Birth Control Options After Pregnancy: Safety, Breastfeeding & Health Risks

Question
I think I read somewhere that women who are at higher risk for diabetes/heart disease can't take certain birth control pills ... but then I also read that you have to take certain ones to continue breastfeeding.  I'm confused.  Are there pills that are safe for breastfeeding AND that won't increase the risk of diabetes or heart disease?  What about sex drive?  All of the birth control pills I've tried in the past completely wiped out my sex drive.

Answer
If you are breastfeeding and take estrogen-containing birth control pills, there is a tendency to lower the amount of milk production. For this reason, we recommend only the "mini-pill" which only contains progesterone rather than the combination estrogen-progesterone pill. It does not work as well as the regular estrogen-progesterone pill, but when you stop nursing you can switch to the regular pill. There are no special birth control pills for women with diabetes or heart disease. It is safe to take any birth control pill if you have diabetes or heart disease. Pill have different effects on the libido for different women. However, in general, the pills do not lower sex drive.