repoman

I read this on a website that seemed fairly factual, but I am not sure if this is the case. It said that in our evolutionary history women would breastfeed until the baby was about 3 and then stop and get pregnant again. Is there any truth to this?

openeyes

I don't know about the evolutionary evidence for how long women breast fed, but I do know from experience that ovulation is likely to be suppressed while breastfeeding. (Of course "they" always warned you not to depend on it for contraception, but I think for the first year a woman is unlikely to become pregnant if she's nursing often.)

If nursing was popular in the late 50's, I probably wouldn't be around. I was born almost a year to the day after child #1! (My mom says she tried beastfeeding, but didn't have success.)

I thought I heard or read someplace (have no source to back me up) that after a couple of years the quality of milk decreases enough that it's better for the child to get nutrition solely from outside sources and that women through the ages didn't tend to nurse for more than 2 years.

LeftCoast

My wife has a sister that is proof that breast feeding does not hinder conception. My SIL was born just about 11 months to the day after my Wife. Their mother was breastfeeding but got pregnant anyway. When we were pregnant with our first child we asked about this and everyone we asked said that the claim that breastfeeding suppressed fertility was pure hokum.

Jackalope

The problem is that women in hunter-gatherer societies or in more marginal agricultural ones didn't have the same caloric intake that a modern person does. Especially fat calories, which are a lot of what makes up milk. If a woman is exclusively breastfeeding and keeps a fairly high level of activity, then ovulation is supressed. In our world of pre-wrapped, ready-to-eat meals, it's probably not a good bet.

Oxymoron

For every fact on the internet, there is an anti-fact. It comes down to who you trust, sounds most plausible, or supports (or least challenges) your prejudices, which is terrifying, really.

My wife is now 2 days overdue, and there is a load of plop out there about what to eat, not to eat, do or not do, and so on, most of it contradictory, and even the National Childbirth Trust can't provide definitive information ("well, some people seem to think it works, so...").

keyser_soze

It only decreases the ODDS during the first year of nursing(and not that much). You can breastfeed for a decade, you will most likely be preganant within the first year if you don't use contraceptives.

Jamie_L

As I understand it (and as the my wife made evident), breastfeeding can delay the return of ovulation/menstration following pregnancy and birth. This will reduce the odds of subsequent pregnancy during that period.

Reducing the odds does not mean eliminating the possibility, of course.

I know people who got pregnant on the pill. Does that mean the pill does not reduce the chance of getting pregnant?

Jamie

Corwin

In a lot of primitive cultures breastfeeding is used as a means for women to space their babies out. It isn't foolproof, but it works. (The caloric intake Jackalope mentioned may easily be a factor.) Our habits regarding nursing are very unusual. In other cultures it's most common to nurse until babies self-wean at about 2 1/2 - 3 years old.

abe smith

If a woman seriously DOES NOT want to conceive, she'd damn well better do serious & constant CONTRACEPTION in order to prevent that! The chances are that in *marginal* cultures a lot less affluent than ours (USA), breastfeeding the current kid (esp. if it's a year or two old and drawing lots of calories from the Mother) MIGHT starve her enough to prevent her ovulating and, hence, pregnancy. Even under those circs, "Nature abhors a vacuum", ya know!
If you want to know about this, ask among women who've tried it; and (my opinion is) you'll find that IT DOESN"T WORK!
Of course I don't know why the OPoster posted the OP here; BUT whatever your reasons may be, the likelihood is GREAT that breastfeeding is NOT, repeat NAWT!!!! going to prevent the next pregnancy; and relying on it to do that is probably FOOLISH. My opinion, this, is based upon some very solid biological ground. You might ask Planned Parenthood for data. And read *Our Bodies Our Selves*.