Postpartum Bleeding - Grants Pass,OR

Each pregnancy/birth is different. I had never been regular in my life, but after my second child I started my period by my 6-week followup appointment. I was breastfeeding only. I was shocked.

yes, I had a really hard time producing milk for my first child, and my second one was much better. So you never know!

I have breastfed all my girls, and each time it's been different for me. After my oldest I was w/o my period for either 4 or 5 months (I can't remember). After my second it was 3 months. This time I'm concerned I'm pregnant, because she's 7 months on Monday and still no period!!

My sisters have had 3 and 4 children and they told me the same thing - each child was different. They were using birth control pills/patches, so I don't know how that interferes (I don't use chemical bc).

Isn't being a woman great?!!?

HI,

I just wanted to let you know that from my own experiences I KNOW that breastfeeding is NOT a good choice for birthcontrol. I was bfing around the clock irregular bleeding at first then it stopped all together... Then we found out that my 6 month old was going to be a big brother.... So I have one set of boys that are only 15 months apart. I didn't take the chance after my 3rd son was born, at my postpardum check up I had an copper IUD inserted, I kept that for 5 years. Never had any problems with it, LOVED that it was no drugs, and simple. That was removed a not too long after boy #4 arrived... I am blessed with an 11 yr, 8yr, 7ry, and almost 2yr old boys! wooohooo! I hope my experience helps out a bit... Congratulations on your new baby boy and your beautiful 2 yr. old girl! Smile Always, L.

Hi there, I am a christian mama of 3 beautiful children (youngest 6 mos) and had a similar experience with my second child 2 years ago. I bled off and on for several weeks after the birth thinking it was just normal but when I went in for my postpartum visit the doctor found a piece of placenta still inside me causing me to bleed! It was potentially dangerous because it could have caused an infection. Not to worry you but if the bleeding continues I would ask your doctor...for most cases its probably just postpartum bleeding. Best of wishes, God bless!
J. F.

Hi R.,

Sounds like you have a wonderful family. Congratulations. My name is R.. I have 4 children who were all breastfed. I have been a La Leche League Leader since 1980. As is common with LLL leaders, I did not offer a pacifier or bottle to my babies. All their sucking needs were met at the breast. Despite this, my cycle always returned early, never later than 4 months postpartum. The babies all nursed until weaning occurred naturally. So, the breastfeeding works, but may not suppress ovulation each time. If your new baby has longer sleep cycles, that could be enough to bring an earlier return to your periods. Good luck with the new baby.

R.

I just would like to remind you that nursing is not an effective form of birth control......I know many people that have become pregant thinking this was true, myself included.

You may be doing too much, that can cause bleeding to return. I'd recommend making sure you get enough rest, have enough help etc. And, even though it can be more challenging to start while breastfeeding, I'd recommend doing fertility awareness, checking your cervical mucus, maybe even charting your temperatures, so you can be more aware of when you start ovulating again. There are some good books on this. And yes, it can be different with every mom, every baby.

I only have the one child naturally, so I cant say for sure, but My Dr. told me that every pregnancy effects your body differently. After I had my son, when I started to get my period I would have cramps so bad that it would put me on the couch for a week with a heating pad on my back and my stomach and praying for the pain to go away. It was seriously almost worse than labor. I have never had cramps before. I called my dr. and he said this is normal. Pregnancy messes with your body chemistry big time, so just because it didnt start until after a year with one child, doenst mean it will do that with another child. However just to be sure that there isnt something else going on. I would contact my dr.

You can get pregnant while breastfeeding--you never know how much your hormones change. Every birth and experience is different. I definately would not depend on the breastfeeding for birth control.

I am sure you have discussed family planning with your OB/midwife and know that breastfeeding is NOT a reliable form of birth control. I assume you are not on any form of pill or IUD. So if you are using a barrier method of birth control, and not pregnant, it is very normal to have a different experience from one child to the next. I have nursed all four of my children and not had any bleeding until they were completely weaned, but I am on the mini-pill. If you have concerns, you should speak to your OB/midwife.

First, just because you are not bleeding, does NOT mean you are not having a cycle, including egg dropping and the whole deal. Your body saves the lining and reabsorbs to put more nutrients into the milk. Cycles usually resume around six weeks postpartum, although that is only a guide as it is a little different for everyone. As far as the bleeding goes, as long as you are not experiencing pain, not to worry. Any pain and you should call your OB/GYN or midwife.

I had this with all 3 of my kids and all it was was me overexerting myself to soon after birth. That was my bodies response to doing too much too soon. Slow down your activity and see if it subsides. There is a very good chance it is not your period yet. Good luck!

