Spotting while breastfeeding is it normal

Objective: To examine bleeding between 6 and 8 weeks postpartum in fully breast-feeding women and its association with fertility as assessed by hormone analysis. Methods: Seventy-two fully breast-feeding women were followed prospectively from 42 days postpartum.

Read more on Ausmed Education website. The menopause is sometimes called 'the change of life' as it marks the end of a woman's reproductive life. Read more on Australasian Menopause Society website. Healthdirect Australia is not responsible for the content and advertising on the external website you are now entering. There is a total of 5 error s on this form, details are below. Please enter your name Please enter your email Your email is invalid. Please check and try again Please enter recipient's email Recipient's email is invalid.

Please check and try again Agree to Terms required. Thank you for sharing our content. A message has been sent to your recipient's email address with a link to the content webpage. Your name: is required Error: This is required. Your email: is required Error: This is required Error: Not a valid value. Send to: is required Error: This is required Error: Not a valid value. These include: how often you bottle feed your baby the way your body responds to hormone changes how often and how long your baby is breastfeeding If your baby is being fed only using bottles, you may find your periods return shortly after birth.

Your first period after birth If you breastfeed exclusively, your first period may not return for several months or 1 to 2 years if you keep breastfeeding. You may notice nipple tenderness during ovulation, in the days leading up to your period, or both. Again, the consistency of your cycle and symptoms related to your period will be impacted by how frequently your baby is nursing and how that affects your hormones. La Leche League International advises that nursing can and should continue when your period returns.

You may, however, notice that your baby is a little fussy around your time of the month. Once your hormone levels return to normal, your supply will return to normal. Many babies will make up with the drop in your supply by nursing more often. La Leche League notes that breastfeeding as a method of birth control, which is known as the lactational amenorrhea method LAM , is considered effective only when certain conditions are met.

When these conditions are met, there is less than a 2 percent chance of becoming pregnant. That makes LAM a form of birth control that is as reliable as a condom or a diaphragm. To avoid problems for your nursing baby, you should explore nonhormonal barrier methods. Just over 40 percent of exclusively breastfeeding mothers have their periods return within one year, of that 40 percent, about 10 percent get their periods within six months after childbirth. Those mothers who decide to formula feed will have their periods returning as soon as two months postpartum.

A mother's period can be irregular with some spotting while nursing as a result of a change in breastfeeding frequency and therefore hormone fluctuations.

Sometimes a decrease in nursing frequency occurs when the baby is ill, teething, has a growth spurt or if the baby is separated from the mother for a few hours. Yes, a mother may get her period a few months after delivery and then have it stop again when she starts to breastfeed more often. A heavy period might just be due to hormonal fluctuations and your body's way of getting things back to normal again, BUT, if you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to talk to your doctor or OB-GYN about it.

There is usually a considerable period of time between postpartum bleeding and a woman's first period. Postpartum bleeding is normal and can last for a few weeks after giving birth. An irregular cycle is to be expected with your period coming sooner or later or not coming at all, BUT, if you are having random spotting of more than one period per cycle or constant spotting while breastfeeding, you need to see your doctor about it.

Some mothers complain about the extra tenderness of the breasts and nipples during a period while breastfeeding, especially while the baby is feeding. As mentioned above, during the first couple of weeks spotting and nausea are frequently complained about, this is oftentimes due to the hormone Oxytocin which is responsible for the flow of milk "let down. Breastfeeding doesn't have to end when your period returns. You may notice that your baby is fussier during "that time of the month. Your baby's fussiness is probably due to the fact that milk production may drop a little due to hormone fluctuations, this also causes the sodium levels in your milk to rise, making the milk taste saltier than usual some babies don't like the taste of the saltier milk.

As soon as your hormone levels return to what they were before your period, your supply will increase again. Some babies drink more during a menstrual period to make up for the drop in milk production, then again, others will drink more after a period to make up for any calorie deficit.