My first doctor had but me on a birthcontrol that has no estrogen. This is not working for me. I have a cycle every 7 days that last for 7days. I just talked with a new doctor about my issue and she told me that I could now have estrogen because he was older than 6 weeks. I told her my son was almost 2 months before I saw the first doctor and he told me it could harm the babies liver. She has said that there has been studies done where it has not effected the babies liver. So my question is what has other moms done to insure not getting pregnant right after having a child. Thank you for your advice.
Wow, so many great responses. After reading everyones advice I talked to my husband and since he is deploying within the next 6 months we decided that the IUD (which majority said they got) was not for us at this time maybe after the next kid when he gets home. I think we are just going to use condoms and try to be safe about it. Thank you for all your advice.
I realize I'm a little late to respond, but I thought I'd let you know what we did! :) I had the Mirena IUC put in when my son was around 3 months old.
I also breastfeed my son (working on 9 months) and it hasn't affected my supply at all. It's good for 5 years and you can take it out any time to try for another baby. :) Hope that helps!
With what I was told when I was pregent is what the first doctor told you. I was lucky at the base we was at we was able to have a nurse come to the house about once a month and told us what was going on with my body the next month and she tried pushing breast feeling and I was told that doctors will tell you that ones with estrogen will be ok it isn't true. I got lucky in a way with the mini pill (that is what they called it at time) cause it did the same to me. My Husband ended up going TDY a month later so I put up with it till he left and by the time it was time for him to come back I wasn't breast feeding anymore and started takeing the birth control I was takeing before. I'm just letting you know that the info. you got from the first doc is what is was told. Either keep takeing it or start useing condoms, I used to work at a commisary it is surpiseing on how many married couples buy them.
I was also told that I could only use a progesterone only birth control pill because this particular hormone will not diminish my milk supply. I had no problems with this type of pill. I did not go on birth control until my daughter was 9 months old though. I did not have a period until then and I was exclusively breastfeeding. But I don't like the inconvenience of a pill so I just went and got a Mirena IUD. It's good for 5 years, my milk supply is fine, and my periods are almost non-existant. It takes very little time to insert and it wasn't painful. I know some women with a Mirena who have no periods at all. Mine still come every month but they are so light I only need a panty liner. No tampons or pads anymore!
Hello,
I have a 7 month old and I am on Norethindrone. It is known as the mini-pill. It is a birth control pill that is low in estrogen. I used this with my first child also. He is now 2 and 1/2. I have never had any problems with it but each person's body is different. Good luck, I hope you find what works for you.
Sincerely, G.
Hi,
I have previously taken the mini-pill (no estrogen), but it has to be taken at the same time every day. If you don't, then you may have the next child sooner than you thought. I became pregnant the month I weaned my 15-month-old :O. I am not sure about the liver damage issue. I would definitely investigate more.
I have the Mirena IUD and LOVE IT!! I got it 6 weeks after my daughter was born. My periods have never returned. I used Depo Provera before we started having children. In my opinion, the IUD is superior in convenience, side-effects, and comfort (no shots!).
My husband and I relied on condoms while I was breastfeeding. Good luck with your decision.
After my second child I could not remember to take my pill and started to look into other options as you are and was about to have a IUD inserted, my ob/gyn told me that they are great but failed to tell me everything. I attended a breastfeeding support group headed by my children's pediatrician and was telling her that I had an appointment to have it done and she was like WHY? she then informed me of the possible complications although slim still possible, I began talking to other women and learned that they are very common to have problems although some women have none, my husband was already aprehensive about the "strings" that would hang and so the day of my appointment I backed out and ended up using the patch which worked wonderfully once a week was easy to remember with the demands of motherhood and two children. Recently I had to return to the pill and man it is so hard to remember to take so it is possible I may become pregnant with number three by the end of the year!
The point is you have to find what works for you, do the research and then make an informed decision.
My advice is an IUD. It is one of the most effective birthcontrol options avalible. I got one put into place two months after my second child was born and I love it. I don't have to worry about taking any pills, and even if you choose the IUD that has hormones in it, the hormones are so small that it doesn't even make it into your bloodstream. Plus, there is no side effect on your production of breast milk. My daughter is still nursing ten months after I had the IUD put in. Ask your dr and they can give you info on the different options you have.
My son was only breastfeed, no formula or supplements. My doctor oked Othro Novum Low, however his first option would have been an IUD. I was not ok with that as I did not like the invasive measure. (I do have friends who swear by it, along with his wife) So far it worked out well for us, my son is now 17 months, and we stopped nursing at 16 months. You can always go back to the condom route, I have a few friends who knew they wanted a second child so they were willing to risk the rhythm method. Good luck, sometimes I think there is too much information out there so it is hard to get down to the truth and works best for you!
