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Can You Use Breastfeeding for Birth Control? An OB-GYN Explains
In this video, OB-GYN Kecia Gaither, MD, explains how breastfeeding can be used as birth control and the proper steps to do it effectively.
Written by Lauren Smith, MA | Reviewed by Alexandra Schwarz, MD
Updated on March 24, 2024Breastfeeding could keep you from getting pregnant? This one sure sounds like a hoax, but breastfeeding can help prevent pregnancy under very specific circumstances. It’s a form of birth control known as the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM).
But — and this is important — you do have to follow specific guidelines to ensure you do not accidentally get pregnant while breastfeeding, according to OB-GYN Kecia Gaither, MD.
Additional Medical Contributors
- Kecia Gaither, MD, MPH, MS, MBA, FACOGDr. Gaither, an ob-gyn and maternal fetal medicine specialist, is director of perinatal services at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a member of NYC Health + Hospitals System in Bronx, New York.
References
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2023). Postpartum birth control.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Birth control methods.
View All References (1)
Planned Parenthood. (n.d.). Breastfeeding.
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