There is much talk about the care needed during pregnancy and even about caring for the baby, but what about care for the woman after childbirth, including postpartum birth control? How does a woman’s body adapt after giving birth to start taking the pill? What is the best time to start? Postpartum birth control: Can it harm the baby? Questions like these are very common for families who have just had a baby, but to know the exact answers, it’s necessary to understand how the contraceptive pill works.

How Does the Birth Control Pill Work?

It is a type of medication that inhibits ovulation1, which means the woman “skips” the fertile period, and it also prevents the dilation of the cervix, making it harder for sperm to enter the uterus. It is 98% effective, but to work, it needs to be taken regularly. When a woman is used to a certain type of birth control for years, it is possible that her cervix becomes tighter, making it harder for couples trying to conceive. Despite this, it does not cause infertility in women—if there is any difficulty, it’s only temporary.

When to Start Taking Postpartum Birth Control?

This is a difficult question to answer, because it depends a lot on which type of contraceptive we’re talking about. If we’re talking, for example, about pills containing estrogen, the answer is that a woman should only take them after she finishes breastfeeding her baby2. This is because this type of pill contains hormones that can pass into the breast milk and affect the health of the child who is being breastfed. The most well-known contraceptives contain a mix of estrogen and progesterone, as this is the simplest way to achieve the desired effects. The most recommended is for the woman to take pills that contain only progesterone. This type of postpartum contraceptive is continuous use, which means the woman should take it every day. However, they can also cause some side effects, such as:

  • Suppression of Menstruation – The woman may not menstruate, or may have small bleedings that are less than a menstrual period, but for a slightly longer period.
  • Reduced Libido – This is a side effect of progesterone-only postpartum birth control.

There are also other methods that can be used, such as the progesterone injection, which can be given either once a month or once every three months. The advantage over the pill is that the woman doesn’t have to remember to take it every day, which avoids the issue of forgetting, and it works very well for breastfeeding mothers. It’s always important to talk to a medical specialist to know which pill is best to take and what to do about their side effects. The truth is that each woman should choose a contraceptive method that fits her body’s needs and how she feels at the time of taking these medications. There are many issues to be considered when we talk about postpartum contraception, because we’re not talking only about the woman, but also about how the baby can be affected.

Other Contraceptive Methods

In addition to the postpartum birth control pill, the couple can also use other methods to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, such as:

  • Condoms – Both male and female condoms are highly effective and can be used without any problems while a woman is breastfeeding.
  • Diaphragm – Also works very well for mothers who do not want to take any medication, but is more effective when combined with a spermicide, which is also safe for both mother and breastfeeding baby.
  • IUS – This stands for Intrauterine System with Hormone and is recommended for women who have just had children, as it can be inserted as soon as 40 days after delivery. It works very similarly to the IUD and is highly effective3.

As you can see, there are several methods that can be adopted as postpartum contraception. For this reason, it is possible to think about different ways of protecting yourself and avoiding any surprises, while not compromising the baby’s start in life, the mother-and-baby relationship, or the health of either. Doctors recommend that a couple wait at least 6 months after the birth of a child before conceiving again. And even though most couples aren’t considering having another baby soon after giving birth, it is a risk if precautions are not taken. Therefore, it is always important to know which are the best contraceptive methods to use while breastfeeding and which types of pills may or may not be taken. By knowing this, it becomes much easier to prevent and organize yourself to take good care of your baby without bigger worries. See Also: My Experience With Tubal Ligation Photo: EME