Lactational amenorrhea

After the birth of the baby, the uterus needs about 2 months to completely restore the mucosa, because after the release of the membranes and the placenta, the uterine cavity is an open wound that heals for a long time. But if a woman does not breast-feed, then 2-3 months after childbirth she has a monthly recovery.

What is lactational amenorrhea?

In lactating women, menstruation does not occur because of the hormone prolactin, which inhibits ovulation. The absence of a period during breastfeeding is called lactational amenorrhea.

Lactational amenorrhea - its duration

Normally, menses in nursing mothers may be absent for a long time - up to 12-14 months, but usually the duration of lactational amenorrhea is much less - 6-9 months. If a woman is breastfeeding every 3-4 hours with a break for nocturnal sleep for no more than 6 hours, then prolactin inhibits ovulation, but if for any reason a woman has increased these intervals, ovulation may occur. Therefore, the method of lactational amenorrhea can not be a reliable means of preventing pregnancy. And if the monthly were at least once, then rely on this method is not at all - for 2-3 cycles they should be fully restored. And their delays may be caused by other causes, including pregnancy.

After the introduction of complementary foods (from 4-6 months), a woman begins to skip feeding and lactational amenorrhea may stop. In mothers who are not breastfeeding, it can not be and any delay in menstruation - this is an occasion to apply to a women's consultation for examination.

Lactation amenorrhea and pregnancy - how to distinguish?

Since, during interruptions in feeding or irregular breastfeeding, ovulation may occur, lactational amenorrhea can smoothly transition to a pregnancy, which the woman does not even suspect, sometimes even before the first movements of the fetus . First of all, it should be remembered that if the menstrual period have passed at least once, then there is an ovulation and, in the absence of the following months, first of all, one should think about pregnancy if a woman lives sexually and is not protected by other effective methods.

In addition to the absence of menstruation, a woman can also be suspected of a pregnancy on symptoms of an early toxicosis. If there was nausea and vomiting, then except for diseases of the abdominal cavity and poisoning, you should remember about a possible pregnancy in a nursing mother. And if there were fevers of the fetus, the stomach increased, then this is the second half of the pregnancy, which the woman missed because of amenorrhea, and now it's time to register with the gynecologist.