You said farewell to your period for nine months when you found out you were pregnant. But if you're breastfeeding, can you count on staying flow-free for longer? A lot of it has to do with how often you're nursing, experts say.
Read on to learn more about when your period is most likely to come back, plus whether you can ever count on breastfeeding as a form of birth control.
Timing varies widely. Some breastfeeding moms get their periods back within weeks, while others stay period-free until weaning — and frequency of nursing plays the biggest role. Hormones drive the change. Frequent nursing can suppress ovulation and keep your period away, but longer stretches between feeds usually bring it back. It’s not birth control forever. Exclusive breastfeeding can delay fertility for up to six months, but once feedings space out, you can ovulate (and get pregnant) even before your first period returns.
Will you get your period while you're breastfeeding?
Probably, though you'd be hard-pressed to mark a date on the calendar.
"Most women will get their period back at some point while breastfeeding, but the timing of 'when' is highly variable and unpredictable," says What to Expect Medical Review Board Member Suzanne Chan, D.N.P., C.L.C., C.P.S.T., a pediatric nurse practitioner and lactation counselor at the Infant Cardiac NICU at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York City.
Many breastfeeding women have their first period around six months postpartum, though there’s a wide range of normal, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).[1]
Some women get their period within six weeks after giving birth, while others stay period-free until after they've weaned.
"As far as when your period comes back, it's different every time," says What to Expect Community member AQmom6. "My daughter ... I went a year without having it. My son … I think I made it about 6 months."
The timing depends largely (though not entirely) on how often you're nursing. Exclusive breastfeeding, where you're nursing at least every four hours during the day and at least every six hours at night without formula or solids, will usually keep your period at bay.
At that frequency, your hormones tell your ovaries to keep ovulation on hold — aka, elevated prolactin levels suppress ovulation — which makes getting your period less likely. (Experts aren't sure whether this is also the case for pumping.)
But going for longer stretches in between feeds — which can happen when you're combo feeding, as your baby starts to sleep through the night, or when your little one begins to eat solids — typically causes periods to come back.
What causes your period to return while breastfeeding?
It all comes down to hormones (as you might've guessed!).
When your baby nurses frequently, their suckling action signals the release of increased levels of the hormones oxytocin and prolactin, which tell your ovaries not to release an egg each month, the way it does before your monthly period. (Pumping may not have the same effect as suckling, which is why it may not keep your period away, even if you're pumping exclusively.)
Breastfeeding less often — either because you're combo feeding or because your baby is just getting older and going for longer stretches in between nursing sessions — causes that hormone signaling to change.
At some point, the ovaries stop getting the message to pause ovulation. So they start releasing that monthly egg once again, and your periods start to come back.
It makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary perspective. If you're breastfeeding round-the-clock, your body works to make it harder for you to get pregnant, so you can put your energy towards feeding the baby you already have. But once you ease up, you have more resources to devote towards a potential new baby.
Is your period different while you're breastfeeding?
It definitely can be. Your periods might be heavier and more crampy, lighter and less painful, shorter or longer, and more or less regular compared to your pre-pregnancy norm. Your first postpartum period in particular might also have some more blood clots.
"Mine was heavy the first 2 to 3 months (got it at 2 months pp despite ebf)," reports What to Expect Community mom Mommyof6monkeys. "My supply does drop a little. My period has also gone back to being normal, and I'm having a regular period that lasts a few days instead of an eternity."
These sorts of changes are usually par for the course, and there's no way to tell what your breastfeeding periods will be like until they get started.
"Your body is still adjusting hormonally during this time, so some variation is completely normal," Chan says.
But if your periods feel unusually heavy, long, or uncomfortable, or you're passing larger clots than are typical for you, you should let your doctor know.
Wondering when your period might return? Log your breastfeeding sessions and symptoms in the What to Expect app to spot patterns and stay on top of your body’s changes.
Will my period affect my milk supply?
Some women notice a dip in their supply or more nipple sensitivity before their period. The culprit, again, has to do with hormone swings, along with normal period-related drops in minerals like calcium, according to La Leche League International.[2]
"If this happens, staying hydrated, nursing or pumping more frequently, and maintaining a diet rich in calcium and magnesium can help minimize these effects," Chan says.
Does having a period mean I could get pregnant again?
Exclusive breastfeeding — meaning you're nursing at least every four hours during the day and every six hours at night — can protect against pregnancy because it prevents ovulation, according to Planned Parenthood.[3]
Experts call this form of natural contraception Lactational Amenorrhea (LAM). It's about 98% effective at preventing pregnancy when followed to a tee, but it typically only works through about six months after giving birth (since after that, your baby is likely starting to nurse less often).
If you’re not meeting those specific breastfeeding benchmarks, you can definitely get pregnant, even if you haven't gotten your period yet. That's because ovulation happens about two weeks before your period during your monthly cycle.
The bottom line? It’s possible to get pregnant when you’re breastfeeding, regardless of your breastfeeding frequency or if your period has arrived yet. If you’re sexually active and don't currently have plans to try for another baby, talk with your doctor about your options for birth control.
When to call your doctor
It's always a good idea to reach out to your doctor if you have questions or concerns related to your period, whether you're breastfeeding or not. That includes any new or bothersome changes to your period, like a heavier-than-normal flow, increased pain or cramping, or large clots. Talk to your doctor, too, about postpartum contraception if you haven't already done so.
Ultimately, there's a wide range of normal when it comes to periods and breastfeeding. Many women find that their cycles start to come back around the six-month mark, but it's also not uncommon for your period to return sooner or later than that.
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