Breast-feeding can sometimes work as birth control for new moms, according to experts.
“Under certain conditions, breast-feeding, or the Lactational Amenorrhea Method, is 98 percent effective during the first sixth months [after giving birth],” said Audra Hurd, St. Agnes Hospital?s Natural Family Planning instructor.
Suckling infants produce a hormone in women called prolactin that suppresses ovulation, she said.
Moms relying on nursing as a contraceptive should feed the baby without supplemental bottles at least every six hours and during the night in order to ensure contraceptive effects.
Hurd recommends parents train in fertility techniques before, during or after pregnancies. For more information about breast-feeding, visit www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/breastfeeding.cfm.
