By, about, and for breastfeeding mums
Fertility and Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding can decrease fertility, regardless of the frequency of breastfeeding or whether mom’s period has returned. Exclusive breastfeeding (by itself) is 98-99.5% effective in decreasing fertility as long as all of the following conditions are met:
1. Your baby is less than six months old
2. Your menstrual periods have not yet returned.
Breastfeeding frequency and total amount of time spent breastfeeding per 24 hours are the strongest factors leading to the return of fertility: a mother is more likely to see the return of fertility if baby's nursing frequency and/or duration is reduced, particularly if the change is abrupt. In some populations, research has shown that breastfeeding in the night slows the return to fertility. Once baby starts solids (if mom's cycles have not returned), the natural period of infertility may be prolonged by breastfeeding before offering solids, starting solids gradually, and not restricting nursing.
You can achieve higher effectiveness in decreasing fertility by practicing ecological breastfeeding:
- keeping baby close
- breastfeeding on cue (day and night)
- using breastfeeding to comfort your baby.
The transition to full fertility
It is not uncommon for breastfeeding mothers to report cyclical cramping or PMS-type symptoms - symptoms of an oncoming period without the period - for weeks or even months before their period returns. When this happens, the body is probably "gearing up" for the return of menstruation, but breastfeeding is still delaying the return of fertility.
Do I need to stop breastfeeding to increase fertility?
If you are still transitioning to full fertility (as discussed above), breastfeeding may affect the success of implantation. Once implantation is successful, breastfeeding should not affect a healthy pregnancy (see A New Look at the Safety of Breastfeeding During Pregnancy for more information).
Many moms can conceive without deliberately changing their toddler's nursing patterns. Changes that are more abrupt tend to bring fertility back faster (e.g., cutting out one nursing session abruptly, rather than gradually decreasing nursing time at that session) --even if you continue to breastfeed a great deal-- this is why many mothers experience the return of fertility when their child sleeps through the night or starts solid foods. For more information, see Getting Pregnant While Breastfeeding by Hilary Flower.
What have other mothers done to increase their fertility without weaning?
Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a comprehensive guide to many aspects of fertility and includes a positive and encouraging chapter on breastfeeding and fertility. Of course, the classic book, Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing by Sheila Kippley, continues to be a valuable resource for a clear understanding of the impact of breastfeeding on fertility. Sometimes it takes only a slight decrease in nursing frequency to resume ovulation and menstruation to achieve another pregnancy.
Many mothers find that simply reducing the breastfeeding by just a small amount will bring a return of fertility without complete weaning. If becoming pregnant with this baby required little time, then even though you are in your late 30s, it's possible that when your fertility returns, your chances of becoming pregnant are very good.
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