I stopped pp-bleeding after about 8 weeks, and then got my period at 12 weeks, and was nursing around the clock too. Just no break for me.

I asked the same question two weeks ago and no one answered me, so I feel obligated to help you out :) Try researching something called a "sixth-week bleed". Just type it into your favorite search engine. I think it will put your mind at ease. It did for me. I just had my third baby. My son is 10 weeks old and 100% breastfed, but I too thought my period was starting back up (even though this didn't happen with my first or second babies until after weaning). I stopped bleeding at around 4 weeks postpartum, then a few days later it started up again and didn't stop until just a few days ago. I can't be sure that it won't start back up again, but I'm hoping that it won't. Take care and I hope this helps.

maybe you are one of the lucky ones like me. my period started 5-6 weeks post partem after both kids regardless of nursing all the time!

It all has to do with hormone levels and is different with each baby. Just because you were not menstruating with your daughter does not mean that you couldn't get pregnant. Don't make the mistake of thinking that nursing is birth control! If you want birth control, you should be on the mini pill (or whatever you choose) until you are done nursing whether your period returns or not.

Hey R.,

My son is five months old and I experienced the same symptoms. I too thought I was having a period, but I couldn't believe it since I didn't menstruate for 9 months with my first baby. I have a 12 year old but couldn't remember what my postpartum was like with him. I had intermittent bleeding right up until my 6 week post-partum check. I told my doctor about it and he said that this was not normal. Sure enough, I had what was called "retained products of conception"- my baby was 10 pounds and delivery was very quick, it looked like I didn't pass all of the amniotic sac. This caused continued bleeding for several weeks as my body tried to get rid of the material. You should see a health care provider as there is a very increased chance of infection . I had to have an ultrasound to affirm that there was nothing left in my uterus. Everything turned out out just fine and the bleeding stopped after a few more days. Good luck!

I had a similar experience with my baby, my bleeding stopped around 6 weeks and then started again to continue until about 10 weeks pp. My midwife assured me that that was normal.

Even though LAM worked for you the first time around, it is VERY UNRELIABLE if it is your only method of birth control. If you absolutely do not want another child soon I can only urge you to find a more reliable method.
Remember, you can get pregnant BEFORE your first period.

Something similar happened to me. When my son was born (he's almost 4 yrs old now) I breast fed him for the first year and never had my period until after stopping. It was so nice I didn't have my period for almost 2 years (10 months of being pregnant and one year of breast feeding), other than the bleeding following delivery for about 2 weeks. I thought it would be the same with baby number two but it wasn't. My period returned about 5 months pp even though I was exclusively breast feeding her too. Very strange to me but I think my hormones were/are different now. I have friends who have had their periods monthly during breast feeding too.
If you have any questions or concerns if it's normal, you can always give your ob a call too.

I would not rely on breast feeding as birth control. With my second son my period returned by the 3rd month or so. Every body is different, and so is every pregnancies. but if you have any concerns, talk to your doc.

Yes, that is possible. In fact, breastfeeding is less of a "fail-safe" plan than the rhythm method, or just knowing when you are ovulating. Your period can return at ANY time while breastfeeding and you can ovulate as well. THis is especially true in subsequent post partum periods after your first. This is one of the biggest and most pervasive misunderstandings about breastfeeding as a form of natural family planning and can really put your knickers in a twist if you weren't expecting to be able to get pregnant again almost right away. There are of course over the counter ovulation tests that you can take to find out if you are ovulating or not, the trouble with those are the simple fact that you have to kind of pin down your cycle, or at least try to. But yes, of course it is possible to get your period and ovulate, even if you are breastfeeding exclusively. =) I'm speaking from experience. Good luck.

R.,

I have heard that after each child that your hormones/body patterns can change quite a bit. So it is possible that you have changed this time. However, I had a friend also that had some bleeding like that and it turned out that she had some left over placenta in her uterus and she had to have a surgery to remove it. I would certainly call your OB and have them check as having bleeding come back after you had your initial postpartum bleeding is a sign to check with your doctor for sure.

Best of luck and congratulations on your son!

Blessings,
H. C.

After I had my son three years ago, I bled initially for less than 2 weeks. Almost on the dot, 4 weeks later I had a period... and continued every 4 weeks until I got pregnant this past May. I nursed my son until he was two years old, and had a period each month the whole time. So YES, you can have your period even while nursing! (My sister's son just turned one this summer and she weaned him from breastfeeding at the same time. She's had one period since so, the two of us were completely different in what our bodies did while nursing.) Just don't rely on nursing alone as birth control! From what I've read, you can conceive even before you have an actual "period" while nursing.