When will your period come after giving birth under guards? Menstruation while breastfeeding: when to expect discharge and whether it is harmful to milk

The return of the menstrual cycle in a nursing mother is an individual process. For some, discharge begins three months after birth, for others the cycle does not resume until the end of breastfeeding.

Menstruation does not occur during breastfeeding due to the influence of the hormone prolactin, which produces milk. When prolactin levels decrease, they are restored.

Please note that after childbirth, a woman will experience spotting for the first time. They are not menstruation and stop 1-1.5 months after the birth of the child.

When do they start

According to statistics, in 80% of nursing mothers, the menstrual period resumes with the end of lactation. The appearance of discharge largely depends on when you weaned your baby from the breast. However, do not expect them to begin the very next day after the end of the GW. The first menstruation usually occurs after 6-8 weeks.

Consistency and stability are established within two or three cycles. Irregular periods during the first two months of breastfeeding are normal. During this period, they may arrive earlier or later than expected. However, if after two or three months the regularity of the discharge has not improved or there is no menstruation at all, you should consult a doctor.

If your critical days came earlier, there is nothing to worry about. This is often due to the introduction of new complementary foods. And with mixed feeding, they often begin within six months after the birth of the newborn.

Reasons for the onset of menstruation during breastfeeding

Mixed feeding (even if you just give your baby some water);
Introduction of complementary foods;
Infrequent breastfeeding;
Mom does not follow the feeding schedule;
Violation of prolactin production;
Taking medications (especially hormonal drugs);
No night feedings.

Are periods and lactation compatible concepts?

Menstruation does not come after breastfeeding

As mentioned earlier, after the end of lactation, the menstrual cycle resumes after 1.5-2 months. However, if they have been absent for more than two months, then this is a reason to be examined by a gynecologist.

There are several reasons for this behavior of the body. This could be hormonal imbalances, illness or the onset of a new pregnancy. Remember that the absence of menstrual flow during breastfeeding does not guarantee that you will not get pregnant again!

Cycle restoration for each woman takes place individually. For one mother it begins 3-4 weeks after birth, while for another it begins only after two years. Typically, menstruation occurs when milk production has completed.

Menstruation during lactation does not indicate pathology or disease. This is a normal process when introducing complementary foods or mixed feeding. If you do not feed your baby at night and give milk when called, and not according to a schedule, then this is also a reason.

Menstruation during breastfeeding does not affect the taste, quality and quantity of milk! And they do not require completion of lactation.

The birth of a child is a sharp hormonal stress. At this time, the level of hormones in the mother’s body is not balanced. All endocrine glands are associated with bearing a child, so after his birth they begin to gradually adapt to work outside of pregnancy.

At the same time, the function of lactation is established, which involves the production of milk by the mammary glands. Changes will also affect the reproductive system: the genital organs and its gonads. The nervous system changes, forming the instinct of motherhood. Since the volume of blood in the vessels decreases to its original value, the changes also affect them.

Factors influencing the regeneration of menstruation during breastfeeding

ATTENTION: After the birth of a child, a woman feeds her baby with breast milk. Because of this, her menstrual cycle is disrupted. Moreover, during lactation it may not recover for a long period. The first menstruation may occur after about six months, or maybe after a year.

If you continue to breastfeed your baby even after six months, your periods may be irregular., with long delays, and this has nothing to do with a new pregnancy. All this occurs due to hormonal fluctuations, in which the level of estrogen in the mother’s body is suppressed by lactation. As a result of this, it falls and rises again to normal levels.

When do they start?

The first menstruation during breastfeeding can begin immediately after childbirth, but for some this process is delayed. Everything is individual, so it is impossible to calculate the exact time when your period will begin during breastfeeding. Irregular menstruation during lactation is a normal process.

It normalizes during a strong sexual constitution with a delay of 2-3 months after childbirth, and the time varies from 6 to 12 months. After childbirth, spotting may occur, but this should not be confused with menstruation, as this is lochia.

See about the timing of menstruation after childbirth:

Why is there no cycle during lactation?

If there is no menstruation during breastfeeding, then you should immediately exclude a second pregnancy. Most often the reason lies in the following:

female diseases - ovarian cysts, neoplasms in the uterine cavity;
stress;
reduced immunity;
taking oral contraceptives that affect a woman’s hormonal levels;
inflammatory process occurring in the pelvic organs;
disrupted progesterone production process.

What happens after a caesarean section?

