When does the cycle start again after giving birth?

Are you breastfeeding?

Not exactly an uplifting story, maybe, but I gave birth last August and now, 10 months later, there’s still no sign of my period.

People usually point pretty quickly to breastfeeding when your cycle doesn’t return, but that’s not necessarily the case. What I didn’t read much about right after my delivery was this: if your cycle doesn’t return and you’re breastfeeding, everyone blames the breastfeeding; if your cycle doesn’t return and you’re NOT breastfeeding, then it’s ‘obviously’ something else.

I know women who exclusively breastfed and still got their period after 3, 4, or 5 months. What my lactation consultant told me about this is that generally, your cycle returns when there are (about) 8 hours between feedings (in most cases, when night feeds drop off).

I also hope something will come soon for me, but nature can’t be rushed (unfortunately).

Here with breastfeeding indeed after about 6 months. By the way, I still gave night feeds then, so there wasn't a structured 8 hours in between.

I breastfed for 4 months after my daughter was born. Unfortunately, I stopped pretty quickly when I went back to work, even though I could pump at work whenever I wanted. My body just didn't cooperate. But it still took a full year for my period to even come back, and now that my little one is a bit older than 1.5, I can finally say I'm regular. With my first baby, who sadly passed away during birth, it also took about 6 months before I was regular again, but then I got pregnant right away. Your body probably needs some time to get things back on track.

I gave birth to twins and got my period again six weeks later. Since then, it's been super regular.. 28 days apart.. But I didn't breastfeed.

@J&S, to be honest, I haven't really thought about doctor visits yet. Apart from the 6-week postpartum check-up, I haven't seen a doctor. I'm not sure if I want to go on the pill or hormones. It took a really long time for contraception and everything to leave my body, so I've decided not to start anything new until we're done with our desire for children.

There are also pills that actually kickstart your cycle instead of temporarily making you infertile. A visit to your doctor to simply discuss the options and their pros and cons can’t hurt. After that, you can make a better decision about what suits you.

I also had a very irregular cycle. I went to a homeopath and got some pills from them to help regulate my ovulation naturally. I was pregnant that very month! I thought that was better than the pills from my GP... There's so much junk in those... I'm quite a fan of homeopathy....

When I stopped breastfeeding after seven months, I got my period soon after. My daughter was already sleeping through the night after a month and a half... So I'm pretty sure breastfeeding plays a big role in fertility...