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lambchopwife
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 7:00am | IP Logged
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Hello Ladies,
I am posting here because I know you guys can help me. I am due with our 5th baby anyday now and need to practice NFP asap. The dr. said if I get pregnant again I could rupture and die. The reason being this will be my 5th c-section and I got pregnant when my son was 5months old. He said it would be fine if I wait at least a year. Here is my problem, I live in Okinawa and there are no NFP classes here and I thought well okay i will use the Clearblue easy ovulation monitor or the Ladycomp(temp) well apparently none of these work if you are breastfeeding!  I have tried the mucus method before and I just am one of those people who shouldn't rely on that(it is how I got here  )So, if any of you ladies have used the monitors while breastfeeding or have any suggestions please let me know! The only other option I have is abstinence and I know my hubby won't like that! 
Thanks ladies!!!
Cheryl
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LLMom
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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Cheryl,
CCL offers a home study course. I don't know if that would help. I do know that it is hard to determine much if you are breastfeeding, but they do have suggestions in their book.
Are the doctors worried about you rupturing THIS time? Why are they concerned about next time right now? Does it have something to do with the number of babies? Why would 6 be the magical number but not 4 or 5 for that matter? I know women have had many c-sections (more than 6) and haven't ruptured, but some doctors are very scared of lawsuits but don't really have a basis for their fears. Just wondering if it might help to talk to other women who have had many c-secs and/or some pro-life doctors. One more soul is a good resource to find doctors. Even if there isn't one in your area, someone may be willing to talk to you about if there really is a danger. Some secular doctors (along with the media) really hype stuff like this up (as well as things like how dangerous and risky it is to have a baby over 40, etc.) I am not trying to make light of your situation but just wondering if you have questioned your doctors and talked to other women who have gone through it. It can all be very scary and confusing.
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 12:00pm | IP Logged
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Her doctor isn't saying never have any more babies, but to give her body a year before trying again. I've had the same advice. You are at higher risk now that you got pregnant so quickly after the previous c-section.
The presence of fertile type of fluid would make you need to abstain. I hope you can get some help to be able to watch your signs. You'll have some windows I'm sure.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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LLMom
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 12:06pm | IP Logged
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Ok, sorry about that. I see now early on in the post she said that she needs to use NFP asap because if she gets pregnant she could rupture and die but then further on says he says to wait at least a year. Sorry. I don't even have the excuse of pregnancy brain. 
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 12:08pm | IP Logged
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I agree with Lisa.. while there is risks to an increased number of c-sections.. a midwife friend who's had to have c-sections herself and pointed out that the risk of rupture doesn't usually hold water as a reason.
Also, I have been able to use the sympto-thermal method (CCL) while breastfeeding successfully. And I taught myself.. never took a class.
The monitors that tell you when you are ovulating aren't going to help you. They don't show ovulation until very close to (or after) you ovulate.. and with a sperm life of 4 days (sometimes more) you could think you're "safe" and then ovulate soon enough to get pregnant.. and they don't show for sure that you have ovulated.. only that your body attempted it. So you could think you ovulated when you didn't and then ovulate when you think you're safe. Temps are the only things that shows for sure if you actually ovulated or not (that or serial ultrasounds so you can see ovulation).
Also, the stats that CCL has.. with "ecological breastfeeding" they say that there's very little chance of getting pregnant in the first 6 months AS LONG AS you haven't started having your period again.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 2:05pm | IP Logged
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lambchopwife wrote:
The reason being this will be my 5th c-section and I got pregnant when my son was 5months old.
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Cheryl, I was told way-back-when that c-section deliveries should be at least 14 months apart. But then it never was an issue for us (6 c-sections) because my fertility doesn't return until after I stop nursing, around 15 months, so our babies are roughly two years apart.
I remember looking up the rupture statistics and they are quite improbable unless you have a particular history. Even though I'm nervous about future c/s, we take it one baby at a time, one surgery at a time. I'm sorry that the doctor used such scary language with you for such an unlikely event.
Enjoy these wonderful days of anticipation of the new baby and God bless your growing family!
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Molly Smith in VA
Mom to seven beautiful children, ages 1-14
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mary theresa
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 3:44pm | IP Logged
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Cheryl,
I have used sympto-thermal method during breastfeeding. Actually, it's mostly "thermal" because my mucous signs are not reliable as well. The temperature shifts has always been there clearly for me as early as two months PP. You could have to abstain for a good month or so to figure out what is going on with your temps, if it is shifting or not, etc.
You can PM me if you want more information.
Good luck with your delivery! And God bless!
