Can I get pregnant while breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is a way that many mothers choose to feed their babies after giving birth. This is mainly because breastfeeding is very good for children, can promote the health of mothers, and strengthen the bond between mother and child. Of course, there are also many people who believe that they cannot get pregnant during breastfeeding due to their special physical condition, so they do not take any contraceptive measures. In fact, this is a wrong perception!

During the breastfeeding period, the mother's anterior pituitary gland needs to secrete a large amount of prolactin to stimulate the mammary gland to secrete milk, thereby relatively inhibiting the pituitary gland from secreting egg stimulating hormone, which inhibits the kinetic energy of the egg cell and prevents the follicle from developing into a mature egg. Therefore, women in the breastfeeding period generally have no ovulation function for six months to a year and will not become pregnant. Many mothers believe that since they do not have their periods and cannot get pregnant during breastfeeding, breastfeeding is the best and easiest method of contraception, and therefore they do not need to use any contraceptive methods. This idea is wrong.

Generally speaking, breastfeeding within 8 weeks after childbirth is relatively safe and it is not easy to get pregnant. Even if you continue breastfeeding and your menstruation has not come after 8 weeks, it does not mean that you are in a safe period. Many women think that they should wait until the first menstruation comes before considering contraception. In fact, this is a wrong concept. Because in many cases, ovulation has already occurred before the first menstruation, so there is of course a chance of getting pregnant again.

During pregnancy and postpartum breastfeeding, prolactin levels increase, which inhibits the secretion of gonadotropin. At this time, the ovaries also respond poorly to gonadotropin, so amenorrhea may persist during this period. A small number of women may even experience anovulatory menstruation after delivery. Due to abnormal ovarian ovulation, it may be difficult for women to become pregnant during the postpartum lactation period. After stopping breastfeeding, the prolactin level gradually drops to normal, the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin gradually recovers, and ovarian ovulation, menstruation and conception also resume.

It is still possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding if you do not use contraception. The most obvious sign is that the milk supply becomes less and less. Although some people say that ovulation has not returned to normal during breastfeeding due to endocrine reasons, this is not the case for everyone due to personal constitution and diet. It is still possible to get pregnant without contraception.