Okay...so my second baby is due Jan 28th and I am super grateful and blessed, but I want to wait a while for number 3 so that I can get my body in check. I have only been married for 2.5 yrs so I have been pregnant through most of my marriage and I need a break, but I dont know what to do about birth control. I was on the minipill when I got pregnant and I am nervous what to do this time. Do any of you trust natural family planning or other types of birth control? What about the side effects of gaining more weight or losing hair with some of the other options? Also...I need something safe while I nurse. Any suggestions? I think it would be the best thing for our family if we waited so my body can get in check and healthy!
Thanks,
Shanonbug

Weight loss on hold till 6 weeks postpartum

I trust NFP fully, although I screwed up on it & got pregnant with Esther. Just like any other birth control, it's as accurate as you are careful. I forgot one of the key rules--you can ovulate the day after all the fertile-seeming CM disappears--and it caught me. But I got AF back after Esther turned 8 months old, and so it's been working for me about seven months now, and it worked just fine in between Bobbie & Linda as well.

I had such a horrible experience with the Pill that there's no way I'm touching hormonal birth control again. Me and it do not get along, to put it mildly. We use condoms on any iffy days with NFP (breastfeeding in theory can make it harder, so I consider any seemingly-fertile CM to be the real thing) and when we just want the peace of mind.

I use this thing called the Nuvaring. It is so awesome. I have used various pills (but i hate pills and would forget, etc) and I have taken the depo shot (made me gain eight million pounds and go psycho), so this Nuvaring is fantastic. Its a small plastic ring you insert once a month and leave in for three weeks. It protects for four weeks, but you only leave it in three. It releases a certain amount of a hormone each day (science man!) and it's great because you never miss your dosage unless you forget to put in your new ring . It stays in place, the men can't feel it, and it hasnt given me headaches, weight gain or any other bad side effects. My periods are equal or lighter than when I am not using bc of any kind. There is a website, www.nuvaring.com/ Ask your dr/obgyn about it. I get mine from planned parenthood. Ok, y commercial is finished hehe

s.

I am one of the few who LOVED the Depo injection, but it's not particularly weight-loss friendly (slows your metabolism way down). I'm considering the Mirena IUD for after this baby, as it protects up to five years, and we're thinking we want to wait 2-3 before going for kid #3. I need to talk to my GYN about side effects first, tho, as weight control is also going to be a primary concern for me, as will be getting fertile again ASAP, and not having to wait around for a year for the hormones to wear off, a la Depo.

I use NFP too. (Technically I use Fertility Awareness Method since we choose to use a barrier method during my fertile times as opposed to abstaining.) It's worked well for us in avoiding pg and then acheiving it when we were ready.

Thank you all for your input. It is such a hard decision!

Ooooohhhh, birth control!! One of my favorite topics!!

The minipill does have a slightly higher failure rate than other methods, soooo, congrats on your surprise minipill bambino!

When you look at hormonal birth control, there are 2 hormones (basically) that are involved: estrogen and progesterone.

Minipills, depo, and the Mirena contain progesterone (no estrogen). Minipills contain a very small amount of progesterone and need to be taken at the same time every day...or else! Depo has more and is slowly absorbed from the injection site over the course of 12 weeks. Mirena has a bit and is slowly absorbed over 5 years, but the effect appears to be more local, ie the uterus and the ovaries. The problems we see with depo (weight gain, bone density loss) does not appear to cross over to the Mirena. With any of these methods, you can expect irreg cycles, if not an ultimate pause in your cycles (until the method is discontinued). The Mirena is very, very effective...likely the most effective method on the market (other than abstinence). It is good for women in low-risk monogamous relationships. It helps if you have been pregnant before (size of uterus thing).

Estrogen (partnered with progesterone) is found in regular birth control pills, the patch, and the nuvaring (I personally use and love the nuvaring). Estrogen is responsible for those lovely, predictable, controlled periods that people on estrogen-containing methods get. The problem with estrogen and a new mom is that estrogen might tank your milk supply...and I think milk supplies are one of the most important things on the entire planet! Does nuvaring have the same milk supply-tankage effect? There are those who say no. I do not risk it with my new moms (and my new moms agree with me).

A hormone-free idea would be the paragard IUD (copper-containing, good for 10 years, although I recently removed a copper-7 that the woman had in for 25 years! Don't recommend that!)

I know a lot of women swear by NFP, and, boy, my hat's off to them! Predicting ovulation can be a challenge when you are lactating, and it also depends on how you would feel if you got pregnant again.

Anyway, just a quick primer that I hope you will find helpful. (Talk to your healthcare provider to find out what is best for you.)

Best wishes for your birth!

I'm on Nuvaring and I'm fairly happy with it. It is a much lower dose of hormones than the pill (or even the mini-pill, I think) and just as effective. I went on it because I'd been on the pill for ten years and wanted to reduce the hormones I was taking. I can't say that I notice much of a difference in the side effects but, then I was on the pill for ten years, so maybe I just need to give it more time. I do like not having to take a pill every day and knowing that I'm on a lower dose of hormones.

But if I could, I would absolutely get a hormone-free IUD rather than any hormonal solution. My sister has one and LOVES it. No hormones, no weight gain, no remembering to take a pill every day or insert a ring every month. Unfortunately, I'm not a good candidate for an IUD (no kids, the size-of-uterus thing mentioned by midwife).