Can You Get Pregnant While Breastfeeding?

Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding?

The short answer is yes, you absolutely can.

But, as with many things pregnancy and motherhood related, it’s not quite as simple as the short answer.

Even though you can get pregnant while breastfeeding, breastfeeding hormones do impact your fertility, especially in the first few months.

Let’s start by looking at how.

In this article 📝

Can breastfeeding prevent pregnancy?

Let’s say it again: There’s no guarantee that breastfeeding will prevent pregnancy.

Even if sex is the last thing on your mind, your body might be ready to start the whole pregnancy process again as early as three weeks after you give birth.

Your chances of getting pregnant while breastfeeding in the early weeks are small, but there is still a chance of conception while breastfeeding that a lot of new mamas would rather not take.

Does breastfeeding make it harder to get pregnant?

This being said, breastfeeding hormones can make it harder to get pregnant.

This is especially true if:

• Your baby is under six months old.
  
• You’re exclusively breastfeeding (not pumping) every four hours during the day and every six hours at night.
  
• You’re letting your baby comfort suckle and feed on demand, rather than using a pacifier.
  
• You’re still waiting for your period to restart.

If you tick all these boxes and are choosing to rely on breastfeeding as birth control, it’s known as the LAM, or Lactation Amenorrhea Method. Amenorrhea, by the way, just means ‘no period’.

The reason the LAM can work (for up to 98% of women) is that when you are lactating, your body will produce prolactin — the hormone that enables your body to produce milk.

High amounts of prolactin within the body reduce the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your body.

When levels of LH are low, the body can’t trigger ovulation, which means you can’t become pregnant.

This is known as lactational amenorrhea.

No LH = no ovulation. No ovulation = no chance of pregnancy. However, there’s a catch.

Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding and no period?

The problem with the LAM method is that you have no way of knowing when it’s going to stop working.

It’s really hard to predict when you’ll ovulate and then get your period for the first time after having a baby.

This means that there’s a chance that a breastfeeding mom can get pregnant even before her period returns.

If you’re not ready for another baby, it’s best to have another method of birth control in place.

But what if you are ready?

Many parents want to have siblings in close succession, so that they are near each other in age.

What if you want to start trying for another baby, but are not ready to stop breastfeeding your first?

How can you get pregnant while breastfeeding?

Once your little one starts solids, this chance increases pretty quickly.

But if you’re still impatiently waiting for your normal fertile cycle to return, you can try any or all of the following:

Reducing

Feeding your baby less often, especially at night, can signal to your body that it’s time to start prepping for another one.

Replacing

There’s some evidence that suggests that abrupt changes to your baby’s feeding routine will have a greater effect on your fertility.

So dropping one feed completely and distracting your baby with food and a cup of water, milk, or formula might be even more effective than the reduction method.

Relaxing

We know that no one can switch off on command, but taking care of yourself and your needs as much as you can has also been shown to up your chances of conceiving.

This applies while breastfeeding as much as any other time.

If you’re still impatient to grow your family and frustrated at having to wait, remember that your fertility will eventually return, even if it is slowly.

Some mamas, especially those whose periods come back before their baby is a year old, aren’t truly fertile for their first few cycles, either because they’re not actually ovulating or because their uterine lining isn’t thick enough to let the egg implant.

Usually, these issues take care of themselves within a few more months.

So it might just be a case of waiting a little longer.

How long should you wait before trying to get pregnant again?

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says postpartum women should wait at least a full year (ideally 18 months) before getting pregnant again.

Yet, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), though, says postpartum women should wait at least six months — if not ideally 18 months — before trying to become pregnant again.

So, why the wait?

The advice to wait to conceive after 18 months of birth is because the odds of certain pregnancy complications increase if conception occurs before this time period (especially 6 months).

Risks include premature delivery, low-birth weight, asthma, developmental delays, and vision and hearing problems later in life.

Ultimately, experts are not sure why shorter intervals are linked to these complications, but some believe that it could be due to residual inflammation within the uterus.

Despite this, plenty of healthy babies are conceived within 18 months of their sibling and are born perfectly healthy.

The bottom line here is that if you are thinking of having another baby postpartum, you should contact your healthcare provider so that they can discuss the best time for you to have your next baby.

We can’t offer a magic formula, but we can promise you that you are sure to find other mamas in the Peanut community who’re on this part of the journey with you.

💡You might also like:
The 411 on Breast Massage
How to Dry Up Breast Milk
14 Best Nursing Bras for Breastfeeding & Pumping Moms
Can You Get Pregnant Right After Your Period?
Can You Get Pregnant Right Before Your Period?
How to Get Pregnant: Expert Advice From Fertility Specialists
7 Breastfeeding Positions to Try
17 Birth Control Methods
A Guide to Breastfeeding While Pregnant
How to Stop Breastfeeding (When You’re Ready)
When Does a Pregnant Woman Start Producing Milk?
Can You Get Pregnant Without Having Sex?
Can You Get Pregnant After Ovulation?
How Long Can Breast Milk Stay Out?
Can You Get a Tattoo While Breastfeeding?
Can You Get Pregnant While Pregnant?
Drinking While Trying to Conceive: Is It Okay?
What are the Chances of Getting Pregnant from Precum?
Best Nipple Shields for Breastfeeding Mamas
66 Best Nursing Clothes & Clothing for Breastfeeding Moms
Femara vs. Clomid: All You Need to Know
What To Do About Nipple Pain While Breastfeeding