Introduction

Coping With Pregnancy Problems

Exercise While Pregnant?

How To Get Pregnant

Making Your Pregnancy Safer

Pregnancy and Alcohol

Sex After Pregnancy: Can I Get Pregnant If I'm Breastfeeding?

The 10 Most Important Pregnancy Exercise Tips You Will Ever Read

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: How Much Weight Should You Really Gain?

Weight Loss After a Pregnancy

Why Do I Have Hot Flashes During Pregnancy?

Contributed by Roberta Sullivan

Sex after pregnancy produces a fear in most postpartum couples of immediately becoming pregnant again. There is an old wives tale that you cannot become pregnant while you are nursing. Is this true? Well, the answer is yes and no. You could actually release an egg and get pregnant again as early as 2 or 3 weeks after delivery! And, you can get pregnant even if your period has not returned.

However, breastfeeding naturally decreases a woman's fertility, thereby reducing the risk of becoming pregnant. This type of fertility control, also known as The Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM), was developed so that breastfeeding mothers could rely upon breastfeeding for birth control. In order to consider this type of birth control, three things are considered:

1) the return of the menstrual period,
2) breastfeeding pattern, and
3)how long it has been since the baby was born.

As a general rule, sex after pregnancy with the use of Lactational Amenorrhea Method for birth control is effective if all of the following criteria have been met:

1. Your period has not returned since the birth of your baby.

2. You are breastfeeding your baby on demand, for all feedings, both day and night, and not supplementing the feedings with any other nutritional sources.

3. Your baby is less than 6 months old. If you have met all of these criteria you have a 1-2% chance of becoming pregnant. This type of birth control is no longer effective when any one of the 3 criteria changes. At that time, you should consider an alternative birth control method if you do not wish to become pregnant again.

About the Author
Check out my additional articles at The New Mother's Survival Guide on topics such as Breastfeeding Basics, How to Have a Rocking Marriage After an Overwhelming First Baby Year, and Help Is Not A Bad Word.