BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: M&M's Ima on December 01, 2005, 09:24:56 am
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kay, i know this is a weird question, but does anyone know anything about nursing at night as contraceptive? No, I'm not saying I would rely on this - in fact, ds doesn't wake til 5:30 anyways! I just heard a doctor say that it is specifically the night time nursing that prevents ovulation, and it got me really curious.
any of you have experience with this?
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check out this website on lactational amenorrhea.
there are 3 rules to successful LAM that need to be followed.
http://www.toronto.ca/health/sh_breastfeeding_and_contraception_lam.pdf
hope that helps...
sabine
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I wouldn't trust it as the only method!! I've known plenty of women who got their period while night nursing and who also got pregnant!
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It is true! Although not an exact science, lol, unfortunately. My NFP counselor says that more frequent nursing around the clock (she swears by co-sleeping and multiple night nursings) helps women postpone ovulation. Especially nursing between 1-4 am, I've read that somewhere.
Now, I think if your body is meant to return to fertility sooner, it will. I nursed my first around the clock and co-slept and the second slept through from very early and my periods returned at 4 months post pardem with both.
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I think Stacy's right about your body's own timing. I've read that those practicing "ecological breastfeeding" (i.e., cosleeping, night nursing, nursing whenever baby is hungry, not adding solids until the baby shows an interest in the food on your plate) have a return of menses on average at 14 months postpartum. But it takes a wide range to make an average. And I had my periods resume at about that time (13.5 months postpartum), but had stopped cosleeping at 2 months, introduced solids at 5 months, stopped night nursing and dropped to 4 feeds at 9 months, and finally dropped down to 2 feeds per day at 12.5-13 months (I think that's what finally did it). So I was by no means practicing "ecological breastfeeding", but had similar results. And it sounds like Stacy was practicing ecological breatfeeding for her first baby, and had her periods resume at 4 months. So I think we all have a timetable predetermined by our bodies that we may be able to manipulate somewhat, but not completely overrule.
If you're interested, there's a book called "Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing" by Sheila Kippley that talks a good deal about using breastfeeding as birth control. But I don't think I'd trust it completely once I no longer met the criteria for LAM.
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I second what Sabrina said and I also like this book. It is interesting to see breastfeeding from a wider perspective, in the past it was a valid form of contraception.
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Well I'm a lazy BW mom, I am actually a naughty feed on demand, nurse to sleep, co-sleep variety these days (which is why you mostly see me post on the craft forum... ) this is completly unscienfic... but if you look at everyone who has had a baby since spring, .... who is still w/o menstral cycle.?I know I am one of them. Maybe others will chime in. (Evan is 8 months).