Guest Author - Jessica Gunsch

One of the perks of breastfeeding is that when done exclusively, most women will not resume their periods for at least six months and often times much longer. This is nature’s way of ensuring that women do not have children too close together and that their bodies have enough time to recover from childbirth. The hormones that allow women to breastfeed naturally suppress menstruation which of course is necessary in resuming fertility. The absence of menstruation during breastfeeding is termed lactation amenorrhea or LAM by medical professionals.

Many health care providers will advise women not to rely solely on LAM as a form of birth control because many factors can lessen the contraceptive aspect of breastfeeding. However if you plan to have more children in the future and the small possibility of a surprise pregnancy is ok, you can be confident that the chances of conceiving while nursing are extremely low. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of your child’s life will result in pregnancy only about .9%-1.2% of the time.

The effectiveness of this natural birth control depends on the age of your child; less than six months, whether you breastfeed exclusively (which means no pacifiers or bottles, you haven’t started solids, no water, your baby enjoys feeding on demand and you practice co-sleeping/breastfeeding during the night) and finally whether or not you have resumed your period. If you are sure that all of these factors are present then breastfeeding as a form of birth control can be considered to be 99.1% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Any alterations in routine or a change in the factors noted above, especially as your child nears the half year mark, can increase the chances of becoming pregnant. Even teething or a cold that may cause your child to temporarily nurse less can initiate the onset of your menstrual cycle. The return of your period as an indication that you are once again fertile is also not a reliable method. Usually women are able to conceive approximately two weeks before their period starts which would obviously be too late. This is why women are advised not to rely on this method if they positively do not want to become pregnant again.

It is also important to note that many women begin to have sporadic periods while they are still breastfeeding. At six months you may have your first period. It may arrive regularly the next month but not again for a while after. This is normal even in women whose menstrual cycles arrived like clockwork before pregnancy. However you should consider yourself fertile and able to get pregnant upon the arrival of your first period even if you do not get one again for some time.