For nine months, your hormones undergo a transformative journey, fluctuating as the miracle of new life takes place within your body.
For many, this is the first time in years that their hormones function organically, free from the influence of hormone-altering birth control. This liberating feeling, coupled with the natural protective instincts that arise while breastfeeding a tiny human being, drives your search for a birth control method that preserves your natural balance and eliminates the risk of side effects that could harm your baby.
Understanding Postpartum Fertility And Ovulation Is Crucial
Ovulation is the biological event where an egg is released from the ovaries, ready to be fertilized by sperm. Without ovulation, conception is impossible.
During pregnancy, the body’s overwork in nurturing and growing the baby suppresses ovulation. However, technically, as soon as the body is no longer carrying a baby, ovulation can resume, and you can fall pregnant. The return of menstruation signals the resumption of ovulation. In some women, this can occur as early as six weeks after childbirth, while for many, it takes a significant amount of time to recover.
Several Factors Can Delay The Return Of Fertility
While it’s possible for fertility to return quickly after childbirth, most women’s bodies naturally suppress ovulation to allow for the recovery of vital minerals and nutrients depleted during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding further increases the likelihood of this suppression. The act of a baby suckling triggers the release of ovulation hormones, ensuring that the body has the necessary nutrients for breastmilk production. At the same time, the baby’s sucking helps prevent the development of a sibling. The more the baby suckles, the lower the chances of fertility returning.
Breastfeeding For Contraception (LAM)
LAM is an effective method for preventing pregnancy, but it’s essential to understand the factors that can affect its effectiveness.
There’s a lot of confusion about breastfeeding as a form of contraception. That woman on Facebook, who conceived while breastfeeding twins and loudly proclaimed that breastfeeding doesn’t prevent pregnancy, likely wasn’t following the rules of the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM).
LAM has clear guidelines for how and when breastfeeding can be used as a reliable contraceptive method. When followed precisely, it’s 98% effective. Here are the key requirements:
1. The baby must be less than six months old.
2. Your period hasn’t returned.
3. The baby must be exclusively breastfed. No pacifiers, supplemental bottles, or solid foods can be introduced during LAM use.
4. The baby nurses on demand, both day and night, and doesn’t go more than six hours between nursing sessions.
If all these conditions are met, you don’t need additional contraception.
However, LAM is only effective for a limited time, and many women don’t meet its requirements. Therefore, finding a long-term natural contraceptive method is crucial for new mothers.
Long-Term Contraception
You might think that contraception is only necessary once menstruation returns, but it’s actually important to use birth control anytime you don’t fall within the LAM rules. This is because your first period indicates that ovulation occurred about two weeks prior, meaning you could technically get pregnant from that first egg release without ever having a period.
In addition to reliability, choosing a contraceptive method that won’t affect the quantity or quality of breastmilk or have adverse effects on your health are your two main goals when researching a new method.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) and fertility tracking are two options to consider.
Fertility Tracking with a Regular Menstrual Cycle
NFP involves tracking your menstrual cycle to determine when you’re fertile and when you’re not. This can help you avoid pregnancy by avoiding sexual intercourse during fertile days. There are various methods of fertility tracking, including basal body temperature charting, cervical mucus monitoring, and ovulation prediction kits.
Fertility tracking provides a crucial piece of information: the date of ovulation. The fertile window spans five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. During this window, you can choose to abstain from sex or use a barrier method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Once you know ovulation has passed, you can engage in unprotected sex for the rest of the month without concerns about pregnancy.
Three primary fertility indicators are basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and the presence of the LH hormone. The Daysy fertility monitor is particularly effective in identifying the temperature spike that precedes ovulation. This information allows you to determine when you are truly fertile, increasing the likelihood of pregnancy, and when it is less probable.
Fertility Tracking Can Be Challenging For Individuals With Irregular Menstrual Cycles
Basal body temperature fluctuations and changes in cervical mucus consistency can be influenced by breastfeeding. If your fertility has not fully returned or your cycle is inconsistent, we recommend using a barrier contraceptive every time you have intercourse. Once your period resumes, you can significantly reduce your reliance on barrier contraception by knowing precisely when it is necessary.
For two decades David has been the owner and director of several marketing and distribution companies. During this time he has learned the indisputable benefits of looking after customers, colleagues, workers, suppliers and the local community, treating them all as respected stakeholders in a common project. Recently he consolidated his personal beliefs and business ethics by founding the Natural Intimacy brand and developing it as an Ethical Company.
