Whether this is your first or last baby, you may be thinking about birth control options. If you are still pregnant, you may not be thinking about it yet. It may be time to start since most health care providers bring up this subject during your post partum visit.
You have many options for birth control. The pill is the product most women think of when they think about birth control. There are many other options in addition to the pill.
One of the major factors in your birth control decision will be how you are feeding your baby. If you are breastfeeding, some forms of hormonal birth control, such as the pill, can interfere with your milk supply. These are the pills that contain estrogen. The Mini Pill or progestin only pill is better for nursing mothers.
You may have heard that breastfeeding provides a form of natural birth control, since you may not have a period for many months after the baby is born. Don’t rely on this for birth control or you may get a little surprise.
It is possible to get pregnant even before you have your first period. You will ovulate during that cycle and you have no idea when this will occur. For this reason, a back up method of birth control is a good idea if you don’t want to have another baby in the near future.
Barrier methods of birth control can be safely used during breastfeeding. This would include a condom with spermicide or diaphragm. If you have a diaphragm from before you got pregnant, you won’t be able to use it. Child birth can change the size and shape of the vagina, so you will need to be fitted again at your post partum visit.
If you are finished having children, you may be considering a permanent form of birth control. A tubal ligation or vasectomy is a permanent method for couples who are finished having children. Take some time to make this decision. It is possible to reverse these procedures, but it is expensive and the results are often not very good.
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