Breastfeeding: good for baby—and for your birth control

The right birth control for you isn’t always a product made by a pharmaceutical company—sometimes our own bodies can provide pregnancy protection. Breastfeeding, in certain circumstances, can be one of those times. In the first six months after giving birth, breastfeeding (also sometimes referred to as chestfeeding) provides many health benefits to a new parent and baby—and effective pregnancy prevention can be one of them.

Breastfeeding-as-birth control is sometimes called the lactational amenorrhea method. Lactational amenorrhea means you’re not ovulating (releasing an egg) or getting your period because you’re breastfeeding.

How does it work?

Some of you might be thinking that the sleep deprivation that accompanies having a new baby is an effective form of birth control, given that feeling like a zombie may be putting the brakes on your sex life. Not having sex is one way to prevent getting pregnant, but if you do decide to have sex while breastfeeding, biology is on your side to help prevent pregnancy. (Just keep in mind that breastfeeding must be done in a specific way to be used as birth control—we have more on that below.) That’s because, as your baby nurses, a hormone called prolactin increases in your body. This hormone helps make an ongoing milk supply for your baby, and it conveniently also suppresses the hormones that lead to ovulation in you. When ovulation doesn’t happen, an egg isn’t being released, which means there’s nothing for sperm to meet up with and fertilize. It’s a natural solution that allows a new parent to devote their resources to their newborn(s) for a while.

Wanna try it?

If you plan to rely on breastfeeding as your only form of birth control after giving birth, it’s super important that you read the fine print.

Lactational amenorrhea is 98% effective at preventing pregnancy IF…

1. It has been less than six months since your baby was born;

2. Your baby is literally ONLY feeding directly from your breast (that means no formula, no solid food, and no pumped or expressed breast milk fed to your baby from a bottle. Scientists think this is because it’s the actual sucking that triggers the prolactin that stops the ovulation); AND

3. Your period has not started again.

If you aren’t exclusively breastfeeding your baby (at the breast), you can ovulate as soon as three weeks after giving birth. But lots of people aren’t ready to get pregnant that soon after having their baby.

Not sure it’s for you?

If you don’t think lactational amenorrhea is quite right for you, talk with your health care provider about another form of birth control. There are many methods that are safe and effective for nursing parents. Condoms, the IUD, the implant, the shot, and progestin-only or mini pills can all be used while nursing. An IUD can even be inserted right after giving birth. Those six months of protection go by quickly, so it’s a good idea to start thinking about another method of birth control.