How long will it be after childbirth till i get my period?

Question

i know it sounds crazy but i really want to start getting my period again. since i plan to do natural family planning i need to have my period to firgure out the safe times. thank you in advance and please no rude comments.

Answer 1

if you breastfeed you may not get it until you ween your bub.

My daughter is going on three months and i havnt got mine yet. Not that i miss it. its been a whole year since i had one.

If you dont breastfeed it will probably come within a month of your uterus shrinking back to regular size - i.e when the lochia stops.

Answer 2

I got my period only 5 weeks after I had my baby. I was also breastfeeding exclusively. So it could happen anytime. It is different for everyone.  

Answer 3

i tried to do the same thing.  my girls are 11 months apart.  i never had actually had a period that i could even tell.  it can take a while before it regulates.  but trust me, you do not want to be pregnant for a year and a half straight.  it sucks.  good luck though, if you can make it work, please let me know the secret.

Answer 4

Watch out because after a pregnancy your cycle can become rather irregular. My cousin wanted to do the same thing as you but she immediately got pregnant, with twins! How long it takes varies but it can be from 6 weeks to up to a year.

Answer 5

It all depends on your hormones and breastfeeding. I only breastfed for one month and got my period 2 months after I stopped b'feeding (3 months post partum).

We don't use chemical birth control, so we will be using condoms in the beginning until my period is regular. With my son it was regular immediately after I got my first period back. This time may be different though because I am hoping to breasfeed longer!  

Answer 6

Actually, you can practice a form of NFP before your period starts again.  It is  called ecological breastfeeding or the Lactation Amenorrhea Method, is using a benefit of breastfeeding in order to space children.  

If you are breastfeeding and have not gotten your period back yet, I would look into the method by googling either or reading the book "Breastfeeding & Natural Child Spacing" by Sheila Kippley.  You do NOT need to have your period to do NFP.  

Now, having said that, if you are not breastfeeding or are finishing up breastfeeding an older baby and are ready to wean, you may be able to ask your doctor about getting a shot of progesterone or a course of Provera in order to bring about a period.  Sometimes this does not work, if the body is not yet ready to start cycling again.  

If you are breastfeeding an older child and want to continue, sometimes just eliminating one feeding during the day, or eliminating some or all nighttime feedings may trigger your cycles to begin again.  This is only if it is okay with your baby, though!  

All of this depends on how old your baby is.  Not having a period is one way that your body sort of protects itself from having pregnancies too close together.  If you have a very young baby, your body may not respond as quickly.  If your baby is older, the suggestions may work better.  

I hope that you are planning to take a course in NFP to learn it; the time coming out of post-baby infertility can be a pretty challenging time to learn NFP.  That is not to say that it can't be done, just know that it may take a little extra time & patience to learn.  A good teacher can help you through all that; look in some of my old answers if you need resources on where to find a teacher.  Good luck, hope my answer helped you.

Answer 7

Moderator: Giving birth triggers hormonal changes -- how do those affect a new mom?

Brown: The key to understanding the effect of hormonal changes is that hormonal levels drop precipitously the minute the baby is born and the placenta is expelled, because the placenta was the hormone production factory in the body. So the reason different women react differently after childbirth really depends on how their body will cope with the change or the drop in hormonal levels, not with the actual amount of hormones in their body.

The best-known effect of this drop in hormones is the effect on your mood, but there are many other hormones that were present during pregnancy. For example, relaxin is the hormone that increases the size and elasticity of muscles in the body and helps you to deliver your baby. That hormone takes about five months to leave your body, so for five months you're much more prone to sprains and hurting yourself than you would be normally.

Thank you

Diana