is it normal to have a period while exclusively breastfeeding?
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Most breastfeeding mothers will resume their periods between 9 and 18 months after their baby's birth. Weaning will almost certainly cause a resumption of the menstrual cycle, but for most women is not a necessary condition, just a way to accelerate the process.
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If you are breastfeeding your baby, your periods may not return for several months after childbirth. This is because the hormone that causes you to make milk, prolactin, also stops you from ovulating and having your period. If you are breastfeeding day and night, it can be up to a year before your period returns.
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Answer. The average time for a period after delivery is about 45 days. However, women who nurse will commonly get their periods much later. Nursing suppresses the hormone to a certain extent and that is why a woman may not get her period for up to 12 weeks or more.
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When will my period return? Your period will typically return about six to eight weeks after you give birth, if you aren't breastfeeding. If you do breastfeed, the timing for a period to return can vary. Those who practice exclusive breastfeeding might not have a period the entire time they breastfeed.
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“Most women who don't breastfeed will have their periods return at 6-8 weeks postpartum, if they had regular periods before getting pregnant,” says Pamela Promecene, M.D., professor and obstetrician with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth/UT Physicians in Houston.
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Most breastfeeding mothers will resume their periods between 9 and 18 months after their baby's birth.
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According to The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (p. 364-366), almost all mothers who are fully breastfeeding their babies are free of menstrual periods for 3 – 6 months or longer. This is called lactational amenorrhea.
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This is because your uterine muscles and the surrounding blood vessels contract during breastfeeding. These contractions lighten bleeding, but can be painful in the days following delivery.
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Irregular postpartum periods Especially in the months immediately after giving birth, it is common to have irregular periods. Women who are breastfeeding are more likely to notice irregular periods, as the hormones that support breastfeeding can cause the body to delay ovulation or ovulate infrequently.
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Irregular Periods After Pregnancy Your cycle could be shorter, longer, lighter, heavier, or more crampy—and all of these changes are normal, says Dr. White. One of the most common complaints, though, is about irregular periods after birth as your hormones return to normal.
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You're breastfeeding When you breastfeed, this discharge may increase in volume. It typically begins as dark red bleeding and then changes to a watery pink or brown before tapering off in a creamy yellow color. Lochia generally stops four to six weeks after you have your baby.
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Many moms don't have a period for months (or at all) while breastfeeding. But a lapse in your cycle doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. Remember, ovulation occurs before you get your period. It's possible for you to ovulate and then get pregnant before you ever see your period.
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For women who are pregnant or recently gave birth, lactation is normal. Hormones signal the mammary glands in your body to start producing milk to feed the baby. But it's also possible for women who have never been pregnant — and even men — to lactate.
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Women who breastfeed fully (exclusively or almost exclusively) are less likely to become pregnant as long as the following criteria are met: Your baby is less than 6 months old. Your baby is breastfeeding at least every 4–6 hours during the day and at night.
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Cycles without ovulation are most common during the first six months postpartum. For other mothers, the first menstruation is preceded by ovulation – a longer period of lactational amenorrhea increases the likelihood that you will ovulate before that first period.
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The first postpartum period may be heavier and more painful than those before pregnancy, or it may be lighter and easier. Some women have their first postpartum period shortly after lochia, while others may wait many months, especially if they are breastfeeding.
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One menstrual cycle might be 24 days, the next one might be 28 days, and then another one could be 35 days. Your cycle should stabilize within a few months or after you've stopped breastfeeding.