Can You Use Breastfeeding for Birth Control? An Ob/Gyn Explains
It sounds too good to be true, but here’s how it actually works.
Breastfeeding could keep you from getting pregnant? This one sure sounds like a hoax, but breastfeeding can help prevent pregnancy under very specific circumstances. It’s a form of birth control known as the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM).
But—and this is important —you do have to follow specific guidelines to ensure you do not accidentally get pregnant while breastfeeding, according to og/gyn Kecia Gaither, MD.
How Breastfeeding May Work as Birth Control
If you nurse your baby at least every four hours (or six during the night), and you feeding your baby only breast milk, your body will naturally stop ovulating. No ovulation means no eggs to fertilize, so you can’t get pregnant. (It also means no period, which is what the “amenorrhea” refers to.) For more details, here’s an overview of how ovulation and menstruation really work.
The LAM method only works for the first six months after your baby’s birth, and it won’t work if:
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You feed your baby formula or anything other than breast milk (even if you’re using a combo of each).
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You use a breast pump.
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You feed your baby solid foods.
When to Switch to Another Method
If your baby is over six months old, or you are feeding your baby anything other than breast milk, use another form of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Immediately after birth, you should use an estrogen-free method, like the shot, implant, Skyla and Mirena IUDs, or progestin-only pills. Don’t use birth control methods with estrogen, like the Pill, patch, or ring for the first three weeks after delivery.
When used effectively, breastfeeding with the LAM method is about 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.
Dr. Gaither, an ob-gyn and maternal fetal medicine specialist, is director of perinatal services at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a member of NYC Health + Hospitals System in Bronx, New York.
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Can I use breast feeding as birth control?
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My new mommy patients have
lots of questions about that.
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The answer is yes, but,
you have to follow a number of specific
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steps in order to not get
pregnant while breast feeding.
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When you breastfeed exclusively,
every four hours during the day and
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every six hours at night, your body stops
ovulating, so you can't get pregnant.
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But, if you combine breast milk and
formula or
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pump, breastfeeding as birth
control won't be as effective.
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Use another form of birth control
when your baby is six months,
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you get your period back, or if you
start feeding your baby formula or food.
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If you wanna be safe while you're nursing,
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even use other forms of birth control that
won't have any impact on your milk supply.
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You can start using the shot,
implant, IUDs, and
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some types of birth control pills called
mini pills right after giving birth.
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You shouldn't use a method that has the
hormone estrogen, like the pill, patch or
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ring, for
the first three weeks after giving birth.
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After three weeks,
you can start any of these methods.
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