Concern About Breastfeeding and Birth Control

Hi M.,

While I haven't experienced your situation (we used condoms), some of my friends have. Going on the pill with estrogren hormones will mostly decrease your milk supply. Many moms stop breast feeding when this happens. I would suggest contacting the La Leche league or a lactation consultant to find out the safest Birth Control for you and your baby. Lucille Harrington, lactation consultant, at Morton Plant Clearwater Hospital could provide you with more insight on a safer birth control pill. Her number is ###-###-####. I believe she leaves on vacation this Friday so you will want to give her a call very soon. If you call before 1pm, she will return your call the same day. This is a totally free service :-)

Hope this helps!

S.

The only issue I had when switching to the pill (which wasn't Yaz) was my breastmilk decreased significantly. I don't recall any other issues. Hope this helps a little

I would call the doctor back and also your son's pediatrician. Definitely sounds like something is getting through to your son. Do you definitely need to take the BC now? Could you use other methods of BC until you decide to stop BF? Just some other ideas for you. I know you're concerned about your son. Good luck!

Personally I didn't take anything including aspirin while nursing. And if I had it to do over I still would not take anything. Doctors can not be sure of how medicine will effect the baby. There are other ways to get over this depression. My girlfriend started a daily journal for her son after his birth. It not only helped her it was great for him to get on his wedding day this past year. Make friends. Don't watch the news. Decorate your home. Take bubble baths. Read a good book. Play on the computer. Do anything to get over your depression but don't take drugs.

Hi M. - I would strongly suggest using Ortho Microner, the ONLY oral contraceptive for lactating moms, according to my OBGYN. I am currently on it and also used it when I nursed my two older children a few years ago when I lived in NYC (and my OBGYN also prescribed). The good news is that it is now available in generic form. I have always been extremely sensitive to the amount of estrogen in birth control pills and over the years had to take the one that had the lowest levels. Having said that, Ortho Microner has never given me any ill-effects, nor made me nauseous, moody, etc. like other regular contraceptives have. As a matter of fact, when I stop nursing I'm almost tempted to continue using it (even though my doctor suggests otherwise)! Good luck!

Sorry, but I thought that as long as you nurse, you won't get pregnant. That is what I remember from 5 and almost 7 years ago anyway. If that was truly the case, then I would go off the pill. Ask your ob/gyn about this...see what he/she says. If you are taking the pill for the post partum issues, then I would look at some other options and try to minimize the estrogen at this time.

It is now well known that excess estrogen in the body is a precursor for hormonal cancers like breast, uterine and prostate.
I would not want any estrogen to be ingested by a newborn.

Isn't birth control such a pain:)!! I actually got the Mirena IUC put in at about 10 weeks post partum and man am I happy-My daughter is nearing 1yr-I'm still nursing, and still no period!!! It is uncomfortable to insert (not gonna lie to you here!) you do spot/cramp like a light period for about a week then usually not to much after that!! And there is no estrogen only a very small dosage of progestren. It last 5 years, and if you want more kids before that time you can have it removed! Check out the info on the net and talk to your doc about that possibilty....Good Luck! L.

Yaz is a combined oral contraceptive - it contains both estrogen and progestogen. The type of progesterone in Yaz is different to the mini pill would probably be beneficial to you in terms of its effect on mood, better than that of the mini pill (a progestogerone only pill). And of course this is very important to your experience of being a new mom again. It is such a special time. However, estrogen may be excreted in limited amounts in breastmilk, and may affect the production of breastmilk. To my knowledge there are limited studies in this regard, but no significant effects have been seen. Watch yourself in terms of the quantity of breastmilk production, as well as your little boy. My advice would be to contact your OB and discuss your concerns. That way you will either be reassured you are on the right track or guided to an alternative solution in terms of your pill and breastfeeding .

I filled my prescription for Yaz, then read the insert and it does say in there about it being in breastmilk. My husband and I chose not to go back on the pill.

I would be very concerned as well..... I am sure you wouldnt administer estrogen to him orally, right? Well that is what is happening.... I would urge you to stop immediately and pump out all the milk you can for the next few days and discard it. I was given bad advice by my OB years ago and wished I had followed my gut instinct and common sense.... there has to be an alternative for birth control - what about condoms instead of chemicals?

I would talk to my pediatrician, I know that when I was breastfeeding I wasnt even offered a combo pill

Hello M., I am not a health wiz or anything, but I dont recommend taking any form of birth contol while you are breatfeeding. If I were you I would look at as if your still pregnant. When you were pregnant your baby ate what you ate and now that your breastfeeding everything you eat still gets passed along to the baby. Thats just some advice that someone once gave me.

Sincerely,

B.

May be you should consider a IUD. They are expensive even with insurance ($200 to 300) but if you buy one from Canada ($60 to 70)(you still need a prescription) I bet your doctor will be able to insert it for much less than the co-pay from insurance, mine charges $150. I did not want to have any hormones while BF ( some IUD have a tiny bit of hormones but nothing to worry about) and this will last 5 years and no worries about forgetting and if I decide to get pregnant before the 5 years, it can be removed.

I would not put extra hormones in my body or potentially my breastfeeding child. Try the Today Sponge. It is quite reliable for birth control.

For depression, I recommend an herbal tincture/extract called Motherwort. It heals the uterus and also gives momma that lift she needs. Much safer for baby than BC. Having at least a 1/2 day a week to yourself is also a priority after babies. Exercise will also raise your endorphins and make you feel happier.

I would not continue to take that pill...not only is it known that the hormones are excreted into the breastmilk, but you are seeing the evidence with your own two eyes. I can not imagine that it is healthy for yor newborn. Plus, you run the added risk of reducing your milk supply and having to deal with working to keep it up (what a pain if all was already going so well!)

Unlike another mom said on here...breastfeeding moms CAN become pregnant...and many moms are ovulating even without ever getting a period back.... so, you may want to try another safer method that does not affect the baby :-)

Best wishes!

I was worried about BC affecting my milk supply after I had my daughter, but my Dr. recommended the Nuvaring. He said that it has much less hormones than a pill since it is continuously released. So far, I have not noticed a decrease in my supply and my daughter does not have swollen breast tissue like your son. (She did have swollen breast tissue after she was born, and it took several weeks for it to go away, and now it's completely gone). I like the Nuvaring because you only have to change the ring once a month and you don't have to remember to take a pill every day. Plus, it's one of the lowest dosage BC products on the market, according to my Dr. Good Luck!!!