Caesarean section has virtually no effect on the timing of the first menstruation after childbirth. It occurs at the same time as during natural delivery. At the same time, the following patterns are noted:

The famous pediatrician Komarovsky recommends that all mothers feed their children up to 6 months. It is this period of time that is enough for the woman’s body to recover after childbirth, and therefore, menstruation begins. If you delay this, as many mothers like to do, then menstruation will not occur or will deviate from the norm, which negatively affects the general condition of the body.

Is it possible to conceive at this time?

During breastfeeding, fertility decreases, but does not go away completely. This produces the hormone prolactin. It blocks follicle growth and ovulation. But breastfeeding does not protect against another pregnancy.. This especially applies to those women who breastfeed not at the same time, but with long breaks during the day.

In this case, the follicle begins to grow and ovulation occurs. Thus, it is possible to become pregnant while breastfeeding. When breastfeeding, a woman does not have menstruation for several months, and ovulation occurs before the first menstrual flow.

IMPORTANT: This suggests that a woman may not know about the onset of ovulation, therefore, pregnancy is a very real phenomenon.

Watch a video about the possibility of getting pregnant during breastfeeding:

Lochia norms

After delivery, the placenta separates from the uterus, which leads to the rupture of numerous blood vessels. Because of this, bleeding is formed, along with which the remains of the placenta, already keratinized particles of the endometrium and other traces of the intrauterine vital activity of the fetus come out. The normal postpartum discharge is 6-8 weeks. In addition, such phenomena remain normal:

Reasons for a long period of irregular discharge

The postpartum period proceeds differently for each woman. The restoration of the menstrual cycle after childbirth can be influenced by numerous factors.

The main reason for a long period of irregular periods is hormonal changes. Hormones are responsible for the frequency of menstruation in the female body.. In addition to hormone imbalance, failure of menstruation after childbirth can occur due to heredity, breastfeeding and physiological characteristics.

When can we expect them?

After breastfeeding has been stopped, the woman should resume menstruation after 1.5 months. This process is not always easy and painless.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that at first menstruation resembles scanty spotting. Regularity is also not established immediately.

In what cases should you consult a doctor?

It is necessary to visit a specialist if the following deviations occur:

renewed menstruation will last a long time or very little;
periods are scanty or too heavy;
at the end or beginning of menstruation, prolonged spotting is observed;
menstrual discharge is characterized by a strong unpleasant odor;
after 6 months from the start of the first menstruation after childbirth, the schedule remains irregular.

After childbirth, a woman’s body is rebuilt again, as a result of which the performance of many systems is disrupted. You can normalize the menstrual cycle after childbirth after at least 6 months, but only then carefully monitor this entire process. If certain deviations arise, you should tell your gynecologist about them in order to prevent the development of complications.

Pregnancy is one of the happiest periods for any woman. However, at this time, the expectant mother has many doubts regarding not only the bearing of the baby, but also the postpartum period. In addition to the question of whether to breastfeed a child, one of the most popular queries to which people are looking for an answer is how soon the rehabilitation of the menstrual cycle will take place, can periods begin while breastfeeding (BF) and will they interfere with it?

The appearance of the first discharge

A long rehabilitation of the body takes place in the body of a young mother who has given birth. The first stage of this process is the reduction of the uterus to its pre-pregnancy state and size through contraction. It lasts 1–2 months.

Do you get your period when it is restored? In the first days, the mother experiences bloody discharge. Many people think that these are the first critical days, but this is not so. These are lochia. The reason for their appearance is placental abruption. This discharge is especially strong in the first 5–7 days. It takes up to 40 days. Towards the end of the course the color changes to pale yellow. Mothers should know that ovulation may occur at this time; during sexual intercourse, you need to remember about contraception.

Doctors say that having sex before the end of the uterine contraction process is unsafe and can lead to serious problems. Within 2-3 months after giving birth, it is recommended to visit a gynecologist to make sure everything is in order and whether you can return to a full sexual life.

Timing for the return of menstruation

It is impossible to say exactly when your first period should come. The expected time of their arrival varies greatly and depends primarily on whether the woman is breastfeeding or not. When the baby is fed formula and there is no milk, the uterus returns to its original size faster, and, accordingly, menstruation begins earlier. Breastfeeding and menstruation are interconnected, which is due to the natural postpartum processes in the body of a new mother.

Breastfeeding ensures the production of prolactin, a hormone that stimulates and regulates the production of milk, and also stops the onset of ovulation.

