Conceiving While Breastfeeding: Odds, Chances and Tips to Get Pregnant

Every mother knows that breastfeeding acts as a natural birth control method as told by gynecologists. While this is true, it is not 100% effective as a birth control method especially for mothers who are not exclusively breastfeeding. There are ways to help the process of conceiving while breastfeeding.

Probability of Conceiving a Child While Breastfeeding

A woman’s body produces a high amount of Prolactin during breastfeeding.

It is this hormone that is responsible for suppressing ovulation. When breastfeeding exclusively, the odds of conceiving while breastfeeding falls at an estimated 1 to 2 percent. This percentage increases to six percent after the first six months and throughout the first year when the baby is introduced to solid foods.

How to Conceive While Breastfeeding

The chances increase as the baby is introduced to new foods other than breast milk. With this in mind, there are tips that mothers can observe especially when they desire to have another baby. These tips are not applicable, however, if nursing infants who derive nutrition solely from breast milk.

  • Introduce solid foods as additional supplement to breast milk. This should be done at the right age. Breast milk is best for babies up to six months old. After six months, mothers can start introducing other foods to the baby.
  • At night, mothers should try not to feed for an interval of six hours or more.
  • During the daytime, mothers should try to stretch out the feedings to an interval of more than four hours.
  • Mothers should understand their menstrual cycle in order to understand how and when they are fertile for conception.
  • Mothers can try and chart their cycle if possible. This will help give mothers an idea of when they are most fertile to aid in the process of conception. Charting methods include temperature method, cervical mucus method, and the calendar method.

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