So, you’ve had your beautiful baby, you are settling into a routine and have chosen to breastfeed your child.
If you’re not intending to get pregnant again sometime the coming months what are you going to do about preventing conception?
Yes, you could go back on the oral contraceptive pill, but have you thought about the consequences of doing so? The synthetic hormones used in hormonal birth control may interfere with your ability to breastfeed; and even worse, pose a risk to your beautiful new child’s long-term health (synthetic hormones and other chemicals are passed onto baby directly through your breast milk).
You could use condoms instead, but why would you need to, if instead, you could learn an evidence-based method of tracking your fertility to ascertain with certainty whether you are ovulating or not? For many women, who are fully breastfeeding, ovulation does not occur during the first six-months after giving birth. If you’re not ovulating, you can’t get pregnant!
And this is where the highly effective Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) can be an incredibly useful tool.
So, let’s break this down …
What Is Lactational Amenorrhea?
Producing milk for breastfeeding is called ‘lactating’; and not having a period is called ‘amenorrhea’. So, this method of birth control is called Lactational Amenorrhea (or LAM).
Is breastfeeding a form of birth control?
Breastfeeding isn’t just a healthy way to feed your baby. It can also be a safe, natural form of birth control – but only when you follow specific guidelines.
How does it work?
If you choose to breastfeed your baby exclusively and do not give baby any supplementary foods in the first six-months after birth, the hormones which trigger your milk supply also suppress production of your reproductive hormones. Low oestrogen and progesterone levels prevent ovulation from occurring and this means you can’t get pregnant. In other words, exclusive breastfeeding can delay your return to fertility.
Is LAM right for me?
LAM can be used by any woman who wants to prevent pregnancy naturally and meets the following criteria:
- Baby must be under six-months of age (LAM becomes ineffective at the six-month mark, and I will recommend and can teach you another method of fertility awareness at this point); AND
- You are exclusively breastfeeding your child; or almost exclusively; AND
- You have not experienced a period since childbirth (experiencing lochia – bleeding for up to 8-weeks after childbirth is not considered a menstrual bleed).
IMPORTANT: If you don’t meet the LAM criteria but still wish to prevent pregnancy naturally then I can teach you the Partial Breastfeeding Method to help you determine your return to fertility; or the Sympto-Thermal Method to prevent pregnancy naturally once your fertility has returned.
Work with me
As a Natural Fertility NZ Educator, I am accredited to teach you how to use the Lactational Amenorrhoea Method (LAM) to delay the return of fertility after giving birth; or the Partial Breastfeeding Charting Method to determine returning fertility.
I can teach you how your particular breastfeeding pattern impacts on your fertility and help you to decide which natural contraceptive method is best suited to you.
By working with me you can learn to feel confident in preventing conception naturally by following evidence-based breastfeeding guidelines. You will know when your fertility is returning, and you can continue using chemical-free contraceptive methods to track your fertility to prevent pregnancy naturally.
The LAM & Partial Breastfeeding Charting Method guidelines are:
- 98% effective when taught by an accredited NFNZ educator (similar to the mini-pill)
- Evidence based, endorsed by the World Health Organisation, and Ministry of Health (MOH)
- Drug free – it won’t interfere with your milk production
I provide:
- Private and personalised support for Mum’s with new babies
- Expertise in use of the Lactational Amenorrhoea Method to delay your return of fertility after giving birth
- Expertise in the use of the Partial Breastfeeding Charting Method to determine your return to fertility
- Expertise in the use of the Sympto-Thermal Method to prevent pregnancy naturally once fertility has returned
- Ongoing support for 12-months
It doesn’t matter if you gave birth a matter of days, weeks or months ago. Book an appointment with me today and learn to successfully prevent pregnancy naturally after childbirth.
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