Just had a baby?
When you have just had a baby contraception maybe the last thing on your mind but it’s never too early to start thinking about it.
You can get pregnant after 3 weeks of having a baby, even if you are breastfeeding and your periods have not returned.
If you are not breastfeeding some of the options you might consider are:
- You can start taking the combined pill 21 days after your baby is born.
- You can start taking the progestogen only pill 21 days after your baby is born.
- You can have the contraceptive injection (Depo-Provera) when your baby is 6 weeks old and this will protect you against pregnancy for 3 months. If you want the injection you will have to use alternative contraception from when your baby is three weeks old until you have your injection, otherwise you risk getting pregnant again.
- You can have the contraceptive implant 21 days after having your baby. The implant will protect you against pregnancy for 3 years
- If you want to have a coil (IUD or IUS) fitted, this can be done 4 weeks after your baby is born.
- You can use male/female condoms that will protect against pregnancy and STI’s
If you are breastfeeding it is usually recommended that you wait until baby is 6 weeks old before using the combined pill, contraceptive patch and vaginal ring.