If you have just come out of an emotional roller-coaster ride of nine months and you finally have a baby, you may have plenty of questions about the new life of yourself and your baby. You might be wondering whether you could ultimately have full-night’s sleep or you are feeding enough milk to your baby.
Most breastfeeding moms also have a burning question: whether they can get pregnant again while breastfeeding or not.
Is it true?
If you ask so, the answer is probably, yes. You may get some relief from ovulation while breastfeeding (which occurs every month when a mature egg is relieved from an ovary), but there are chances that you may ovulate and get pregnant before getting the first period.
A hormone which produces milk in your breasts, oxytocin is highly responsible for that. It holds your brain from stimulating the primary hormone to promote the growth of egg in the ovary every month, and it will ovulate to meet the sperm. If you are breastfeeding frequently or exclusively, the chances are significantly less to ovulate until you start weaning.
Is it possible to get pregnant if you are still waiting for your period and breastfeeding?
Ovulation usually occurs before menstruation every month. But there is still a chance to ovulate at any time. You may also get a period after ovulation within two weeks. If you haven’t got a period to use birth control and you are still waiting, you might be late to avoid pregnancy.
How likely can you get pregnant while breastfeeding?
You may temporarily ensure some birth control with exclusive breastfeeding. This approach to prevent pregnancy is known as “Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM)”.
Only 1 to 2 out of 100 women may become pregnant even after using the LAM method during the first six months of delivery. If you don’t want to become pregnant like most women while breastfeeding, you should –
- Avoid pacifiers – Snug up and let your baby fulfil her sucking needs.
- Indulge in exclusive nursing – Don’t supplement your baby with formula and avoid solids or anything else.
- Nurse on demand – Let your baby nurse whenever she needs, i.e. every 4 hours in a day or 6 hours at night. Pumping is not the right option with LAM.
