Some Musings on Ecological Breastfeeding (Tuesday, August 13, 2019)
The other day I attended a book study at a local church. A fellow mom asked me the ages of my children. I told her 20, 17, 14, 11 and 7. She then responded, “You must have planned that!” Actually, the truth is – I didn’t. After my first was born and my cycles returned at 21 months postpartum, I was still breastfeeding and did not get pregnant for a few months. As I had more children, my cycles took longer to come back, and I got pregnant sooner when they did.
So what was my secret? The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding! I first read about ecological breastfeeding in Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing by Sheila Kippley while pregnant with my first child. What a blessing to read such an inspirational book and to have such great information so early on as a mom! It really spoke to my heart. I can’t remember where I first heard about the book; it was either at my local La Leche League meeting or in the Kippleys’ original NFP book (they have since published a new updated book, Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach).
I planned to stay home full time with my baby, so I knew I could easily follow most of the Seven Standards. At first, I made lots of mistakes. Our first week as a breastfeeding dyad did not go well. I was not latching him well, and so he lost a significant amount of weight. We worked with an LC and our doctor and things turned around quickly, thank goodness! One time, I left my son with my mom to go visit a friend. I lost track of time and was out longer than I had planned to be. When I returned home, I found out my son had been crying for some time. I felt awful! Also, I confess I was not very proficient about setting up a safe bedsharing environment in the early days. My ecological breastfeeding blunder list could go on and on. New moms are often filled with so much anxiety because we want to get it right! Eventually over time, I relaxed. If you are a first time mom reading this, rest assured that you will, too!
The Seven Standards really just became the natural thing to do. Then, with later children, I was so comfortable offering the breast for nourishment and comfort during the day wherever we happened to be and while bedsharing at night, that my lengths of lactational amenorrhea kept increasing. After my fourth son was born, I went 29 months without cycles and then 31 months after my daughter was born.
The other day I read in an NFP group how some doctors tell their patients that breastfeeding is not birth control. I would not call it birth control exactly, but I would call it a loving way to space your family. It sure successfully spaced my children! According to Sheila Kippley’s research, it looks like I am not alone in my experience with ecological breastfeeding. She found that…
“About 70% of EBF mothers experience their first menstruation between 9 and 20 months postpartum. The average return of menstruation for EBF mothers in the North American culture is between 14 and 15 months. For those couples who desire 18 to 30 months between the births of their children, ecological breastfeeding will usually be sufficient.”
Give ecological breastfeeding a try! You will help your milk supply, bond with your baby, acquire quite a few health benefits for you and your baby, and you just might space your family without needing to chart NFP!
By Gina Peterson
Catholic Nursing Mothers League
https://catholicbreastfeeding.blogspot.com/