Anyone get preg while BF?

catdwg83 · April 2011

I posted on BF board too, but I figured someone here might have an answer. I really don't wanna mess up my supply with the pill (mini-pill) because my supply seems to react to everything now. All other BC is not an option, except condoms & diaphragms.... which I'm kinda over using. DH & I are not trying to have another one now, but we could definitely handle it if it happened. It would just be slightly sooner than planned lol. It was super easy to conceive LO, but my cycle still hasn't regulated since his birth. Anyway, how easy or difficult was it to get pregnant while BF?

papagena · April 2011

Well, DS was nearly 2 years so we weren't BFing quite as much as you are with a 3 month old, but it was very easy for us. I've known others to get pg thinking they couldn't BFing a young baby, so it is definitely possible! I didn't find that the minipill hurt my supply at all, although I didn't have an incredibly sensitive supply.

MamaPajama2010 · April 2011

I'm not pg, but thought I'd still reply with my experience. I am unable to take any form of hormonal bc due to medical issues, but my cycle is surprisingly regular (even with EBF) so we use condoms. Yeah, it totally sucks... but we do not want another baby any time soon. DD is a good sleeper, so AF returned at 6 weeks... but I wouldn't risk it even if it hadn't come back yet. I know way too many women who have gotten pregnant unexpectedly while breastfeeding (my mom, sister, and best friend to name just a few). It can happen even if you just rely of EBFing as birth control one time. I guess if you don't care if you get pg or want another LO soon then that is one thing, but if you don't or aren't sure then just suck it up and use protection until you are sure. It's really not the end of the world. Good luck with whatever you choose!

notreallyirish · April 2011

My personal experience: I haven't gotten AF back since DS was born and he still nurses frequently, especially at night, but we will use condoms until we are sure we are okay with having another LO. My mom got pregnant while nursing 3 times, so, yeah...

Scientific info: For exclusive breastfeeding to be effective as birth control you have to meet some pretty strict criteria. First off it is no longer considered a viable form of birth control once you have resumed menstruating (regular or not), so that rules it out for you already. Even if you are not menstruating it is only considered reliable if your baby is under six months, you never go longer than 4 hours during the day and 6 hours during the night between feedings, and you never offer any artificial nipples or formula.

So, all this is to say...if you really don't want another baby now, you need to use a barrier method. If you don't care, go ahead, but your chances of conceiving are probably almost as good as if you weren't using any birth control.

sometimesalwayschaotic · April 2011

joirish:
My personal experience: I haven't gotten AF back since DS was born and he still nurses frequently, especially at night, but we will use condoms until we are sure we are okay with having another LO. My mom got pregnant while nursing 3 times, so, yeah...
Scientific info: For exclusive breastfeeding to be effective as birth control you have to meet some pretty strict criteria. First off it is no longer considered a viable form of birth control once you have resumed menstruating (regular or not), so that rules it out for you already. Even if you are not menstruating it is only considered reliable if your baby is under six months, you never go longer than 4 hours during the day and 6 hours during the night between feedings, and you never offer any artificial nipples or formula.
So, all this is to say...if you really don't want another baby now, you need to use a barrier method. If you don't care, go ahead, but your chances of conceiving are probably almost as good as if you weren't using any birth control.

I wanted to add that you also have to only breastfeed, never pump. For some reason it doesn't count if you pump.

orangecurls · April 2011

It was super easy to get pregnant. It took 6 months to conceive my first and this one was a surprise. I was breastfeeding, only had 1 inconsistent period, using condoms and rarely having sex. I conceived when LO was about 6 months.

catdwg83 · April 2011

orangecurls:
It was super easy to get pregnant. It took 6 months to conceive my first and this one was a surprise. I was breastfeeding, only had 1 inconsistent period, using condoms and rarely having sex. I conceived when LO was about 6 months.

Hot damn that is pretty easy lol. Thanks everyone for the advice

iris427 · April 2011

I got pregnant very easily but my daughter was nearly 2 years old. I don't think I could have gotten pregnant in the first 6-12 months.

lkstor · April 2011

99% sure I ovulated for the first time when DS was 18 months old. So would have been very difficult for ME to get pregnant any sooner. There is, of course, tons of variability from one woman to the next.

pixieprincss · April 2011

What about the Paragard IUD (hormone free), the sponge, or spermicide? Those are all other options that will not mess with your supply. As for using BFing as BC...LAM has pretty specific rules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational_amenorrhea_method

For women who meet the criteria (listed below), LAM is 98% - 99.5% effective during the first six months postpartum.^[1]

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).

JrsGurl1823 · April 2011

My cousin believed the old wives tale she couldn't get pg while BF, well lets put it this way, she is expecting baby number FOUR in FOUR YEARS ! ( :

Anyone get preg while BF?

Re: Anyone get preg while BF?

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