How soon after having my baby can I start taking birth control pills?

I believe it comes down to whether you are breast feeding. If you nurse, the combo pill is not recommended (source) because it can decrease your breast milk. I have read that the mini pill (progestrin only) is safe. FYI, breast feeding itself is likely to prevent ovulation and act as birth control. I didn’t ovulate for the first time until my kids were six months old.

@noelleptc I’m not sure an IUD is for me. I’ve heard different things about some pain involved. I’d like to stick to the pill I think.

Your doctor or midwife should be telling you these things. Aren’t you getting regular check ups? When I had my little guy I breastfed, so going back on my regular pill was out of the question. The midwife said I could get a ‘script for a minipill because between the affect the breastfeeding and the minipill, for most, acted well enough. Condoms are always an option.

I have Mirena. It lasts for five years. You don’t even know its there. It is painful for about 10 seconds when it is inserted, and you feel achey for a few days afterwards. I have heard insertion is even less painful for women who have had a child, I had mine put in and I have not had children – it was bearable. However, I think a couple days of discomfort is worth the five years I don’t have to think or worry about taking a pill.

You’ll go over all of this with your doctor. Usually you have a postpartum checkup six weeks after you give birth. At that time, your doctor will talk to you about which birth control option is best. When my daughter was born (almost 12 years ago) my doctor gave me a prescription for the pill and it did not affect breastmilk production. I don’t remember what pill it was though. After my second child was born (over 7 years ago), my doctor gave me the birth control patch.

I was using that patch AND breastfeeding when I got pregnant with my third child eight months later. :O

Anyway, there are many options besides the pill or an IUD. There’s the birth control shot, which I used for a very long time without any problems. You go to the doctor every three months to get the shot. There’s the Nuvaring if that appeals to you. There are always condoms, and we all know abstinence works! ;)

I’m a guy so I have no say in the matter. Feel free to delete/ignore.
Both our kids were breast fed. We decided on that option to give them the best shot at a healthy, bright future by keeping them as chemical free as possible. Our birth control consisted of condoms and great care combined. We both considered it a small sacrifice for our children’s well-being – like avoiding smokers, and alcohol use.
We also ate right, avoided spicy foods and exercised so they would have healthy, energetic parents, too.

@ItalianPrincess1217 – If you’re thinking at all about an IUD or another form of birth control, you might want to read the responses here to my question yesterday. Also, anyone from this thread who’s able to take a look at my question, I’d appreciate it :)

IUDs are stupid. Who wants to risk losing fertility/your life if it fails?

Much higher risk of ectopic pregnancy. Not worth it.

@ItalianPrincess1217 This is a question for your family physician or obstetrician.
@klutzaroo IUDs are extremely safe.

This isn’t a thread about kinds of birth control, just the timing. If @ItalianPrincess1217 was unsatisfied with the Pill she would ask us for suggestions on other types.

@noelleptc They’re great aren’t they! I haven’t had a period in years! Mirena was almost too good to be true :-)

I count my period as a sign of being a healthy female. If it stopped, I would not feel that things were ‘great’.

Yes, I will eventually talk to my doctor about this. However I’m unable to see a doctor for another couple weeks. I’m just curious. I know there are plenty of mothers here that have been through this before. I could use condoms but the reason I like the pill is because of my very heavy and uncomfortably painful periods. The pill has always helped with that. Condoms will prevent another child but won’t help much with anything else.

Generally it’s safe to start progesterone only pills right after delivery.

You may find that your periods change after your child is born.

Well, your uterus and the things that revolve around that system happens to be connect to other things in your sex hormone and endocrine system.

I’m not against it. not at all. I am, however, pro-breastfeeding. So, minipill would be the solution and if you want to be extra sure, use a condom in the meantime. It doesn’t affect your hormones so you can happily breastfeed and I assure you, your menstrual cycle will be a whole new ball game after the birth of your child.

After I had my son, I started using depo. They gave me a shot before I was discharged from the hospital. As others have mentioned, with breastfeeding, there are limits of which pills you can take. You should be able to start right after having the baby though, but depending on your doctor, they may make you wait until your 6 week check up.

@cazzie How do mean “different”? Worse or better periods?

About the IUD Mirena, I would not use it while breast feeding. I am pretty sure the hormones would be secreted in breast milk, and I would not care what anyone said about that being safe for the baby, if they indeed say that? I would not do it. I have a friend who hated Mirena, and had it removed after about 6 months. There was also someone on fluther who felt the Mirena IUD was making her very moody. Then there are others who like it. After giving birth hormones are whacky enough, why add a new player to the mix? Just my opinion.

Maybe get a diaphragm to use for a few months.

@SuperMouse “FYI, breast feeding itself is likely to prevent ovulation and act as birth control. I didn’t ovulate for the first time until my kids were six months old.”
I think it’s important to point out that breast-feeding is no guarantee of ovulation prevention… despite fully breast-feeding my daughter my periods began again when she was 7 weeks old. For some women perhaps breast-feeding does delay ovulation but I think it would be wiser to err on the side of caution.

Ask your doctor. We can only give you our own experience and that might not be applicable to your health.

People get pregnant while breast feeding more often than you would think. Breast feeding is not birth control.

@ItalianPrincess1217 I hear you on using birth control to control periods that are difficult. Mine are long, heavy, occur rather close together and generally are a horrible pain in the ass. Hopefully your baby will have a positive effect on your periods and you won’t have to worry so much about them.

@ItalianPrincess1217 In general (meaning, there are plenty of exceptions), after having a baby your period can become less painful all around. I used to get pretty bad cramps each month, but after my first child was born it stopped. Sometimes I get very mild cramping, but that’s it.

Also, keep in mind that you probably aren’t going to be having sex immediately after you give birth. There’s usually no rush to start birth control because your doctor will probably advise you to avoid sex for a certain amount of time after the baby is born. You’ll experience postpartum bleeding similar to having your period that can last for a few weeks. You will also probably be a bit tender in that area for a while, especially if you end up needing an episiotomy. If you think the odds are good you’ll have sex before that six week check up, discuss birth control with your doctor at one of the prenatal visits. You’ll probably be in the hospital for a couple of days after the baby is born and will also have plenty of opportunities then to talk to your doctor about your options.