For my son, we managed it on the first try. From what I gather that’s a typical thing with my family. I know that breastfeeding as a form of birth control is not a reliable method. So far it has surpressed ovulation for me. It’s not a method that my husband and I are really putting much trust in, just that we’re not exactly being too smart when it comes to avoiding #2.
My next door neighbor was breastfeeding full term twins, on demand, exclusively.
Four weeks after that birth, her husband “got too lonely to wait.” She was pregnant. She had three infants in ten months, breast feeding all of them.
My two youngest daughters are 11 months apart. The second was conceived while her mom was exclusively breastfeeding on demand. I was on the waiting list (HMO) for a vasectomy at the time.
I read up a little bit on LAM (Lactation Amennorheal Method, I think) when I was pregnant with my first. If I recall correctly, you must exclusively breastfeed, which means no pacifiers, no bottles for any reason, nothing in the mouth except the breast. The FAQ I read even said that if the child starts thumbsucking, you should not use the method. You also have to have not had a period, and it only works for the first six months postpartum. And the breastfeeding has to be on demand, with no attempts to put the child on a schedule or delay feedings for any reason.
There were just a few too many rules for me, plus which I don’t think I would have trusted it anyway.
It just sounds so “bull-shtty” to me. And I won’t rely on something that iffy in the case of something really important…
YMMV, obviously.