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Breastfeeding/menstration after breastfeeding

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Expert: - 9/26/2004


Question
My baby gal is now 6.5 mths old and had been exclusively breastfed from birth. However I had stopped breastfeeding her roughly 2 weeks ago. I would like to know roughly when will my menstration cycle start again?  

Answer
Dear Flora,

First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!

As for menstruation, I am attaching an excerpt from my book. The first paragraph answers your immediate question; the next talks about fertility:

"There's a great deal of variability among women. One woman may have one "sterile" menstrual period before ovulation begins; that is, she may begin to menstruate but not yet be able to conceive. Another is fertile with her first menstrual period after childbirth. Some women don't begin to ovulate and menstruate for several months after their babies are completely weaned from the breast. Others ovulate even while they're fully lactating and before their menses resume.
  So while you are less likely to conceive when your baby is totally breastfed, you might become pregnant. Since it's impossible to tell when any particular woman will begin to ovulate, if you want to be sure to space your children you will want to use some kind of contraception. (Birth control for nursing mothers is discussed in Chapter 13.)"

Good luck!

Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books & available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters).

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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