What should I do?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2006
What should I do?
2
Fri, 03-17-2006 - 1:14am
Hello everyone! Well here is my situation, I hope someone can help. I am married and also a mother of two. I recently had my second baby on January 7th, 2006. Everything went well. My husband could not be present for the birth of our second child due to a pending immigration waiver. I have planned to visit him the second week of April 2006 so he can finally meet our second baby. As part of the whole postpartum process, my vaginal bleeding has subsided within 2-3 weeks after having my baby. I both breastfeed and give formula to my baby. 75% of the feedings are from formula, so given that, I had my first period which started on February 14th. I am anxiously awaiting my next period so that I can start some type of birth control. As I do not want to get pregnant anytime soon and I will be seeing my husband, I need help on deciding what birth control is right for me. I need some birth control that is okay to take while nursing. I was pondering on taking Depo-Provera(the injectible type). Since I will be seeing my husband within one month, I need to be on some type of birth control that takes effect immediately. My only concern is that I have not gotten my period yet and I know that some types of birth control need to be taken right after your period begins so that there is not chance of being pregnant, well I know I am not pregnant! Is there a contraceptive besides the condom and the diaphragm that I can use? Thanks for your help.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 03-17-2006 - 9:56am

Hi jcentgirl, welcome!

Congratulations on the birth of your second child!

If you aren't concerned about decreasing your milk supply you can use any of the combined (estrogen/progestin) methods; pills, patch or ring and you can start without having your period since you know for certain that you aren't pg. If you chose a hormonal method you will be protected after using it correctly for 7 days. We have a post in our FAQs about choosing a method that's right for you and see if there is any method that particularly appeals to you. A hormonal method that is very low maintenance is NuvaRing www.nuvaring.com which is worn in the vagina for three weeks and removed for one for your period. Or, if you aren't planning another addition to your family for a few years you might want to consider an IUD. I think an IUD is effective immediately after insertion.

The two most common IUDs available in the U.S. are the ParaGard www.paragard.com (nonhormonal copper-T) with copper as the active element that is effective for 10 years and the Mirena www.mirena-us.com that continuously releases a tiny amount of progestin and that is effective for 5 years.

There is an adjustment interval of a few months after insertion of an IUD while your body adjusts to the device in your uterus. Some women using ParaGard report having heavier periods while Mirena users after the adjustment interval usually have shorter and lighter periods and for some users their periods disappear. We have a post in our FAQs about IUDs and the information on the Planned Parenthood site is: Understanding IUDs http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/pub-contraception-iud.xml

Thanks for stopping by. It would be a good idea to talk with your doctor and see what s/he recommends. If you have more questions we would love to help. Let us know what you decide and how you are doing.

Good luck,

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 03-17-2006 - 8:25pm

After both of my children I started on birth control pills after my 6 week

 Jenn 

Mommy to Megan 1/20/01 & Sean 11/11/03