Can I get my period if the hormone is produced? Yes, menstruation can occur during lactation, but they come later - during the period when the child’s diet is expanded or the baby is completely switched to formula feeding. At the same time, the amount of prolactin produced by the female brain is sharply reduced.

In 70% of cases, the first period after childbirth during breastfeeding comes no earlier than six months later. The process of complete rehabilitation of the cycle is gradual. The first menstruation is irregular. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether they will be long or abundant. The postpartum course of menstruation changes dramatically. Unbearable pain disappears, the discharge is now more or, conversely, less severe, when compared with the critical days before pregnancy.

A completely different time frame for the arrival of the first menstruation awaits a mother whose child is on artificial or mixed feeding. In this case, you should expect your first menstruation 3–4 months after birth.

Regardless of the baby’s type of nutrition, menstruation will not begin for the first two months, until the process of complete restoration of the uterus is completed.

Critical days after cesarean section

After a CS, the waiting time for the arrival of the first critical days does not differ from the period after physiological birth and lactation. The only difference is the abundance of lochia - their volume after a CS can reach up to 0.5 liters. This is much more than after a natural birth.

After a CS, complications often arise that affect the course of the critical days, including:

Too little discharge is one of the signs of blood stagnation in the uterus due to insufficient contractions.
Long absence of cycle stability.
Early cessation of lochia may indicate a bending of the uterus.
A pungent odor is a sign of infection of the reproductive system.
Itching and discharge with a cheesy consistency are the first symptoms of thrush.

In addition to lactation and method of birth, there are several other factors that influence the time of the onset of menstruation after childbirth:

woman's age;
nutrition and lifestyle;
lack of rest;
complications while carrying a child;
chronic diseases.

Women who give birth after 30 years of age take a little longer to recover. This does not indicate any deviations in health. Excessive stress or poor lifestyle choices also affect the balance of hormones. This leads to both loss of milk and the approach of critical days, as well as interruptions in the cycle and their later onset.

Will I get my period while breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding can delay the return of your period for up to a year. But it does not exclude their natural appearance earlier, especially when the baby’s diet expands.

When menstruation comes during breastfeeding, many mothers begin to panic. Why did they appear, is this normal, and does the discharge affect breast milk. Having read unverified information, mothers immediately call the gynecologist: “I am breastfeeding, can I get my period? Should I continue the war?

Doctors explain that it is completely normal if menstruation occurs during lactation, and do not give recommendations about stopping breastfeeding. On the contrary, its abrupt termination will lead to a situation where the nursing mother begins an inflammatory process with further complications.

If your period comes while breastfeeding, then during its course the amount of milk decreases. After the cessation of discharge, milk production is restored to its previous volume.

There is no need to be nervous if your period suddenly starts during lactation. Gynecologists assure that their occurrence is normal and they will not affect breastfeeding.

Both the arrival of menstruation during lactation and their absence are not considered a violation. The time of their return varies greatly for each mother.

Impact on feeding and child health

There is an opinion that the taste of milk deteriorates during menstruation: it begins to taste bitter. Therefore, mothers worry that the baby will stop taking milk when menstruation appears, even during breastfeeding. Doctors refute these myths.

It happens that when menstruation occurs, the sensitivity of the nipples increases, and this creates difficulty in feeding the baby. What to do to reduce pain? A light massage and application of a compress to the nipples will help here.

If a woman is breastfeeding, special attention should be paid to hygiene during these days. Since they are often accompanied by increased sweating, and the lactation period is no exception. The baby may refuse breast milk due to a change in the smell of the mother. The sudden appearance of nervousness and whims of the baby during critical days can be explained by a simple reflection of the parent’s condition.

Irregular menstruation

The process of rehabilitation of the body and its return to its pre-pregnancy state is gradual. Therefore, irregular periods both during breastfeeding and when the baby is fed formula is the norm. They vary in duration and intervals for the first 2–3 months after their onset.

If there is a long delay, and during breastfeeding your periods suddenly stop with active sexual activity without protection, you definitely need to do a test and check whether this is another pregnancy.

Other reasons for delays and periods not returning for too long after breastfeeding:

stress;
lack of rest;
diseases;
heredity.

Menstruation after cessation of lactation

According to statistics, in 80% of cases, critical days do not begin during breastfeeding. In 10% they do not return in the first months and after the end of the GW. This does not necessarily indicate health problems. Sometimes prolactin remains at a fairly high level even after the end of breastfeeding.

