Birth Control For Breastfeeding?

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] berries!

[name_u]Jem[/name_u] is already 3 1/2 months old- how time flys(flies?)!

Originally I said I would NEVER want another baby. This was my first and last! Now I am a little up in the air, and think that maybe in a few years, when [name_u]Jem[/name_u] is 3 or so, I’d like to try for another. Or maybe we will get a puppy and call it quits lol. But either way, now is definitely not the time for another one! Since this little guy was the result of a broken condom, I am weary about using that as the only form of protection.

I am Breastfeeding and would like to hopefully continue until he is a year old. So I would like to find a birth control that won’t lay a finger on my supply. I’m already struggling to keep my supply up!

[name_f]My[/name_f] dr prescribed the mini pill. Any experience with this and Breastfeeding? I’m a little nervous about it. [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious if anyone knows of a birth control that won’t mess with supply at all?

Thanks!

In my experience, the mini pill is the most common form of BC for breastfeeding women. You’ll want a BC that is progestin only because BC containing estrogen has been linked to low milk supply.

Other options include the Depo shot, a progesterone-releasing IUD ([name_f]Mirena[/name_f]), or an implant (Implanon).

I don’t have an answer, but I’m glad you asked this! I’m curious about the same thing. [name_f]My[/name_f] mother and sister had issues breastfeeding, so I am paranoid about anything that could cause me to struggle. Looking forward to see what everyone has to say!

I will say that I know someone who was given the depo shot after giving birth and it caused her milk to dry up. Not sure if that is true universally, but that is what happened to her.

When I was breastfeeding, I was on the pill. It was the worst experience of my life. [name_f]My[/name_f] body did not react to it well at all. I was rife with joint pain, in my hips, my feet, all over. I couldn’t even get down on the floor to play with my baby. Took me forever to figure out it was the pills. So that is a route I won’t ever go again! This baby will be our last, so we will probably just use condoms until my husband takes the plunge and gets snipped.

I don’t have any experience with this personally, but since you want to wait a few years, maybe an IUD makes sense? Some of my friends are big fans of the no-hormone copper ones. It might be something to ask your doctor about, anyhow.

I think the only 100% safe thing would be to use a condom, I don’t think there are enough studies to show if any of those things affect breast feeding and why risk it?

An IUD would be fine, its long-term (up to 10 years, depending on which one you use) & only affects the uterus locally. The mini-pill is used commonly & apparently doesn’t affect the baby (my gyno prescribed it to me after I had Azula) but my doctor doesn’t like the idea of that cause it affects your whole body systemically & he says then you are exposing a baby to those hormones. Neither of those will affect your milk supply.

Contrary to what another poster said, there are many studies proving progestin only birth control is safe while breast feeding, and it’s been used for many years.

It CAN affect your supply, but that’s fairly rare, and often temporary and not drastic. A good amount of mothers have reported increased fussiness in babies after taking it (myself included), so it’s something to look for - and my doctor actually told me it wouldn’t cause her fussiness, my own research said otherwise. It’s also not super common (I think 1 in 50 or some similar statistic).

If you’ve had an IUD before, I’d go for that. Personally I wasn’t willing to risk the side effects, but I react badly to most BCs, mini pill included. One suggestion is to try the mini pill, and if you have no side effects, get the IUD (same hormones).

I just wanted to point out that there is an IUD available that does NOT release any hormones. It is called Paraguard. It is 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. There is another one, I think called [name_f]Mirena[/name_f], that does release a small amount of hormones. I have friends who started with [name_f]Mirena[/name_f] and switched to Paraguard b.c they did not like the hormones. I also have friends who love the [name_f]Mirena[/name_f] one.

I don’t have any personal experience with any of this, I just sit through a lot of mom-friend discussions about birth control and breastfeeding, etc.

But if you were feeling sketchy about taking hormones while breastfeeding and you have a history of breaking condoms, the hormone free IUD is possibly a good option for you.

IUDs are a dramatically under-utilized form of birth control in the US. The bare copper one has no hormones and works by locally irritating the uterus. The [name_f]Mirena[/name_f] elutes a small amount of progesterone (lower than the mini-pill) which is absorbed systemically, but also mainly works on the uterus. Besides total abstinence, the [name_f]Mirena[/name_f] is the single most effective form of birth control, with a failure rate of 1 in 10,000. Bare copper IUDs can be left in for 10 years, whereas the [name_f]Mirena[/name_f] should be switched out after 5. The other main benefit to the IUD ([name_f]Mirena[/name_f] included) is that full fertility returns immediately after it is removed. There is no wash-out period (which lasts up to a year) unlike oral contraceptives.

The downsides: there is a much higher risk of pelvic inflammatory disease if you have gonorrhea or chlamydia. For that reason they are only offered to women in committed monogamous relationships. You have to periodically check its position to make sure it didn’t migrate or fall out (which happens extremely rarely, but does happen). Also some insurance plans won’t cover it, stupidly.

If you think you’d like to delay pregnancy by at least one year, and you’re in a monogamous relationship, it would be my absolute recommendation to get one. That’s been my form of birth control for the last 10 years and I love it-- tiny light periods, absolutely no responsibility to remember taking a pill at exactly the same time every day, no side effects like weight gain, mood swings, acne, joint pain, blood clots, higher risk of endometrial cancer, etc, and immediate return of full fertility when you choose to try to conceive.

Thank you thank you thank you!! I will definitely be talking to my dr about an IUD (paraguard or mirena).

Does anyone know how the procedure of putting it in goes? Is it similar than a pelvic exam? Worse?

I had a scare this month and [name_m]DON[/name_m]'T want another one until we are ready for our second!!

Very similar. A speculum is left in place and the doctor inserts an introducer through the speculum, which contains the device folded up inside. An IUD looks like the letter T, but inside the introducer the ‘arms’ of the T are folded down. It’s about the thickness of a pencil. The introducer is passed through the cervix and once it’s deep enough, the device is deployed much like a tampon. Pop! The arms come out and it’s firmly in place in the lower uterus. Two thin clear nylon strings hang out of the cervix into the vagina. Periodically you should reach in and make sure you can feel them- that let’s you know it’s still in place.

Since the cervix has to be dilated about half a cm there is some crampy discomfort. Take an ibuprofen before the procedure and it helps a lot. For me personally I felt zero discomfort once the introducer was withdrawn but many women continue to feel a crampy pain for a few hours. It shouldn’t last more than that. Additionally the copper irritates the uterus (that’s how it works) so at first you will have a very thin continuous period-like discharge for up to a couple of weeks.

You can’t have unprotected sex for a week after it’s placed. After a week, the contraceptive potential is 100% and you can consider yourself safe from pregnancy.