Breastfeeding As Birth Control

Birth control is the common term used to explain the phenomenon of spacing your children and not getting pregnant unexpectedly or by mistake (as some may say……. LOL). There are quite a number of birth control methods and techniques, but perhaps the simplest; easy to follow and FREE method is breastfeeding your baby exclusively during the first few months (6 months).

So there is such a thing called lactational amenorrhoea where breastfeeding mothers do not experience their monthly blood flow aka menstruation. How does this happen? This is the perfect time to understand everything about a woman’s menstrual cycle http://ghanafertilityexperts.com/2016/02/03/understanding-your-menstrual-cycle/

Menstruation, ovulation and several other systems in the human body are under the control of certain chemicals called hormones. These hormones usually act in series; that means in the presence of one, another is produced or in the presence of one, another could be suppressed. Prolactin, one of such hormones is high during pregnancy and remains elevated during the months of breastfeeding too.

Sometimes women who are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding can also have high prolactin levels. Here is why http://ghanafertilityexperts.com/2016/02/09/breast-milk-but-not-pregnant-hyperprolactinaemia/

When prolactin is elevated in the blood, it suppresses gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) which is meant to stimulate the production of the two main reproductive hormones; follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). When this happens, ovulation (the release of an egg) and menstruation (monthly blood flow), which depends on these hormones, do not take place. When no eggs are released, even when a sperm is present, no fertilization takes place and for that matter no pregnancy. Thought you knew all about sperms? Here are 6 shocking facts you didn’t know about sperms http://ghanafertilityexperts.com/2016/01/08/6-facts-about-sperm-you-probably-did-not-know/

New moms who breastfeed exclusively 6 months after delivery can use this as a FREE birth control method. This does not require any injectable or daily tabs to swallow (which some people forget anyway).

But will you be happy thinking that your breastfeeding method is preventing pregnancy, only to realize that you are pregnant? Hehehehe. I guess you answered in the negative. Yea, nobody will be happy about that. That is why the breastfeeding method as a birth control should be done properly. For this to be effective, you should

1.Not add any substitute/formula to your baby’s meal plan in the first 6 months

2.Breastfeed your baby at least every four hours during the day

3.Breastfeed your baby at least every six hours during the night

Breastfeeding also offers enormous benefit to your newborn child. So let’s go ahead to prevent any unplanned pregnancy as we nourish our newborn child.

Read more and similar articles on www.ghanafertilityexperts.com

#ToAbouncyBaby

"Michael Bright Yakass is a certified clinical embryologist by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) practising in one of the top fertility centres in Ghana. He is the editor and lead blogger at www.ghanafertilityexperts.com"

You can follow him on twitter; https://twitter.com/michaelyakass OR https://twitter.com/GhFertExperts

Michael Bright-Yakass, MPhil

Clinical Embryologist,

Mob: + 233 (0) 262080953

Email: [email protected]