In any case, you need to check with a gynecologist to exclude or confirm abnormalities. Find out how long it takes for your period to start after you stop breastfeeding.

If you are planning another pregnancy, but your periods have not started either during or after breastfeeding, the doctor will prescribe medications to suppress the production of hormones in such quantities.

After the end of breastfeeding, menstruation may not come or disappear for several reasons:

overweight or underweight;
bad habits;
diseases;
hormone imbalance.

Symptoms to call your doctor urgently

In the process of rehabilitation of menstruation after breastfeeding, problems may arise in which you should urgently call your doctor:

Irregularity. When six months have passed since the arrival of menstruation, but they continue to come and are episodic in nature. It doesn't matter if a woman is breastfeeding, she needs to visit a doctor.
Duration. If critical days last only a day or two or longer than 5 days, you need to tell your doctor about this.
Too heavy periods. If the pad is not enough for 5-6 hours, and it has to be changed much more often, the norm has been exceeded.
Unpleasant sensations. If the pain accompanied the critical days before pregnancy, it goes away due to the straightening of the uterus - this is how childbirth affects it. If painful sensations appear during the postpartum period, we urgently make an appointment with a gynecologist.
Bitter or sour odor. The appearance of a strong odor in the discharge indicates inflammation.
Long delay. A sudden loss of menstruation is a clear signal of an unplanned pregnancy. Many people forget about the need for protection at this time.

During lactation, regardless of the presence or absence of menstrual periods, when resuming sexual activity, you need to remember the need for contraception!

These are not all the difficulties that stand in the way of a new mother in the process of rehabilitation of the cycle and menstruation while breastfeeding or after stopping this process. Regular visits to the doctor will reduce the likelihood of abnormalities occurring.

We have determined that menstruation can begin during breastfeeding. In terms of the timing of their recovery, it is considered normal when menstruation begins after 2–3 months and up to 1.5–2 years after the birth of the baby. The timing of the return of menstruation depends on the artificial or natural method of feeding the baby and many other factors. If your mother is tormented by doubts or painful sensations, you should definitely visit a gynecologist and consult on exciting topics!

Is it normal for menstruation while breastfeeding, when should it start after childbirth and what changes should I expect? All these questions are quite important for a woman who has recently given birth. Gynecologists answer them with pleasure.

When is it normal for menstruation to come after childbirth while breastfeeding? With both natural and artificial feeding, the first menstruation can be no earlier than 6 weeks later. Moreover, with regular breastfeeding at intervals of no more than 3-4 hours, menstruation may not begin at all while lactation continues. However, most women report getting their periods while breastfeeding within the first 6-12 months.

Both the variant with early and late menstruation are considered normal. However, you need to understand that even in the absence of menstruation, a woman remains likely to become pregnant. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of safe contraception during lactation if an early new pregnancy is not included in the plans. This can be an intrauterine device, chemical methods of contraception (suppositories, vaginal tablets and other local agents), barrier methods (condom), as well as hormonal drugs. Doctors do not recommend using calendar methods of contraception, as a last resort, only if 4 months have not yet passed after childbirth, and menstruation has not yet arrived during breastfeeding (necessarily regular, at the request of the child).

Often during lactation there are disruptions in the menstrual cycle. The reason for this is the hormone prolactin, thanks to which a woman produces breast milk. If you have irregular periods while breastfeeding in the first year after giving birth, you don’t have to worry. But only if there are delays in menstruation, and not, on the contrary, the intervals between them are too short.

But it is imperative to monitor the regularity of menstruation, since if your periods do not start on time while breastfeeding, the cause may be pregnancy. You should do a test at home for diagnosis and, if necessary, consult a gynecologist. In general, women who have given birth should visit the doctor no less often than usual. The first visit should take place approximately 2 months after birth. Then at least 1-2 times a year for mandatory cervical smear testing for atypical cells (for early diagnosis of precancerous conditions), and if there are complaints, then more often.

Menstruation is one of the indicators of a woman’s health, as well as a sign of her ability to give life to a person. After childbirth, the cycle is not restored immediately: for some, after a month and a half, and for others, after a year, which depends on many factors.

Menstruation and breastfeeding: what is the connection?

After childbirth, a woman experiences bleeding, abundant at first, and then increasingly scanty. This discharge has nothing to do with menstruation and is called lochia. After about a month and a half, they disappear without a trace. When menstrual flow appears depends primarily on the hormonal system.

