Menstruation while breastfeeding: is it normal?

Nature has taken care of the woman's recovery after childbirth. On average, this happens by the end of the second month, when the hormonal and physiological state returns to normal to the prenatal period level. During lactation, the hormone prolactin is synthesized, stimulating milk production and inhibiting the maturation of the egg. This is why there is no menstruation during breastfeeding. If menstruation does occur, is it normal? [ 1 ]

Can you get your period while breastfeeding?

The female body is designed in such a way that upon reaching puberty, the egg cell matures in the ovaries. At first, it is in the follicle, but there comes a time when it bursts and the cell begins its movement along the fallopian tube into the uterine cavity. At this time, its inner layer - the endometrium - becomes thicker, many small vessels appear. This is how the body prepares for pregnancy if the fertilized egg is fixed. If this does not happen, the endometrium simply peels off and menstruation begins.

Pregnancy and childbirth disrupt this order in a woman's body. Its restoration is a hormonal process and it is different for each person, depending on many factors: physical, emotional, mental state, nutrition.

The production of prolactin depends on the intensity of feeding. When the baby is not yet given complementary foods and is fed only with breast milk, there is no menstruation. As the need for mother's milk decreases, with mixed feeding, the cycle resumes. This can happen after several months, and sometimes even a year after birth.

After the end of breastfeeding, if the cycle was completely absent, it resumes after approximately 1-2 months.

If a woman is breastfeeding and her period has resumed, this is not scary, it means that the body is like this, as long as there are no pathological causes, which is worth making sure of by visiting a gynecologist.

How to induce menstruation while breastfeeding?

Sometimes, due to a certain diagnosis, such as a cyst, it becomes necessary to induce menstruation while breastfeeding. The use of hormones will harm the baby, so the solution is to apply the baby to the breast less often. This will lead to a decrease in prolactin, and therefore progesterone (the first suppresses the synthesis of the second), which is involved in regulating the menstrual cycle.

Does menstruation affect breastfeeding?

Many women fear that with the onset of menstruation, milk changes its taste and the child may refuse the breast. No one has proven this yet, and it is also affected by the mother's food, so the baby is accustomed to the flavors.

The amount of milk may decrease slightly in the first days of the cycle, but then it is restored.

The nature of menstruation may change: pain disappears or decreases, discharge from abundant becomes scanty. Usually, after several cycles, everything returns to the same limits as before.

Doctors do not recommend stopping breastfeeding under any circumstances, since it is extremely important for the child’s development and growth, and for its protection from diseases, to feed on mother’s milk. [ 2 ]

What are periods like when breastfeeding?

In the postpartum period, women experience discharge, first red, then yellowish. This has nothing to do with menstruation, this is how the uterus is cleansed after childbirth. The discharge is called lochia and it should stop in a month or a month and a half.

Each woman's cycle is restored in its own way. It happens that despite breastfeeding, menstruation begins a month later and then disappears again. Irregular menstruation after childbirth is quite common. There is no need to be afraid of this, some time will pass and everything will return to normal. Much depends on genetics, lifestyle, age of the woman, intensity of lactation.

Heavy periods while breastfeeding

During normal recovery after childbirth, menstruation proceeds in the usual order for every woman. But it happens that they become very heavy, lasting a week or more, which is frightening and alarming.

The reason for this may be complications during the birth process, birth injuries, diseases before pregnancy (fibroids, cervical polyps, blood clotting disorders), inflammation, and the use of intrauterine contraceptives.

In this case, the woman must definitely consult a gynecologist. The doctor will conduct an examination, send for an ultrasound of the pelvic organs, prescribe hemostatic (dinoprost, ergotal, ginestril) and iron-containing drugs (sorbifer, fenyuls, totema), since large blood loss leads to iron deficiency anemia. Establishing the cause of heavy periods will adjust the treatment taking into account the identified factors.

During breastfeeding, any drug therapy is undesirable, but in this case the mother’s life is at risk. [ 3 ]

Pain during menstruation while breastfeeding

As a rule, there is no pain during menstruation during breastfeeding, because a hormone is produced that prevents blood stagnation in the uterus and pain syndrome. But there are exceptions. It is best for a nursing mother not to take painkillers on her own, but to go to a clinic. The doctor will identify the cause of the pain and prescribe a remedy that cannot harm the child.

If you don’t have the strength to wait for his visit, you can take a one-time pill that does not contain:

• analgin (pentalgin, sedalgin, tempalgin) - can cause kidney dysfunction, inhibits hematopoiesis;
• citramon – has a detrimental effect on the child’s liver;
• phenobarbital - depresses the nervous system;
• caffeine - has a stimulating effect on the baby;
• codeine - inhibits milk production.

It is best to take No-shpa before the doctor’s appointment.

Is it possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding?

More than one woman has encountered the fact that during breastfeeding, pregnancy has occurred again. Relying on the myth that it is impossible to get pregnant during lactation, the couple stops using protection.

Signs of pregnancy in the case when there was already a period are a delay or very scanty discharge. If there was no period, then the signals can be toxicosis, excessive gas formation, nagging pain in the lower abdomen, watery discharge, an increase in basal temperature.

There is a possibility that a woman will not feel anything at all. A reasonable solution would be to use test strips once a month to determine an unplanned conception. This will give a woman a choice: to terminate it or to start preparing for a new pregnancy.

It is important to remember that lactation is not a method of contraception.

Periods after stopping breastfeeding

There are often cases when there is no period during even a long period of breastfeeding. In this case, they should be restored no more than 2 months after the end of lactation. If this does not happen, you need to see a doctor.

Also, menstruation that has already occurred may disappear after breastfeeding. Both cases may indicate pregnancy or hormonal imbalance.