How Long For Period To Return While Breastfeeding?
September 30, 2009 by Guest Author
Filed under Breast Feeding Supplies
I am breastfeeding my 10wk old baby and wondering how long it will take for my period to return. We are wanting to try for another this summer so I’m wondering when my period will come back. Do I have to stop breastfeeding first?
Thanks!
Anywhere from 2 moths to 42 months is considered normal.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational…
Return of fertility
Return of menstruation following childbirth varies widely between individuals. The closer a woman’s behavior is to the Seven Standards of ecological breastfeeding, the later (on average) her cycles will return. Average return of menses for women following all seven criteria is 14 months, with some reports as soon as 2 months and others as late as 42 months.
Although the first post-partum cycle is sometimes anovulatory (this reduces the likelihood of becoming pregnant again before having a post-partum period), subsequent cycles are almost always ovulatory and therefore must be considered fertile. However, some women find that breastfeeding interferes with fertility even after ovulation has resumed. Luteal phases too short to sustain pregnancy are a common example.
Couples who desire spacing of 18 to 30 months between children can often achieve this through breastfeeding alone.http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertil…
Do I need to wean to get pregnant?
Probably not. 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). If your periods have come back and settled into a regular pattern, it is likely that breastfeeding is no longer affecting your fertility.
Many moms can conceive without deliberately changing their toddler’s nursing patterns. There is no “magic” threshold of breastfeeding that will allow you to conceive — every mother is different. Some moms need to stretch out nursing frequency and/or shorten nursing sessions to make it easier to conceive — babies naturally do this themselves as they get older, so one of your options is simply to wait a bit.
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. If you decide to make changes to your nursing pattern, the time of day that you make the change (e.g., cutting out or shortening a nighttime nursing session as opposed to a daytime nursing session) should not make that much of a difference. Current research indicates that nursing frequency and total amount of time at the breast per 24 hours are the most important factors, rather than the time of day that the suckling occurs.
A few moms do find it impossible to conceive while nursing, but this is not at all common.
Many mothers wonder whether breastfeeding will affect the reliability of pregnancy tests. It does not — pregnancy tests measure the amount of the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in blood or urine, and hCG levels are not affected by breastfeeding. The developing placenta begins releasing hCG upon implantation; a pregnancy can generally be detected with a pregnancy test within 7-14 days after implantation.http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/polic…
As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement.69 It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years.70 Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection,71 better social adjustment,72 and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer.73 Mothers who have immigrated from cultures in which breastfeeding beyond infancy is routine should be encouraged to continue this tradition. There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman’s personal decision. If the child is younger than two years, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.19http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/artic…
The well-protected uterus
The specter of breastfeeding-induced preterm labor appears to spring in large part from an incomplete understanding of the interactions between nipple stimulation, oxytocin, and pregnancy.
The first little-known fact is that during pregnancy less oxytocin is released in response to nipple stimulation than when a woman is not pregnant.5
But the key to understanding breastfeeding during pregnancy is the uterus itself. Contrary to popular belief, the uterus is not at the beck and call of oxytocin during the 38 weeks of the “preterm” period. Even a high dose of synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin) is unlikely to trigger labor until a woman is at term.6
Instead, the uterus must actively prepare in order for labor to commence. You could say that there are two separate states of being for the uterus: the quiescent baby-holder and the active baby-birther. These states make all the difference to how the uterus responds to oxytocin, and so, one can surmise, to breastfeeding. While the baby is growing, the uterus is geared to have a muffled response to oxytocin; at term, the body’s preparations for labor transform the uterus in ways that make it respond intensely to oxytocin.
Many discussions of breastfeeding during pregnancy mention “oxytocin receptor sites,” the uterine cells that detect the presence of oxytocin and cause a contraction. These cells are sparse up until 38 weeks, increasing gradually after that time, and increasing 300-fold after labor has begun.6,7 The relative scarcity of oxytocin receptor sites is one of the main lines of defense for keeping the uterus quiescent throughout the entire preterm period—but it is not the only one.
A closer look at the molecular biology of the pregnant uterus reveals yet more lines of defense. In order for oxytocin receptor sites to respond strongly to oxytocin they need the help of special agents called “gap junction proteins”. The absence of these proteins renders the uterus “down-regulated,” relatively insensitive to oxytocin even when the oxytocin receptor site density is high. And natural oxytocin-blockers, most notably progesterone, stand between oxytocin and its receptor site throughout pregnancy. 8,9,10
With the oxytocin receptor sites (1) sparse, (2) down-regulated, and (3) blocked by progesterone and other anti-oxytocin agents, oxytocin alone cannot trigger labor. The uterus is in baby-holding mode, well protected from untimely labor.4
I got mine back when my first son was 5 months and I got it back when my second son was 4 months old. I also breastfed them both exclusively. I’m not sure how long it will take for your period to return though. It depends on the person. You can go up to a whole year without a period if you breastfeed full time. I think most women do get it back by about 6 months though. If you really want to try again this summer and haven’t got your period yet, then I would say to maybe cut down on breastfeeding, but you don’t want to completely quit breastfeeding if at all possible because its so good for you and the baby. There are tremendous health benefits and the longer you breastfeed, the better you and the baby benefit from it. By this summer, your baby will be about 7 months old and he/she will probably be on baby food and you won’t be breastfeeding nearly as much because the baby will need to be getting nutrients from solids along with breast milk so you’re likely to start your period at least by the time the baby begins breast feeding a little less and eating more solids.
If you exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months with no other foods introduced, don’t use a bottle, or pacifier, it’s very common to not get your period until your baby fully weans.
Other women get it at about 6 months, or earlier. It’s up to how you’re feeding your baby and your hormones.
I exclusively breastfed (night & day) with no supplements of any kind, and I got my first period back at 4 months. But its totally possible for you to get no period at all until you completely wean.
No you don’t have to stop bfing, if you want to concieve, or even if you are pregnant.
I BREASTFED MY FIRST CHILD FOR ONE YEAR AND MY PERIOD DIDNT RETURN UNTIL HE WAS COMPLETELY WEANED WHICH WAS ABOUT 13 MONTHS.I THINK AS LONG AS YOU EXCLUSIVELY BREASTFEED WITH NO WATER OR ANYTHING ELSE(BOTTLES,PACIFIERS,ETC..) INTRODUCED YOUR PERIOD WONT BE SHOWING UP ANYTIME SOON..
I didn’t have one until I weaned at 11 months-even after I stopped nursing during most nights around 7 months. But, I was also taking the mini-pill for nursing moms. MY OBGYN said nursing combined with progesterone only Birth control pill might mean I wouldn;t have periods, and I did not. I know of plenty of people who accidentally got pregnant while nursing, so if you are trying its certainly possible.
It depends everyone is different. I nursed for the first 3 months, I stopped in September of 08′. and I just got my period back this month. SO it took 7 months after my daughter was born (4 months after I stopped breast feeding).
You can get pregnant before you get your period back, just wanted to make sure knew that.
I exclusively breastfeed on demand & got mine back after 5 or 6 weeks. : (
usually 6 months, but for some women it’s earlier