The level of hormones in the body is subject to changes, and the onset of menstruation depends on the quantity of them present in a woman’s body. If a woman is breastfeeding, her body produces large quantities of prolactin. It suppresses the work of the ovaries, thereby preventing the restoration of the menstrual cycle. Thus, nature makes sure that feminine forces are directed primarily at the baby that has already been born, and not at a new pregnancy. If for some reason a woman stops breastfeeding, this is a sign for the body that the woman is free, and you can prepare for a new pregnancy. This is why, in most cases, mothers whose children are fully breastfed do not menstruate. The cycle is restored when the baby is partially transferred to artificial feeding or complementary foods are actively introduced.

Thus, most often the recovery time of the cycle depends on the nature of the baby’s diet:

What else affects the onset of menstruation?

Of course, other factors also influence the onset of menstruation, although to a much lesser extent than lactation:

Features of the menstrual cycle after childbirth

After childbirth, menstruation may have a completely different character than before childbirth, although this is not necessary. It happens that their frequency, duration, and nature of discharge, their intensity, change. They are often not as painful as they used to be.

Restoring the cycle takes some time. The first periods after childbirth do not immediately become regular, equal in duration, and do not always occur with the same frequency. The body needs time to adjust to a new way. On average, this takes two to three months.

Restoring the menstrual cycle does not depend on whether the baby was born as a result of a natural birth or after a cesarean section. However, in some cases, recovery may be delayed due to complications in the postoperative period: inflammatory processes in the uterine cavity, as well as in the suture area.

Periods after childbirth tend to be less troublesome

What should your period be like normally?

Often, before the onset of menstruation, a woman experiences premenstrual syndrome, even if it was uncharacteristic for her in the prenatal period. This condition is characterized by mood swings, irritability, sleep disturbances, absent-mindedness, swelling and mild tenderness of the mammary glands, fluid retention in the body, swelling, joint pain, and allergic reactions.

When to worry

Regular visits to a gynecologist will help maintain women's health in good shape. However, young mothers do not always have time to visit this specialist. In some cases, you cannot postpone your visit:

Very heavy periods may indicate hormonal imbalances in the body, as well as diseases such as endometrial hyperplasia and endometriosis. One pad should last for 4-6 hours, but if you have to change them every two hours, this is a reason to consult a gynecologist.
Bloody discharge 1.5-2 months after birth, which has an unpleasant odor, indicates the presence of an inflammatory process that entails a number of diseases (endometritis, parametritis, colpitis and others).
The absence of menstruation three months after the end of breastfeeding or very scanty discharge indicates a high level of prolactin, which should have dropped.
Irregularity of the cycle a few months after the start of menstruation indicates problems in the body.
Spotting, accompanied by headache, increased fatigue, hypotension, and edema are signs of Sheehan syndrome, which occurs as a result of damage to the pituitary gland, which is responsible for the synthesis of hormones.
The cessation of menstruation or its absence is also a signal of the onset of a new pregnancy if the woman has not been properly protected. Since ovulation occurs two weeks before the start of menstruation, a woman sometimes has no idea about her situation, assuming that the cycle has not yet returned.
A very short duration of menstruation (1-2 days) or a very long one (more than a week) may indicate the development of pathological processes (endometriosis, benign tumor and others) and require mandatory consultation with a doctor.
Excessively painful periods may indicate the presence of diseases.

What will speed up cycle recovery

Menstruation sometimes gives a woman some anxiety, so most people don’t rush things and don’t strive for menstruation to start as early as possible. The body is not yet ready for a new pregnancy; it needs time to accumulate strength. However, for some women it is important to recover faster in order to be able to monitor the onset of ovulation and other changes in their body. The following will help speed up the restoration of the cycle:

introducing supplementary feeding or complementary feeding to the baby if the woman is breastfeeding (just remember that this needs to be done gradually);
refusal of night feedings (replacement with another drink or use of a pacifier);
proper sleep and rest;
peace of mind, tranquility;
proper, balanced nutrition;
active lifestyle, full walks in the fresh air.

How does menstruation affect breast milk?

Mothers whose cycle has returned are often worried about how changes in their body will affect lactation. During menstrual flow, the amount of the hormone prolactin in the body decreases, which reduces milk production. At the same time, the quality, taste, and composition of milk remain the same. It is worth putting the baby to the breast more often so that he remains full and calm, and also drink more fluids.