Breastfeeding and the Pill

I too am breastfeeding. My doc prescribed Camila for me. It is a POP birthcontrol pill. "Progestrone only pill" so it has no estrogen. you take it 28 days straight, no sugar pills. Apparently that is what you are supposed to take when you are breastfeeding.

I'd be leery of taking any sort of synthetic hormone while breastfeeding.
Since breastfeeding somewhat suppresses ovulation anyway, I'd stick with condoms and spermicide until the baby is weaned.

L. M,
I am a registered nurse and a former breastfeeding mom also. From what I understand about Micronor is that as long as you are exclusively breastfeeding around the clock that you are protected. The problem often arises when your baby begins to sleep longer periods during the night, then Micronor is not as effective. I only took Micronor for one month after my 6 week check-up, and by then end of that month I had decided not to continue breastfeeding so I switched to the combo pills. I hope this helps with your decision.

L., im not sure what IUD they recommended, but i use the mirena, its an iud, when i got it, i was still nursing and i love it, of course like any bit=rth control, it has minor side effects but it made me feel safe. The procedure sounds harsh but it only takes all of 30 seconds to put it in. It does sound scary but my baby is 16 months and he doesn't have a new brother or sister yet. Thank goodness

good luck

Who is your doctor?? Mine told me any low dose bc is ok to take an breastfeed. I was on the pill and breastfed my son, and since you are breastfeeding your body produces horomones that in combination with the pill is just as effective as a regular dose pill. And now there is the nuva ring, its a low dose bc that you insert, leave for a week and then change it, then you take it out for the week that should be your period. I think the worst thing about the pill is remembering to take it at the same time every day...lol

Make sure you take the pill at the exact same time every day. It doesnt offer the same effectiveness as the combine pills do. There is no wiggle room with the mini-pill(common nickname). Being late taking this pill can lead to pregnancy.
You can also look into condoms or other otc forms of bc. There are female condoms or the today sponge.
Im a bit surprised your dr didnt talk to you about a cervical cap or diaphram. Both of those are forms of bc that are valid options for you.
Call them and ask why those werent discussed with you.

i took the BF pill for over a year and had no problems with it. according to my obgyn, as long as you are still nursing 2-3 times a day it should be as effective as a "regular" pill. but if you get down to less than that, you should go to a normal BC pill. i exclusively BFed my baby until she was 6 months old, and then continued BFing about 8-10 times a day until she was 10 months, then we weaned down to 3-4 times a day for a few months and finally weaned off around her 14 month mark. my period didn't even return until the first weaning, around her 11 month mark.

hope this helps. if you have any questions about ANYTHING, (especially anything BF related) feel free to message me. i love to help! :)

The progesterone only pills have been shown to have better outcomes for breastfeeding moms, BUT even those can diminish your milk supply. The shot is NOT a good option, and even an IUD can cause supply issues. You might try looking at www.drjacknewman.com for advice, or even emailing him. He was just at a conference I attended and mentioned these very things, so he may have some great up-to-date advice for you.

Speaking from my own experience here. My doctor told me if I used birth control while breast feeding that it could hinder my milk production. So I chose not to use any birth control. I breast fed my daughter until she was 13 mos old. I got pregnant around the time she was 10 mos old. By this time she was on baby food, cereal & juice. I was fine with no birth control until she hit the 10 mos mark.

I usded the mini pill for my second child. Thing is you "can't" get pregnant until you ovulate. While you are breastfeeding there's no way to tell just when you will start ovulating again (it's the balance of the hormones in your body that regulate when you will ovulate again), some quickly others not for months. (I think it might have to do with how much or how exclusively you breastfeed) So the mini pill is the option I chose. In the end I didn't get my first cycle until my son was a year old. I nursed him, unbelieveably for 28mos (mind you around 23mos it was just in the evenings). I was extremely pleased with the pill while nursing. After I weaned him I changed my birthcontol methods. Relax, I think you will be fine on the mini pill as well. I've heard many positive results with this.

I breastfed my son for 13 months all through the night, in the morning once, and in the evening after work twice before bed. The rest of the time I bottle fed. The entire time I breastfed, I did not have a period and did not get pregnant. I was not on any birth control at all. After I quit breasfeeding and got on the pill, I was pregnant within 3 months. There really is no surefire way to know what will be the most effective for you. Breastfeeding and the pill together, I would think would be plenty effective.

I have an 18 mo old that I am still breastfeeding and I use the diafram and love it - it's a great option.

I, too, used the mini-pill and did not get pregnant nor did I have trouble with milk supply. I nursed until my little guy was 13 months then switched to the nuva-ring. Good luck!!

I actually just went through the same predicament. My doctor tried to get me to take the progesterone only pill while I breastfed my son but I had heard that taking any birth control while breastfeeding severely diminishes your milk supply. I decided not to take anything while breastfeeding and, in fact, I did not restart my monthly cycle until my son was 9 months old! (I breastfed exclusively) However, I don't know if this is typical or not. My advice would be to try out different things to see what works for you. You never know until you try! Good luck and kudos on your decision to breastfeed :)

I used the pill and did not get pregnant during the year I nursed and was quite sexually active. I too worried about the effectiveness but my doctor's options were similar to yours. She recommended a condom to "up our odds".

I am breastfeeding and taking the progesterone only pill and it has not affected my milk supply. I am not sure about how effective it is, but I have been nursing for 6 months and taking it for 6 months and there is no baby on the way yet and my milk supply is fine.

I breastfed my son till he was 20 months! About 8 months longer than I thought that I would. Loved every minute of it! Any way, about the Micronor, I was on that for the whole time, and never had any problems. It worked fine for me. I've never tried any other forms, but we are trying to have another right now, so I just stopped the Micronor back in Feb. Hope that you have luck with it.
Kris