Breastfeeding as Natural Birth Control

Apart from providing a comfortable area for expressing milk, lactation areas have become a knowledge and experience sharing place too. At least that is how it goes for us. I and the other moms have known each other through this area and as time passes by we became comfortable to each other. From time to time now, we compare notes and ask each other questions about our babies’ development, breastfeeding and motherhood in general.

Recently a fellow mom asked me about breastfeeding and birth control. I am breastfeeding Maxyn for nine months now and my menstruation has not returned. I answered her question based on what I know. I told her that breastfeeding is a natural form of birth control. As long as you are breastfeeding, no ovum is released therefore we will not get pregnant. But we are puzzled why her OB-GYNE prescribed her with a pills that is safe for breastfeeding moms. So I texted my OB-GYNE and asked him the question I was asked. His answer was yes we can still get pregnant.

I got more curious on how it could happen so I searched online. Based on the available information, my understanding was partly correct.

Here is Dr. Sears’ answer:

Yes, as long as you, so to speak, play by the rules of natural child spacing. Breastfeeding can suppress ovulation and thus serve as a form of birth control. When you breastfeed, the same hormones that make milk, called prolactin, also suppress the release of hormones that cause eggs to mature and become fertile and the lining of the womb to nourish fertile eggs. This is why breastfeeding mothers usually notice a delay in the return of their menstrual periods. This delay, called lactational amenorrhea, or LAM, may be nature’s way of telling you that one baby is all your body can handle right now, and it’s too soon for a sibling. As a natural method of birth control, LAM’s effectiveness rate can be as high as 98 percent (similar to artificial methods), but only if you observe the several practices.

To know what you should follow, continue reading Dr. Sears’ answer.

Here is another source that I find very useful.

All in all, breastfeeding is still considered as a natural birth control method. It works for me and that I am a living proof, as this mom puts it. How about you, does LAM works for you?