What it is
Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding? Yes. Ovulation can return as early as three to four weeks after birth if you are not breastfeeding, and before your first period either way. This page lays out the options so you can ask good questions.
What's typical
LAM, the lactational amenorrhea method, is breastfeeding as birth control. It is about 98 percent effective only when all three hold: the baby is under six months, you are feeding on demand day and night with no long gaps, and your period has not returned. Other options: a copper or hormonal IUD; the implant; the progestin-only pill, often called the mini pill; the shot; condoms; and sterilization. Methods with estrogen are usually delayed for the first three to six weeks because of clot risk. Some report they affect milk; the evidence is mixed.
What's known
ACOG and the CDC publish a chart of which methods are safe at which point after birth and with breastfeeding. ACOG also notes that pregnancies spaced closer than eighteen months carry more risk.
What helps
- Ask how each option works with breastfeeding, if you are, and what the first weeks on it feel like.
- If you use LAM, write the three conditions where you will see them, and have a backup ready.
When to call someone
- Now (go in): with an IUD, severe belly pain, fever, or heavy bleeding.
- Todaya missed period after it had returned, or pregnancy symptoms on any method.
- At your next visitthis whole conversation. Bring your list.
Who helps
Tools: My Birth Team
Related
- When your period comes backPostpartum: Your Body
- Sex after birth: when, pain, dryness, desirePostpartum: Your Body
- The six-week checkup (and why it isn't enough)Postpartum: Your Body
- Coming off birth controlBefore Pregnancy
What mothers here say
No one has posted under this topic yet. The first experience here will help the next mother who searches for it at 2 a.m.
Experiences and questions are their authors' own, not reviewed advice. The topic's steward lists the ones that help most in a credited digest once there is one. Unusual experiences stay, with a note.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Patient FAQ on postpartum birth control
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use
- World Health Organization — Family planning handbook: lactational amenorrhea method
Sources are named, not yet linked. The steward verifies each one and adds the link.
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