Has Anyone Ever Gotten Pregnant

Yes! I am evidence of that. My mom, a lactation consultant, relied on that method, too. My brother is 362 days older than me.

well it did not happen with my second baby so I thought that was true too but don't be fooled it happened on my 3rd so I have 3 of the best children in the world. and don't try that jump up method either haha

YES! Breastfeeding is NOT a form of birth control. You need to be using another method if you do not want to get pregnant.

B., RN

I never got a period between my daughter and son. My daughter was 13 months old when I got pregnant with my son, so she was eating solid foods, but still nursing. I think you have to be nursing every 2-4 hours (even at night) for this to be a reliable method of birth control.

Yes, I was exclusively breastfeeding twins and got pregnant. I was nursing and pumping every 2-3 hours and never had a period. I was also on the mini-pill. If you don't want another baby right now, then don't rely on breastfeeding. =)

I am a midwife and you for sure can get pregnant while nursing. And you will ovulate before you have a period. You have to be nursing around the clock every 2 hours for your body to suppress ovulation but this does not always work. If you are not nursing around the clock every 2 hours do not rely on nursing to keep you from ovulating.

Lisa

Yes! now I have two little ones very close together ... conceived when the oldest was about 4 months .. talk to your doctor, it depends if you are ovulating or not. Apparently spontaneous ovulation can happen. Good luck!

Oh yes, it can happen I know someone who got pregnant when her baby was only 3 months old.
She cried a lot at first and it was hard a lot more diapers to change ect. But you can do this, you are going to have 3 beautiful babies to LOVE. Take care and be strong, God will help you daily all you need to do is ask.
A.

YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!

My daughter was born June 18, and October 18 I got pregnant with my precious son, I was EXCLUSIVELY nursing my daughter, and had NOT had a cycle yet. We had unprotected lovin' just ONE time, and I got pregnant!!! You CANNOT rely on nursing to prevent anything girl! So unless you are ready for another one, do something else!!!

My younger sister is less then 13 months younger than me. My mom can promise you breastfeeding alone does not work. She never had a period in between us, so it was very hard to date the pregnancy.

My dearest friend got pregnant twice while breastfeeding you would think she would have learned to first time, but her boys are 10 months apart and her second and third are 13 months apart. She has two kids in the same grade. Be careful if your not wanting to have another just yet!!

My co-worker has two beautiful daughters. They are Irish twins because she was breastfeeding and had unprotected sex. You can get pregnant breastfeeding. She said she cried at the doctor when she went for her 6 week checkup and to get on the pill. They decided to run a test just to check and sure enough pregnant. It was hard for her because she was in a bad marriage. Now her daughters are 8 and 9. They are in the same grade but doing good. For 1 month of the year they are the same age!

Yep! My boys are 14 1/2 months apart. I was breastfeeding exclusively and thought we were in the clear--never had a cycle. Eventually i weaned the older and then started to develop a little tummy--still no cycle, so i took a test. Needlesstosay, i was in shock to find i was 3 months along w/ #2! He was a wonderful surprise and is now a beautiful, happy 3 month-old. I will be more careful this go-around!

Most women ovulate before having menses. It is possible to have a 'period' without ovulating...an infertile cycle. I had two of those after #1 was born...very closely monitored cycles, no ovulation.

If you have a copy of the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, pg 378 has some good information. Instead of typing most or all of it in, I found most of the same information on the website:
http://llli.org/NB/NBfertility.html

Also, http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html

FWIW, I used bf-ing and later NFP for avoiding pg. If you're wanting to avoid chemicals and hormone therapy, it's one option that's available

HTH
K., mama to
Catherine, 5y
Samuel, 2y
EDD 9/09

hasn't happened to me personally, but I know it's VERY possible, and I knew someone who got pregnant just one month after delivering her baby and she was exclusively breastfeeding. it should NOT be relied on as birth control! which is why when you go back at 4 or 6 wks to your Ob/Gyn, they should ask you if you want birth control b/c that's usually the time when you are cleared to have sex again.

Kudos for the great start you are giving your baby by breastfeeding!

My mother got pregnant 3 times while still nursing; she nursed all of us until we were 9 mos. But BCP are horrible for the baby -- especially if it's a boy.

Try ovulation kits and determine your ovulation cycle so you can avoid any unplanned 'procreativity.'

Yes, yes and yes!!! That is how my middle guy snuck into our family. I was breast feeding exclusivly and hadn't started my period when I got pregnant with my second child. It was a huge shock, but we're happy he snuck his way in :)

Hello, it hasn't happened to me personally, but I have friends and acquaintances who have gotten pregnant while nursing. If you are pregnant, congratulations. Embrace it! Happy Mother's Day.

Yup, I had a lovely "surprise" just 14 months younger than her sister. I never had a period between them. I had no idea I was pregnant until my milk started to dry up. I went to everyone for help because my oldest would NOT take a bottle and had other health issues that prevented her from starting solids. I finally had a blood test and was shocked to find out I was four months along. Although we didn't plan for it, having back to back babies was the best thing for my family. By the way, my oldest ended up drinking Pediasure from a cup until she could take solids.

Yes! I have 3 boys---all teens now. 14 months b/w #1 and #2 and 20 months b/w #2 and #3.
They are here b/c you CAN get pregnant while nursing and when you use protection! My husband feels like quite a stud---I tell you.
LOL

YES YOU CAN! I exclusively breastfed my son and used protection but surprise! I became pregnant when he was only four months old. I had not started my cycle either. Breastfeeding is not a form of birth control. The old wife that started that tale has gotten many women pregnant! I suggest you speak with your obgyn about some reliable birth control methods if you are not planning to have your kids back to back. I'm sure it gets easier but it has been pretty rough. Good luck!

