not have a period (amenorrhea). When your periods start, use an additional birth control method.
When these conditions are met, LAM has been shown to be 98.5% effective. However, many doctors recommend that you also use another method of birth control. After 6 months, even if you are breast-feeding exclusively and your period has not returned, you must use an additional form of birth control if you do not want to get pregnant. You can get pregnant before your first period. This is because you ovulate, then have your period. Hope this was enough info for you. : )

Hi L.,
I took the Depo shot and had pleanty of milk (and then some)! My kids are fine. The mini pill is progesterone only, that is why it is so important to take it at the exact time every day. The Depo shot is also progesterone only, but you only have to remember to get it every three months! The numbers for the shot's effectiveness (when taken on time) are also better than having your tubes tied! I think without insurance it costs about $75. $300 a year sounds like a lot of money until you start talking about how much kids cost! Good luck with whatever method you choose, but please dont let your doc bully you into a decision you are not comfortable with.

Read the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. It's great. Although, before I started ovulating again, I used the mini-pill both times because I was nervous about getting pregnant again. But there is a way to use it before you do actually ovulate. Good luck!
K.

I don't know about that, but if that doesn't fit your fancy look into an IUD, that is also perfectly safe while breastfeeding.

Okay...not to scare you but here's my deal. When my oldest was born, I didnt have medical insurance. Therefore, when I tore a little, I didn't go back to the doctor to get my stitches removed, I waited for them to break. Because of this, my husband and I waited until my breastfed daughter was two months old before having intercourse because it hurt. We only had it twice for the same reason. One month later, while my husband was at boot camp, i found out I was one month pregnant. My oldest two are 11 months and 5 days apart. So while I know I am fertile Myrtle, I also think your doctor is misquoting statistics to say that natural feminine control is 99% effective. It is effective, but not that much. I want to say that after my third was born, my doctor put me on Micronor because it is safe while breastfeeding. Hope this helps. Congrats!

He's more than likely talking about the rhythm method, which really does work if you know how to use it.... you learn to listen to your body and know what its going through. You can take classes on it, if you call any local Catholic Church they can refer you to a Natural Family Planning Class available in your area. I had to take them before they'd let me get married in my catholic church and now I can tell when I'm ovulating, when my cycles about to start, when to abstain and when to go for the gusto! :) I love using the rhythm method b/c it keeps me from having to put all those nasty extra hormones in my body! :)

Check it out! It works if you work it!

Take care,

Kim

I love the Taking Charge of Your Fertility book too. I kept from getting pregnant with the book, and then got pregnant using the book too. You don't have to worry about milk supply dwindling, it's a free method (minus the cost of the basil thermometer), and it is safe for breastfeeding.

K.

Hi L.,

In addition to educating yourself on the conditions that could possibly delay your fertility while breastfeeding I suggest that you learn how to use a fertility lens so that you are less likely to be surprised. Or you could get ok with a barrier method or the mini pill- just watch you milk supply and seek help if it begins to wane.

(just a side note that if your baby uses any artificial nipples including pacifiers-especially at night- your fertility could return sooner than 6 months)

There is something that you can purchase that will help you know when you start ovulating again.

The Lens can tell you when you are ovulating and if you obstain from intercourse at those times your chances of concieving will be greatly reduced.-It is also great for any woman who wants to know when she is fertile so that she can conceive more easily.

Fertile Focus
Personal Ovualtion Microscope
Reusable Unlimited Tests
Natural Safe SAliva Based Testing
Accurate and Easy to use
98% Accurate
100% safe

This product is described well and is available for purchased online at http://www.fertile-focus.com/
or I have seen similar products at HEB. I don't know the quality of the other products-magnification, light source ect.

I am a Birth and Postpartum Doula and I own The Mothering Way, a group doula practice in Austin TX

I hope that helped.
Take care,
R.

I'm confused. Are you saying that breastfeeding is a form of birth control? If so I didn't know that. Please feel free to email me privately with your answer. I feel like such a dummy.

Here is am article on breastfeeding as birth control method.

http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/lam.html

Wich will only be 99-98% effective for the first 6 months.
And that is only if you havn't resumed your meses.

The article is pretty informative. Personally I wouldn't use that method. It seems a bit heavy on the un-reliable side.

~L. G