In Sweeden, and a few other countries, they've done some AMAZING studies on this.
Come to find;
- There is a chemical reaction between a baby's saliva and the nipple/areola. Hence, how the milk your body produces changes with your little one's needs.
- Exclusive breast feeding for BC ONLY works if the infant is EXCLUSIVELY breastfed. AKA, no solids, purees, juices, OR WATER. Nothing, nada, zilch, except for breast milk. The babies saliva tells our bodies that essentailly, we're beginning to wean, and therefore it's time to get ready to be pregnant again... even if it's just plain old H20.
From what I've read, a woman has an equal chance of getting pregnant while nursing as she does while NOT nursing, if her baby has been introduced to other forms of nutrition/hydration. The studies done in socialized medicine countries are HUGE, compared to our teensy weensy ones. Socialized med. countries researchers can plug in relevant data, (without ever knowing the patient's name) and work in studies of hundreds of thousands...over decades. Here in the US a "BIG" study is usually 1500-2500.
Of course, that doesn't really take into account that many of our bodies are survivalists, that don't allow implantation of an ova when we're stressed (ummm...hello? a new mum stressed? No way!) or malnourished (aka dieting...we don't do that either, do we?). And, so too, that's a study in a country where mum's AND get a year to a year and a half of paid maternity leave.
So in short:
- Rest
- Relax
- Have fantastic sex (okay, that's just my 2 cents, count it in the relaxation column)
- Eat for 3 (oh darn. Pass the pizza?)
- Make sure your young one is not exclusively nursing
Good luck!