Oh yes, you can get pregnant while breast feeding. I am not kidding, I have a friend that is 9 months to the day younger than her older sister! She and I have always wanted to ask her mother about it, but we do not have the nerve... Her mom is really intense.

My childhood friend also breast fed exclusively, when she became pregnant. She was shocked because her mother and grandmother told her there was no way she could get pregnant while BF... She says she reads books and speaks with professionals now to get her information...

Yes... my oldest son was 4 months old when I found out I was pregnant with my youngest son. They are 13 months apart and have been very good friends throughout their lives. Now they are 19 & 20 and love hanging out together, shooting pool and playing poker. Just like twins.

Signed... blessed in Houston.

oh my god - don't rely on your cycle I am from a large family and mom was always pregnant. She had 4 in 2 yrs and 4mos. twins and the last two 10 mos apart. mom even got pregnant while she was already pregnant. The first baby didn't make all the way but mom ended up pregnant for over a year total time. use condoms please. I happen to think that condoms can be fun as used in role play - husband is a stranger you are picking up and never a stranger without a condom...lol

My husband and I purposely conceived two of our four children while I was breastfeeding. I continued to breastfeed five months into each subsequent pregnancy (and no we are not hippies but healthcare professionals...LOL).

Yes you can! Don't rely on it as birth control. I was mostly nursing one baby (some food) when I got pregnant.

My son was 5 months old when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I never got my period back with him and I did with my other 2 children. When I went in for my well check they did a pregnancy test, just to see, and I was pregnant. I was exclusively breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is NOT birthcontrol, and you are limited what birthcontrol you can take while breastfeeding. It is rough. Good luck!! My fourth and last child is a delight and was a wonderful suprise, although I think I cried for weeks.

Yes, I did, my son was 5 months old and only nursing. However he was on a great schedule and sleeping through the night. My periods started after he was three months old but only one time. I have heard that if your baby isn't sleeping through the night and is not on a specific routine that it can keep your body from getting back into its cycle however I don't know that I would rely on that for birthcontrol. Many women go back for a 6 week follow up visit after giving birth and are already pregnant...!!!!

Hey M. S!
Congratulations on your beautiful babies:) I read a great book while pregnant with my now four month old adorable baby girl that said many mothers in 3rd world countries (w/out any birth control, of course) naturally have their children about 4 years apart because of how frequently they nurse..Something crazy like every half hour because their babies are literally attached to them all day and eat whenever they feel like it. It also said that research shows if you do breastfeed at least every 2-3hrs regularly, it will be a fairly effective form of birth control...I was considering this option after I had my little one but ended up going with Mirena, which is great because I don't have to think about taking anything daily or it affecting my breast milk as much as an oral birth control and don't worry about nursing/pumping every couple hours! :) If I was a stay-at-home mom maybe it would've been more feasible..anyway, hope that helps!

You can conceive a couple weeks BEFORE you are supposed to get your period for the first time again, and you won't know when that is, so using it as birth control is very unreliable. Although I haven't been in that situation, I do know firsthand of people who were breastfeeding (I think exclusively) and got pg.

i have not gotten pregnant this way myself, but know other that have. also i am a nurse. you can definitely get pregnant before you ever have a cycle and although the chances are probably less while feeding every few hours everyone's body is different and there is no way to know the chances...just have to know that i CAN and does happen all the time. so if this is something you are okay with, go for it, if not protect yourself.

I have not had this happen to me,but I have heard about it happening.

it happened to my cousin.. she found she was pregnant when her 2nd child was 4 months old

I got preg while nursing quite a bit, but he was 12 months old and I was trying...that said, you will ovulate before you get your period so I would recommend that you use s/t, or he does, if you aren't ready for another one.

Ok. Let me just say that nursing should not be used as a birth control. You can still get pregnant while fully nursing. It is not a birth control in the least. That's an old wives tale. You should get on birth control of some sort. And you can also get pregnant before you've had your first cycle. That also should not be used as a form of birth control. I have gotten pregnant before my first cycle after having a child. I was also on a birth control at the time, but because it was before my first month was up it had not really started working yet.

You need to be nursing about every two hours consistently to really rely on this as birth control. I had no periods between my 1st, 3rd and 4th children, 1 or 2 for 2nd and 5th, maybe one before the 6th (I can't remember) We were usually still nursing once or twice a day, but baby 2 and 3 knew before I did, they rejected breast milk because the hormone fluctuation changed its taste. Baby 3 (over a year old at that point) had hand, foot mouth which caused blisters in his mouth and he didn't nurse frequently for a short time. We figure that's when we conceived baby 4.

The kids are fairly evenly spaced, so my natural rhythm is between 2 and 3 years apart between children. Ages 14, 11, 9, 7, 4 and almost 2.

I was kind of nice not to have to deal to much with menstration while nursing and running after baby needs. Makes it harder to predict fertility though.

Well apparently up to 6 months if you exclusively breast feed and don't supplement, and you are feeding every 3-4 hours this serves as an acceptable form of birth control. I was too nervous about it to try it because as you said one time and you are pregnant. I always used back up measures as well. I do have a friend that was using it as bc and she has kids that are like 13 months apart. Now whether or not she truly met the requirements is something only she can know for sure, but she said she was nursing exclusively and her baby was only like a month old and she got pregnant. Because of her story I made sure to take extra precautions! Best of luck,it will be interesting to see what responses you get!:)