Natural family planning?

Very risky post birth as you’re very fertile. If you’re happy to have a baby close to the age of this one then go for it.

@Roberta agree. I took birth control after my 2nd baby and I still got pregnant 12 weeks post partum on the birth control. You are extremely fertile after giving birth.

I’ve heard you’re extremely fertile after birth but also doesn’t breast feeding work as a birth control for a while?

@Maddie no breastfeeding doesn't

interesting, i’ve always heard it delays ovulation after birth but i would assume it isn’t the most reliable @Jess

@Maddie I think it can do for some people or they are just lucky to miss 'ovulation' but have heard a lot of people caught out with getting pregnant again while breastfeeding thinking they don't ovulate.

@Maddie You never know when your period will return after giving birth while breastfeeding. Some women will get it back at 6 weeks, and some women won’t get it till they wean at 18 months to 2 years. Since you ovulate before getting your first postpartum period, you could literally ovulate and get pregnant at any time postpartum without knowing it. So while breastfeeding does space children in some cases, it’s not reliable birth control at all if you don’t want to get pregnant!

@Daria If you’re breastfeeding and don’t get your cycle back right away, you wouldn’t be able to do NFP because you wouldn’t have a cycle. If you don’t want to be on hormonal birth control and don’t want to risk getting pregnant again right away, then using a condom every time would be your best bet. Also your cycles may be irregular for a while after birth, especially if breastfeeding, which can make cycle tracking more difficult.

I used natural cycles as my ‘birth control’ for about 7 years before deciding to make a baby. Had a couple of scares - but just late periods and I panic quick. I would say use condoms for the first few months post baby as you will need your cycle and hormones to level out, and maybe be super cautious around your fertile window for a little while after.

I’ve never used birth control in my life. I’ve always tracked my cycles/used condoms/pull out method. I’m 29 now and have never had an unplanned pregnancy. Both my pregnancies were planned and happened on purpose. So this seems to work for my husband and I, can’t speak for everyone. I’d suggest using condoms for sure though for a couple months after birth and on fertile days after that.

Fertility awareness methods can work extremely effectively, but key to success and efficacy is learning a proper method with an instructor qualified in postpartum. The read your body app has a list of instructors and their prices from all over the world

We considered this. But I'm breastfeeding baby 4 & 18 months postpartum and still haven't had a period. After my 3rd baby, we did the natural contraception, no periods due to feeding and ended up pregnant 11 months postpartum.

@Maddie Yes for me breastfeeding definitely works as birth control as long as I exclusively breastfeed.

@Rebecca Yes, sure. Forgot to mention that the cycle tracking we will do once my cycles are established and until then only condom. My husband is going to get his best piece measured so we get the correct size because we do want it to be reliable.

@Amy That's what I was thinking. To only use condoms until my cycles are established and then do natural family planning

@Johanna Thanks for sharing. Yes, definitely gonna use condoms until I get my hormones leveled out!

According to the cdc, it has a 24% failure rate. So personally I would never feel comfortable using this as birth control

Honestly everyone’s is pretty different maybe you should track your ovulation with ovulations tests on top of tracking your core temp so you can kinda learn your body more before just relying on your temp. Best of luck 🙂

When using this method are you ladies also using the condoms or pull out method everytime to be extra safe ?

We did this, but it's quite difficult until your cycles regulate again because things can be so unpredictable. Until they regulate and you're sure you've got everything down pat, I would use condoms everytime if you really don't want to get pregnant. I got the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and it is an amazing book to help learn all the ins and out of using this method of birth control.

@Bryar Yes, was thinking that too! At least the first like 2-3 cycles

@Leah I want to use condoms on my fertile days, not pull out. And when i am not fertile anymore, leave it

@Olivia thank you for the book recommendation!

@Daria It may take more than 2-3 cycles for your cycle to regulate, especially if you do extended breastfeeding. I’m 18 months postpartum (still breastfeeding) and my cycles are still all over the place. They were like clockwork before having kids. Of course everyone’s experience is different, but it can take a long time for some of our bodies to go back to baseline after having babies! 😊