Congratulations! Your baby is here, and you and your child have made it through the childbirth experience in excellent health and in high spirits. Your obstetrician may have talked to you about birth control while you were still pregnant. It’s something that you should consider after giving birth, especially if you don’t plan on immediately getting pregnant again. Doctors typically recommend that you don’t resume sexual activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks after giving birth. Still, it would help if you thought about your birth control options. Here are some things you should consider before you make your choice.
Are You Suffering From Postpartum Depression?
One thing you should consider when contemplating going on birth control after giving birth is postpartum depression. Some hormonal birth control methods may increase any symptoms. As a result, you should let your healthcare provider know if you are experiencing depression or any other symptoms that are indicative of postpartum depression. Some of the symptoms include:
- Inability to sleep
- Increased mood swings
- Decreased appetite
- Lack of desire to bond with your newborn
How Do You Want to Space Out Your Children?
Do you want to have your children close in age? Do you want a little bit of time in between? Would you like to take a couple of years to raise your newborn before bringing your next child into the world? These are all vital questions to ask yourself to plan your life, and plan your use of birth control, as well. If you want to have another child in 3 to 5 years as opposed to 18 months, your birth control considerations may be different.
Did You Have a Difficult Labor?
Did you have a C-section or particularly difficult labor and delivery? Depending upon how you are recovering from either will also determine whether or not you’re ready to begin birth control again or when you are prepared to start birth control for the first time.
What Kind of Birth Control Will You Use?
The combination pill and the mini pill are very effective methods of birth control. The combination pill has a 99.9% effectiveness rate, while the mini-pill has a 95% effectiveness rate. Depending upon your choice, you take a daily dose of the hormones progestin and/or estrogen. These hormones act to thin your uterine lining or prevent the release of an egg from your ovary. The ring is a hormonal method which is inserted in the vagina for a period from 3 to 5 weeks. The shot is an intravenous injection of the hormones progestin and estrogen every 12 weeks. The patch is applied to your skin, stays on for a week, and uses both hormones.
If you are nursing your newborn and want to resume birth control, you should find out if the method will adversely affect your baby. Most gynecologists will prescribe hormonal birth control that contains progesterone only.
If you have additional questions, you can always visit the Nurx website to learn more about gynecological consultation as well as different forms of popular birth control. This may be a great option for you because you’re so busy with the baby you may not want to take the time out to go visit a gynecologist until you definitely have to. Now you have to take along an infant to your Gyn appointment. You can learn how online prescriptions and consultations can be a great time saver.