by Danielle Friedl

Created on: January 10, 2009

As a mother of three girls, all of whom were breastfed for a little over a year each, I can attest that breastfeeding is NOT a reliable method of birth control. If it were my third daughter would not have arrived when she did. There is a glimmer of truth in the way hormones react to breastfeeding and how it suppresses ovulation, however even if you are following 'the rules' it is still possible to get pregnant while nursing.

There's no question that breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby. Every doctor, nurse and medical professional can agree that the breast is best. These same people would probably also caution all breastfeeding mothers to use an alternate method of birth control unless they are open to having a little surprise. Whether you're planning on more children or you've decided your family is complete it is irresponsible to think that by breastfeeding your baby you are preventing a pregnancy.

The same hormones that suppress your menstrual cycle while you are pregnant are still at work during lactation. While you are nursing these hormones peak between the hours of 2 and 6 a.m., and provided they are being stimulated by a nursing baby generally ovulation will continue to be delayed. Many shocked women come to find out they are pregnant a few short weeks after their baby has started sleeping through the night and this is largely due to the fact that the hormones are no longer being stimulated during those weary hours. While nursing your baby through the night is a good way to prevent pregnancies it isn't always foolproof and it doesn't work for everyone. Some women start their menstrual cycle six weeks after giving birth regardless of their feeding method.

The trouble with not using another form of birth control is that the majority of women don't even know they're fertile again until after they have a period. The ones that end up with a little surprise are the ones that never get a period and that's because they ovulated for the first time and immediately got pregnant. Knowing your body and the signs of being fertile can help but again - not a foolproof either. Even those most in tuned with their body cannot possibly know the exact moment that they ovulate. What's more you can't predict, even by monitoring vaginal discharge, if you are about to become fertile and sperm have been known to live for up to five days.

Many falsely believe that breastfeeding is a good choice for natural family planning and that it will ensure that babies are separated by about 24 months. Because not all women are the same, and not every woman experiences the exact same postpartum after each of her births, it is ridiculous to believe that this method will work. After my first baby I was fertile again by 6 months even though I was breastfeeding her exclusively. After my second baby I didn't become fertile again until 10 months and without even a hint of ovulation or having a period I was pregnant again. And this was the baby that continued to breastfeed on demand throughout the night. After my third baby I stopped breastfeeding her shortly after her 1st birthday but didn't ovulate for a further 3 months. A friend of mine was ovulating 8 weeks after her son was born and she was nursing him through the night.

There is simply no way to know what your body is really doing or what it is about to do. Keeping track of vaginal discharge can only take you so far. If you rely on breastfeeding alone to prevent a pregnancy you may find yourself shocked when you're staring down at your 6 month old baby and a positive home pregnancy test!

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