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Postpartum Menstrual & Mothers Age

A mom from one of my breastfeeding groups asked the following question:

Do you think that (in general), it takes longer for a postpartum menstrual to show up as we get older/with each subsequent pregnancy? I imagine the stories are incredibly varied, I'm just curious if there is a trend. - M

Findings: Although there are going to be variations because every woman's situation with breastfeeding, age, genetics, what they did or did not do to get their postpartum menstrual back and their child's temperament is going to be different. However, it does seem some mothers have gotten their postpartum menstrual later with each subsequent pregnancy so far in my examples. And that could be a mere coincidence that the different women who volunteered to share this information received their postpartum menstrual later after subsequent pregnancies, there could be some women out there who received theirs earlier than the time before or some that follow no pattern, but are a mixture.

So does age affect/play a role when postpartum menstrual returns? Maybe. 

According to La Lache League (LLL) in the article LLL: Breastfeeding & Fertility, Dr. Herbert Ratner says it is baby's sucking that controls mother's ovulation, and the more baby has a need to suck, he or she is not ready to be displaced by another. The less he or she sucks, the more ready and ability for baby to cope with being displaced by a new sibling. Norma Jane B. who wrote Mothering Your Nursing Toddler discusses if a mother were to cut back on nursing for 6-8 weeks, especially at night, it might help in the return of their fertility. So it seems to be the theory for this often goes back to how much baby is nursing as one of the biggest factors that might indicate whether fertility may or may not return to the mother.  If age is a factor, it's probably not the biggest. 

Examples of First Postpartum Menstrual Returns
Age
Baby #
Postpartum Menstrual
Alissa *
41
1
13 months postpartum
Alice *
40
1
12 months postpartum
Ivy *
39
1
14 months postpartum
Lilly *
35
1
10 months postpartum
Julie *
35
1
13.5 months postpartum
Bailey *
34
1
14 months postpartum
Marie *
33
1
10 months postpartum
Ashley *
33
1
7 months postpartum
Mona *
32
1
22 months postpartum

To see some graphs of when some moms got their postpartum menstrual back, click this link: Postpartum Menstrual Graphs
This reminds me of the nurture vs nature question. Which one is it? Sometimes I think the simplest answer is to say both. The real question to ask and to discover is how much of what area is playing a part. Most moms go about discovering what combinations are affecting their fertility by weaning, reducing nursing sessions,  whether nursling is sleeping through the night or sleeping longer through the night with less waking up to nurse, whether supplements or fertility meds give the extra push. To find out more about what combination, go to this link: What Might Help Bring Postpartum Menstrual

 Sources
1. Foster, Christine. "Breastfeeding and Fertility." New Beginnings 23.5 (September-October 2006): 196-200. La Leche League International. La Leche League International, 14 Oct. 2007. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://www.llli.org/nb/nbsepoct06p196.html>.

 Last Edited: May 19, 2017
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