Natural Family Planning Postpartum Using the Fertility Awareness Method
Oh postpartum, with all its joys and changes. You’re thrilled not to be pregnant anymore and to have your baby in your arms, anxious about what comes next, and not quite sure why you’re crying after eating a delicious homemade potpie… It’s weird. It’s messy. And it certainly has its ups and downs.
The last thing you likely want to think about is family planning. I would venture to say that the majority of women aren’t ready for another baby right off the back of the 40 days postpartum so if you are, God bless your venture! However, if you’re like me, rest assured that wanting some space and rest after pregnancy before another baby comes is perfectly ok.
That’s why I love practicing the fertility awareness method postpartum. I’m able to keep an eye on my fertility and then discern whether or not to be intimate with my husband. But it can be tricky! Especially if you’re breastfeeding. So today, let’s explore how to practice FAM for natural family planning postpartum.
Let me add this caveat… God is in control. Even with the most stringent observations and clear communication with your husband, God is still God and can act as He sees fit. Yes, he gives us the tools we need to plan our fertility but ultimately, he knows what we need. So, when practicing FAM, keep a prayerful mindset. Be open to God's will, control what you can control, and leave the rest to Him.
A Review of Postpartum Hormones
Let’s do a quick review of the hormones of pregnancy and postpartum. During pregnancy, progesterone and estrogen are at an all-time high. They work tirelessly to keep your baby healthy and body strong.
Once your baby is born, estrogen and progesterone plummet so that the hormones responsible for breastfeeding and bonding can do their work. Oxytocin and prolactin are front and center during postpartum ensuring that you can produce breastmilk and bond with your baby.
While prolactin works to maintain your milk supply, it keeps estrogen at bay, which prolongs the return of ovulation. Without estrogen to tell luteinizing hormone (LH) it’s “go-time”, you cannot ovulate, which means you can’t get a period. That’s why you’ve heard people say that while they’re breastfeeding they don’t get a period.
However, you can get pregnant before you get your first period postpartum because you must ovulate before you get a period. So if you’re planning to use FAM for natural family planning postpartum, you must be on the lookout for a return to fertility.
Generally, while exclusively breastfeeding, one can expect that your progesterone and estrogen will remain low enough that you do not get a period. But there are strict parameters that must be met to encourage your body to keep ovulation at bay.
Ecological Breastfeeding for Natural Family Planning
Ecological breastfeeding or Lactational Amenorrhea, uses exclusive breastfeeding as a natural family planning tool. You put the baby to the breast on demand and co-sleep, intending to prolong a fertile return. This method works well for mothers who can maintain on-demand feedings and prolong breastfeeding. This method is only deemed effective while the baby is exclusively breastfed, so around the first 6-12 months, depending on your food introduction.
There are cases where a mom might co-sleep, nurse on-demand, never introduce a binky, babywear, and they still get their cycles back at 8 weeks postpartum.
Personally, this is how we have spaced our children. My cycle doesn’t return until we night wean, which usually happens after the baby is one, and then my fertility slowly returns. The key to using breastfeeding as a form of natural family planning postpartum is knowing your body and your fertile signs, which is why the fertility awareness method is so effective postpartum.
How to Practice FAM Postpartum
Each woman is so different you can’t possibly predict how her body will respond to nursing and whether her fertility will stay away for 6 weeks or 12+ months. That’s why I find it incredibly important to know how to identify your fertile signs so that you can make an informed decision about family planning with your husband.
FAM postpartum is either through cervical fluid observations, hormone testing, or both. Taking your basal body temperature (BBT) will prove frustrating because you won’t have a thermal shift until you ovulate, which could be months.
Whereas, if you practice cervical fluid observations and notice “the point of change” when you go from dry to sticky for the first time postpartum, you’ll recognize that your fertility is trying to return. That will be the time to get crystal clear on your observations and perhaps start tracking your temperatures, cervical position, or hormone tests, once again.
Essentially, FAM postpartum is a whole lot of watching and waiting. Every time you go to the bathroom, check for cervical fluid, if you see none, you are not fertile. Once you notice “the point of change”, begin charting and either abstain or use a backup method when you observe fertile-quality cervical fluid.
Best Fertility Awareness Methods for Postpartum
Multiple fertility awareness methods are compatible with the postpartum period. As I mentioned, the key is knowing your fertile signs and being vigilant in your observations. The following is a brief overview of the best options for natural family planning postpartum.
Sympto-Thermal Method
A sympto-thermal method like Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Symptopro, or Couples to Couples League uses cervical fluid observations, BBT charting, and cervical position to observe and confirm the fertile window.
After your lochia (postpartum bleeding) dries up, you’ll check for cervical fluid every time you go to the bathroom. For some women, you will be dry for months on end until one day you’re not, which is known as “the point of change”. Once you notice “the point of change” you will begin to start taking your BBT once again and checking your cervical position — if you choose to observe this fertile sign — and progress with your family planning depending on your situation.
Billings Ovulation Method & The Creighton Model
These methods use external cervical fluid-only observations. Similar to a symtpo-thermal method, you’ll observe for “the point of change” and then once you notice it you’ll observe for your other fertile signs to identify your fertile window and either be intimate to achieve another pregnancy or abstain. The Billings Ovulation method employs a peak day + 3 days rule for observing your fertile window and a Basic Infertile Pattern (BIP) for day-to-day observations. Please look into each method for a full explanation.
The Marquette Method
The Marquette Method came about after the Clear Blue Fertility monitor showed its efficacy at achieving pregnancy. They thought that surely if you use the observations to avoid intimacy, then natural family planning is possible. And it worked! This method is highly effective because it takes an objective recording of the woman’s estrogen and LH levels using a fertility monitor such as Clear Blue or Mira Fertility Tracker. You test your urine every day and are given a low, high, or peak reading of your fertility. You can also use BBT and cervical fluid as cross-checks to confirm your fertile window.
Natural Family Planning Postpartum is Possible
Though many people will say it’s impossible to practice FAM while postpartum, I and man,y many other women disagree. It can be challenging, yes, but it’s possible if you know what you’re looking for. If you’re pregnant or newly postpartum, get to know your fertile window and do further research into each FAM philosophy to figure out which method is best for you and your husband. Move forward with prayerful discernment and let the peace of God guide your footsteps.
Did you find this article helpful? I’d love to know in the comments. Better yet, share with a friend or family member who might need this too.
Your Sister in Christ,
Kh Cathryn
