Is breastfeeding a reliable contraceptive?

It is quite true that breastfeeding is a natural birth control — but its effectiveness can vary from one woman to another depending on many contributing factors. There is the lactational amenorrhoea (absence of menstrual periods) whereby if the following factors are present, they have less than 2% chance of falling pregnant: your period hasn’t returned yet; baby is less than six months old; you are breastfeeding on demand during the day (minimum of 4-hourly) and breastfeeding on demand during the night (minimum of 6-hourly) and; baby is receiving no other feeds. And remember, as soon as your ovary follicles secrete the right levels of oestrogen again, and before you menstruate your first postnatal period, you will ovulate.