Contraceptives for Breastfeeding Mothers

Although breastfeeding does minimize the possibility of ovulating, it does not by any means guarantee that you will not get pregnant again. In the case of women that choose to not breastfeed, ovulation, in other words their state of fertility goes back to normal in around ten weeks. Around ten percent of women that do breastfeed also start ovulating again after around ten weeks and around fifty percent of women start ovulating after around twenty-five weeks, which is a few months after they have had their baby. Therefore, breastfeeding is not the best choice when it comes to contraceptives.

When you have decided to start having sex again, try to use an effective contraceptive since you probably are not under the idea of getting pregnant again right away. There are different types of contraceptives that can be used such as the pill, condoms, diaphragms, progesterone injections etc. and these are things you can talk about with your doctor in the first check up you get after having had the baby.

Question:
Is it ok to take the pill while breastfeeding?

Answer:
There is actually no risk in taking the pill, but the amount of milk you produce can become affected by it. The pill has estrogen that diminishes the production of milk, and if it is taken too soon after having given birth, it can delay the beginning of the production of milk. However, after you have been breastfeeding and it is well established, there is no problem with it. For some women, the best alternative is the pill that is based only on progesterone because its effect on the reduction of milk is less.