Returning to Birth Control After Childbirth: A Doctor-Approved Guide

When selecting a birth control option, post-pregnant women have additional factors to consider, especially if they are breast-feeding. As the most popular form of reversible birth control, the pill is an obvious choice.

Sex After Pregnancy

• Doctors at the Mayo Clinic advise women to listen to their bodies when it comes to how soon to have sex after delivery. It's important to let the body heal and adjust to the changes of having a newborn.

Misconceptions

• It's a common misconception that if a woman is breast-feeding she cannot become pregnant. Lactational amenorrhea is an effective natural contraceptive, but it requires a strict feeding schedule of nursing every three to five hours.

Expert Insight

• According to midwife and women's health care consultant Pat Sonnenstuhl, ARNP, CNM, MS, "Regular birth control pills can be started at two weeks postpartum. Low dose progestin can be started sooner."

Types

• Women are advised not to take regular birth control pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) if they are breast-feeding. Doing so may reduce the mineral content and the supply of breast milk. Doctors prescribe a mini-pill, a progestin-only formulation that doesn't affect nursing.

Warnings

• The only 100 percent effective birth control is abstinence. Using multiple methods is the best way to prevent pregnancy.