I have 3 kids and nursed all of them. The best BC I used was after the last one I got an IUD. Merina, the little plastic one. You have it put in by your doctor, it does not interfear with Breast feeding at all, and you can have it taken out when ever you want to get pregnant again. (I just had mine taken out.) It was the best I've found so far.
The Mirena IUD works great!
Hi C.,
My son will turn 7 months in a week and I am still breastfeeding. I live in Schweinfurt and I see Dr Stolz. He gave me birth control pills and they work fine. I just have to take them at the same time everyday or else I will get pregnant. My son is healthy and my milk supply is still high. As a matter of fact, I have been trying to stop nursing but the milk flow is still there.
If you would like more information, e-mail me and I can give you that number. Dr Stolz speaks english and he is one of the doctors recommended by tricare.
D.
Hi,
I have two children, 4 & 5. My son is younger and I breastfed him for 14 months. I didn't like the ortho-cyclen birth control, and I felt like I was running out of options and I did not want anymore children after having mine back to back. So I had the Mirena IUD inserted and loved it. It took away my periods, and there was no pill to remember to take. It took less than 2 minutes for the doctor to insert it, and I never had a problem with it. For me, it is the only way to go, and there are no negative side effects to your child. Hope this helps!
If you are exclusively breastfeeding (no formula, no solids) and breastfeeding on demand (whenever the baby wants to eat) and do not go longer than 6 hours without breastfeeding, that provides very effective birth control for the first 6 months if you haven't had your period naturally.
It seems you went on birth control right away so it would be hard to know whether you had your period naturally or it was just the lochia.
It can be really frustrating when you get conflicting advice from doctors, especially when it comes to safety. Here is a link to what the Kelly Mom site says about it. It says to avoid estrogen until at least 6 months, partly because it can effect milk supply but does say it is approved for nursing mothers.
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/birthcontrol.html
Since the baby is already 3 months, maybe you should just use condoms for a few months until you pass that 6 month stage and then go back on.
Good luck!
The concern with estrogen containing birth control is that it can decrease your milk supply. It is reasonable to try it now that your milk supply is established if you have an adequate supply. ( ie....baby is gaining weight well). If your milk supply is on the low side..you may want to consider another option. The good news is...Birth control pills have a very short half life..that is why you have to take them everyday...so if your milk supply suffers, you can just stop taking the pills and they will be out of your system quickly. You may also want to consider and IUD. LOTS of happy breasteeding moms using an IUD. You also can go with a non hormonal method....condoms or a diaphragm.
In the past I have used Depoprovera (the shot) which is what I used before and after my first child. This time I will be using an IUD, Mirena. You need a referral from Tricare if you have a German OB/GYN. The shot is good for 120 days and takes a while to wear off once you decide you want to start trying for another child. With the shot I stopped having a period. My husband and I are finished having children, so we're going with the IUD which is good for 5 years. It simply decreases how much of a uterine wall your body creates, so it decreases a menstruation to almost nothing. Also, if you decide you're ready to try for another child the IUD may be removed at any time, and you are immediately able to get pregnant. The IUD contains estrogen, but it is very low dose and only affects the uterus instead of your whole body.
I don't like oral contraceptives, because I tend to forget to take pills. They affect your entire body, and the progesterone types must be taken at the same time every day for them to be effective preventing pregnancy.
I hope this was helpful for you. M.
I was fitted with an IUD after both of my children were born. I love it! There are NO artificial hormones, and I don't have to remember to take a pill, change a patch, etc. They are effective for up to 10 years, and you can remove them whenever you are ready to get pregnant again.
With both of my children, birth control pills messed with my milk supply so I couldn't take them while nursing. There's one pill you can take but if you don't take it within the same 15 min everyday you can get pregnant. My memory is not that great when it comes to pills so I stayed away from that one. We just put up with condoms. They're not my favorite but they do the job.
I like some of the others have an IUD. It is the non-hormonal one. This is actually my second time using one. It worked so great the first time I figured why not use it again:) All they do is place it and you do nothing until you want it removed to get pregnant again (only took us 2 months after the removal) or to get it replaced after 5-7 years. The only negative thing is that I can feel the strings every once in awhile...it does not hurt, just reminds me it is still in place. My husband has had no complaints at all and would have it no other way. It truely makes getting pregnant worry free! I breastfed both of my children without a worry! Read up on it and let me know if you have any questions!
R.
Hello C., congratulations on the birth of your baby. I have two kids (5 and 17 months ) and what i use after the birht of my son, i took the IUD, it's also called the " T "
but it's really good your doctor would have to insert it, but it only takes a few minutes and all you feel are cramps and you might bleed alitle.after that you don't have to worrie about nothing, it's supposed to be 99.9% effective and you can get it for five years or 10. I decided to go with the five years because the ten year one is copper and i just don't like the sound of that. Another thing that i like is that if you decided to have another baby ( not that you would ...lol ) you can get the IUD taken out before the five years so if you don't like it you can always try others.
I hope I was able to help you. Take care and good luck
Y.
