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Is it true that breastfeeding can be a form of contraception?.
A
It is recommended that if you do
not plan to conceive that you still use contraception when your breastfeeding.
This is because you still may be fertile, even though you may not have had a
period. Whist breastfeeding it is very common for women to not have periods
sometimes for up to 12 months, especially if you are breastfeeding your baby
day and night. Nonetheless, you do continue to ovulate or produce eggs.
Some women do however, use breastfeeding as a contraceptive method and this
is called the lactational amenorrhoea method:
The lactational amenorrhoea method can be used by women provided that the following
conditions are met:
- Complete amenorrhoea (no bleeding)
- Fully or very nearly fully breastfeeding,
and No longer than 6 months since birth of the baby. (FFPRHC 2004)
It is however more complicated than
just exclusively breastfeeding as it does involve the following:
- Monitoring changes in basal body
temperature.
- Monitoring changes in cervical
secretions and the feel of the cervix.
- Calculating the length of the
menstrual cycle and using this to estimate the time of ovulation and the fertile
days of the menstrual cycle.
- Monitoring changes in hormone
concentration levels in the urine.
- Also if you baby starts to sleep
through longer or if you supplement some of your feeds this can reduce your
protection.
So if you really do want to stop
yourself getting pregnant do speak to your GP, health visitor or family planning
advisor before you decide to use this method.
health visitor
back to faq's - Breastfeeding |
