Question

I had my first baby (little boy) on Feb. 16 2009. I still have not had the return of my period. My husband and I want to try for another soon. (I am 36 so tick-tock!) I am getting concerned over the lack of a cycle. Is this normal? I only breastfed for 4 weeks. I bought some ovulation kits and never detected any LH surges. I have taken HPT and they have been negative.

I am going away to Canada for the summer and will be back in Aug. If no cycles by then, my OB wants to put me on Provera (which I really dont want to do). Do you think my cycle will return on its own?

Nikki

Answer

Dear Nikki,

Without the benefit of your medical history I can only say that normal cycling will return but it may take some time.

Remember your body has been using a different set of hormones that suppress the ones responsible for ovulation. The return to fertility is variable for every pregnancy and may be delayed even further due to breastfeeding, even 4 weeks. Fertilty drops off with age but it is a gradual drop not an instant one so you need not worry about your age being a factor. Since anxiety may also lead to temporary infertility, you should try to relax and enjoy your summer vacation. There are cases where women have become pregnant soon after delivery even while breastfeeding but that is not the norm. Taking Provera to artificially stimulate menstruation may cause more harm than good. It is commonly used for contraception.

A better alternative would be to track the return of fertility by observing the cervical mucus symptom and charting. Teachers who can help you with this are found on this site. If your baby turns 1 year and you still have not ovulated then you will have charts that will be useful in pin-pointing a problem if there is one. The problem can then be treated instead of the symptom. (A Natural Family Planning teacher can assist you in making these decisions.) Please don't be too concerned at this point your case does not seem unusual.

Angie Frausto

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