How long after childbirth can you get pregnant

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Download our English and Spanish health action sheets on birth spacing. To download this health action sheet, enter your email in the box below. In This Topic. Premature babies are more likely to have health problems than babies born on time. I wanted them to be really close in age. And close in age they were. It was kind of impressive, actually. As a labor and delivery nurse, I saw the same mothers coming back almost exactly nine months later more often than you would think.

So exactly how easy is it to get pregnant right after you have a baby? Breastfeeding , in theory, is supposed to prolong the return of the menstrual cycle , especially in the first six months postpartum.

But exactly how long breastfeeding can delay the return of fertility varies. It depends how often and regularly a baby nurses, how long the baby will sleep for stretches at a time, and environmental factors, such as:. By clicking the button, you agree to our policies and to get emails from us.

Join BabyCentre. Sign up to receive free emails and track your baby's development. Track my baby. You might also like. Most popular in Life as a parent. See all in Community. See all in Getting Pregnant. You may want to use a personal lubricant, available from pharmacies, to begin with. You may be worried about changes to your body or getting pregnant again. Men may worry about hurting their partner. It might be some time before you want to have sex. Until then, both of you can carry on being loving and close in other ways.

If you or your partner have any worries, talk about them together. You can talk with your health visitor or GP if you need some more help. You can get pregnant as little as 3 weeks after the birth of a baby, even if you're breastfeeding and your periods haven't started again.

Unless you want to get pregnant again, it's important to use some kind of contraception every time you have sex after giving birth, including the first time. You'll usually have a chance to discuss contraception before you leave hospital after your baby is born, and again at your postnatal check.