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Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
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Sparrow
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 5:33pm | IP Logged
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Regarding breastfeeding, if your baby is under 6 months, and is EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding (NO bottles, NO formula, NO solids) and nursing at least once at night, your chances of getting pregnant are 1-2% Usually when moms tell me they got pregnant while breastfeeding a baby under 6 months, I find they've been giving supplements/solids, which would explain the return to fertility (though SOMEONE has to be in the 1-2%!)
Good luck with your pregnancy and delivery :) My first 2 were c/s and my 3rd was a vaginal birth, I got the spiel about the risk of UR, but I took the time to research it all myself and planned my delivery to minimize the risk of rupture as much as possible (no induction or augmentation with pitocin, for example). It went great!
There is an increased risk of complication with multiple cesareans, but it's still a safe procedure and unless there is something specific about your uterus that's increasing your chances of morbidity, I think the doctor is being alarmist and I would seek a second opinion.
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folklaur
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 5:49pm | IP Logged
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Sparrow wrote:
| Regarding breastfeeding, if your baby is under 6 months, and is EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding (NO bottles, NO formula, NO solids) and nursing at least once at night, |
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This is one of those "usually but not always" cases. I breastfed my son exclusively, on demand, MANY times a night, with no supplements/solids/pacifiers of any kind at all, ever. My fertility returned almost immediately, along with my monthly cycles. (I felt extremely gypped  .) The same with next dd. There's always exceptions.
For NFP, I always just used temp-method only.
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mary theresa
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 7:50pm | IP Logged
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Sparrow wrote:
| Regarding breastfeeding, if your baby is under 6 months, and is EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding (NO bottles, NO formula, NO solids) and nursing at least once at night, your chances of getting pregnant are 1-2% |
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Hmm. I so WISH this were true! I nurse exclusively, aroudn three times per night and my fertility (not just a period, but ovulation as well) has returned at 2 mos with my first and 3 months with my second. Almost every one of my friends -- 5 out of the 7 that I can think of right now -- has had their fertility return in under 6 months. And all of them have exclusivly breastfed.
I feel gypped too, Laura. 
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Mary Theresa
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 8:02pm | IP Logged
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But it's not true.. it's only true UNTIL you have a period.. after that your odds are go up. The odds are very low for ovulating before the first period in the first 6 months.. but after that first one, the chances change dramatically..
You do have to list ALL the factors.. and that statement does not.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Helen
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 9:21pm | IP Logged
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mary theresa wrote:
Sparrow wrote:
| Regarding breastfeeding, if your baby is under 6 months, and is EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding (NO bottles, NO formula, NO solids) and nursing at least once at night, your chances of getting pregnant are 1-2% |
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Hmm. I so WISH this were true! I nurse exclusively, aroudn three times per night and my fertility (not just a period, but ovulation as well) has returned at 2 mos with my first and 3 months with my second. Almost every one of my friends -- 5 out of the 7 that I can think of right now -- has had their fertility return in under 6 months. And all of them have exclusivly breastfed.
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Well, I just have to tell you Ladies, that you've given me such a ray of hope!! My doctor "warned" me (nothing like you Cheryl!) that breastfeeding exclusively wasn't going to guarantee a ban on pregnancy. (He has a client who is expecting 4 months post partum.) I thought he was just saying nice things to me.
(I have a three month old now after 14 years of secondary infertility.)
But, after my first pregnancy,
(when I was ... ehem... younger ,)
at one week after delivery, I was in the cardiologist office with heart problems. He told me that if I didn't practice artificial birth control, I would have a stroke and leave my newborn an orphan (He said this while pointing at my baby --I'm not exaggerating.)
I was newly married (9 months). My whole life had changed in the course of a year. I wasn't sure about my fertility status (I had had a honeymoon baby). I went home pretty shaken but determined not to use artificial birthcontrol no matter what they said.
I followed the CCL guidelines mentioned above and trusted in God.
But, it probably didn't matter in the end. I didn't have natural fertility ... six adoptions followed.
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Ave Maria!
Mom to 5 girls and 3 boys
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Stephanie_Q
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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It sounds like you're looking for something like this. Unlike the fertility monitors that you mentioned, these can be used while breastfeeding and the test strips are pretty inexpensive.
I have a 16month old and have been using these to help keep tabs on my fertility as I continue nursing, charting, and experiencing variable return of peak type mucus. After the birth of my first, I've ovulated (and conceived) each of my children before having a period, which makes it difficult to determine a due date.
As Jodie mentioned, "The LH surge is used to predict a release of mature ovum within 24-48 hours, at which the patient is most likely to become pregnant." We know (from experience) that sperm can live longer than 24-48 hours in the right conditions. If you scroll down on the website I linked, under Result Interpretation, Positive Result: Possible Ovulation there is another link that shows a chart which relates basal temperature to LH surge and test window results to help you understand it and decide if this kind of test may be helpful in your situation.
God bless you and your husband!
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Stephanie dh 6.01
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Need Help
