QuestionI gave birth to my daughter 9 months ago. I breast fed her until about 7 1/2 months and then went to formula. 2 days after I completed breast feeding/pumping I got my first period. It was very typical, although I had read that they could be rather heavy. I have not had my period since, it is 2 weeks late. It is normal that it may not come right on time as it did before giving birth? I have taken one pregnancy test which came up negative.
AnswerDear Kell33,
After the initial two post-partum cycles, two consecutive days of bleeding/spotting or the woman's perception that her period has returned, whichever of the two comes first, should be considered an indication that fertility is returning. A woman CAN ovulate before her period returns. The bleeding may have been ovulation bleeding, some hormonal bleeding related to weaning, a light first period, or possibly implantation bleeding. Because of this, I would recommend that you rule out a pregnancy and, if not pregnant, assume your fertility has returned and begin using a back-up form of birth control if you are not wanting to conceive again right away.
It is not unusual for your body to take a few cycles to get regulated again into a normal cyclic pattern similar to what you had pre-pregnancy - and some never quite do. But because it is possible to ovulate before actually having a period, I'm always leery when breastfeeding moms start to wean.
I would suggest waiting another 7-10 days and testing again. If those results are negative, you can either wait to see if your periods resume in the next 30 days or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.
Brenda
