Are you a mother who has just given birth? Are you planning your next kid soon or you want to enjoy your few months after your child’s birth that are period -free? It completely depends on the parent’s choice whether they want to have a kid within a short period of having their first one or whether they are interested in giving birth to their second child after some duration of time.

Is breastfeeding related to your fertility?
You should not believe whatever you have read and especially if it is concerned with your period. You can follow some very general guidelines. One of them is that a mother who is breastfeeding has a greater chance of her period returning late as compared to the one who has adopted alternative methods of feeding.

A hormone is released while breastfeeding in the body of a woman due to which fertility is suppressed and is commonly termed as breastfeeding infertility. In scientific terms it is called lactation amenorrhea.

There are some points that help you to know when your fertility is starting to return again such as when your baby begins eating solid foods and breastfeeding is reduced, joining office again and spending less time with your baby and lastly you don’t have to stay awake the whole night as your baby now sleeps for longer periods.

Infertility during the period of breastfeeding
While breastfeeding your infertility is a biological way to ensure that you can repair after giving birth to your baby and also properly feed and nurture you first baby. It should not be considered a mistake. It is believed to have natural spacing between kids which allows the bodies of mothers to become naturally fertile again.

How are you supposed to know when you have regained your fertility?
According to most mothers they have experienced the warning period before getting pregnant once again after giving birth to their first child. But some mothers have also got pregnant even after exclusively breastfeeding their infants in the initial six months and without experiencing the warning period.

Majority of the women get back their period anywhere between the time when their kid is about 6 months old to about 18 months old. But exceptions are always there. Some may get back their period even before 6 months or some may get them back after 18 months.

Is breastfeeding one of the contraception methods?
Breastfeeding is one of the natural methods for birth control as it results into the delayed return of a mother’s period. Lactation amenorrhoea is a contraceptive method which results from the regular as well as frequent breastfeeding. The effectiveness of this method is regarded to be about 98 per cent.

However LAM can prove to be effective only under certain conditions which are:

• Your baby should be under six months
• You have not experienced the return of your periods as yet
• You are breastfeeding your baby exclusively on demand

• Female and male condoms: Condoms are very easy to use and you should keep some with you always. A male condom is more comfortable to use than a female one as the female condom is to be put inside the vagina of a woman. The effectiveness of a male condom is about 98 per cent.
• Cap or diaphragm: A cap or a diaphragm is circular domes that may easily fit over the cervix. Its effectiveness is about 92 to 96 per cent.
• Mini pill: A mini pill can be used while breastfeeding because due to this the milk supply would not be affected. Another name for mini pill is POP that is the progestogen only pill. Its effectiveness is about 99 per cent or more.
• Intrauterine-IUS: The IUS is regarded as an implant which fits inside the uterus of a woman and a steady Progestogen dose is released up till five years.
• Injection: Two types of injections are available:
  

  1) Depo-Provera

  2) Noristerat

A little Progestogen won’t harm your baby in any way in case you are breastfeeding. After taking these injections your fertility may take many months to return to normal.

Contraceptives not to be used while breastfeeding:

• Pill
• The patch
• Vaginal ring

Thus there are a number of factors that influence your fertility after child birth. You can easily know now days when your fertility has got back to normal. And as far as planning for a second baby is concerned that is completely dependent on the parent’s choice whether they want to go in for various contraceptive measures and indulge or plan a second kid soon.