Breastfeeding suppressing ovulation

[mommamaree]

This is the section in the Catechism…
The FIRST paragraph speaks on how it the motives (ENDS) must not be for selfish reasons.
The SECOND paragraph speaks on how the actions themselves from meet certain criteria (MEANS must be open to life)…

Good point, Em.

It is not a sinful intent to avoid a pregnancy for a time. We do not have to actively intend a pregnancy.

Intent: to suppress ovulation to postpone pregnancy.
Means: Lactation-induced Amenhorea (sp?)
End: temporary infertility and no pregnancy

I don’t see any moral issue here.

 

[zawny]

I think perhaps an extreme idea would be, mom does not nurse her baby, but pumps hourly, throws the milk out so she can be sterile.

.

Right, can we induce infertility through a natural mechanism?

 

[KellyPalmer]

Breastfeeding is amoral… there are perfectly moral reasons that many women may have to use formula. Breastfeeding is indeed a gift from God, but it’s not a requirement for moral living.

Also, God created the natural cycling of a woman’s fertility (including the effect that BF’ing has on it)… observing that and choosing when/if to have sexual relations around that is where morality comes into play - we have to prayerfully discern if that is being driven by selfishness.

I agree that breastfeeding is not a requirement for moral living and there are plenty of valid reasons that a woman may not breastfeed. That said, I’m not sure I would agree that breastfeeding is amoral. I’d have to spend more time in thought on that one. How could a gift from God be amoral?

I’m looking at this from a different angle. Yes, we should prayerfully discern our motivations behind all of our actions – no dispute there. But in the instance of ovulation suppression by way of breastfeeding, this is the path laid out for us by God. It’s written in our DNA and in our baby’s DNA. Just like having sex during our fertile periods. These two things are what God created our body to do even outside of our own desires. Both are biological. Is it OK to observe the design of God and work around it, morally? Yes, in some cases. Abstaining from sex and NOT breastfeeding would be 2 cases that warrant more careful prayer discernment IMO.

I wish I was better at explaining myself. Not to change anyone’s mind but to give a better understanding of where I’m coming from. We always need to examine our motives but once we determine that our motives are in line with God then I think we are OK.

 

[thewanderer]

Wanderer,
Happily I can tell you that you are wrong about this. You will find out if/when you go through with nursing your first child. And then, you will be happy to discover you were wrong. Nursing is no easy task. It is a great sacrifice where the body of the mother is literally “broken down” to feed her baby. It is a beautiful and rewarding sacrifice, one that tends to become so special that it grieves a mom when the baby weans itself someday. Intending to breastfeed longer than the Western norm is good for the baby and the mommy. Suppressing ovulative due to prolonged breastfeeding, or due to another pregnancy reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. Prolonged breastfeeding reduces risk of breast cancer. Not to mention how toddlers can thrive from continued BFing. Also, postponing another pregnancy allows the mother and baby more time to enjoy babyhood and nursing. It is built into the design of the woman’s body. God wants it that way. We should be so happy for that. I know that I am, since I have had only a few months here and there where I had my fertility return before I reached the stage where our family and my body could handle another baby!

Again, I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. I definitely plan on breastfeeding my children and doing so for long periods of time. I see nothing wrong with breastfeeding itself of any kind, whether partial, ecological, prolonged etc. What I am concerned about is a particular intention that can sometimes co-incide with breastfeeding, not the breastfeeding itself.

 

[Em_in_FL]

I agree that breastfeeding is not a requirement for moral living and there are plenty of valid reasons that a woman may not breastfeed. That said, I’m not sure I would agree that breastfeeding is amoral. I’d have to spend more time in thought on that one. How could a gift from God be amoral?

Amoral means that it is neither moral or immoral. Choosing to breastfeed doesn’t make you more moral. Choosing (for whatever reason) not to breastfeed doesn’t make you immoral.

I’m looking at this from a different angle. Yes, we should prayerfully discern our motivations behind all of our actions – no dispute there. But in the instance of ovulation suppression by way of breastfeeding, this is the path laid out for us by God. It’s written in our DNA and in our baby’s DNA. Just like having sex during our fertile periods. These two things are what God created our body to do even outside of our own desires. Both are biological. Is it OK to observe the design of God and work around it, morally? Yes, in some cases. Abstaining from sex and NOT breastfeeding would be 2 cases that warrant more careful prayer discernment IMO.

I wish I was better at explaining myself. Not to change anyone’s mind but to give a better understanding of where I’m coming from. We always need to examine our motives but once we determine that our motives are in line with God then I think we are OK.

I’m not disagreeing with what you’re saying here at all…
I’m talking to the original poster who seems to be looking to *use *breastfeeding with the INTENT of fertility suppression (read some of her posts). Fertility suppression is indeed a God-given SIDE EFFECT - a blessing in many cases… it is quite a subtle distinction with the INTENT. But I GET what you’re saying…

 

[The_Bucket]

Right, can we induce infertility through a natural mechanism?

It doesn’t actually work that way though. Just ask my wife! We had to pump and bottle feed with our son because he was very premature. Her cycles came back in three months.

With our daughter, she nursed with the LAM requirements and continued at a fairly brisk pace until she turned one. Then it was more intermittent with solids fully introduced and all. Cycles did not come back until 14-15 months.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

Right, can we induce infertility through a natural mechanism?

Are you asking if this is ethical? (Mom pumps and dumps, does not feed baby the milk to have no cycles…) I guess it would depend.

Is she doing so to be sterile to have sterilized relations…then that would be unethical.

I actually had to pump and dump. Baby was very ill in the NICU with a sepsis infection. Since preemies have very poor immune systems, my milk actually was the cause of the sepsis, I passed thrush to him which turned into a sepsis infection. I pumped and dumped to keep my milk supply up for when he was better. I did nothing illicit by pumping and dumping.

Induced sterility is a problem when the goal is to have infertile relations. There are many medical conditions where temporary sterility happens following a licit medical treatment…

I think that if nursing a baby results in a lack of cycles, it’s a pleasant gift from God.

 

[Em_in_FL]

Is she doing so to be sterile to have sterilized relations…then that would be unethical.

 

[mommamaree]

The whole point is that suppressing ovulation is not what Science shows to be a good thing. Scinece show that spacing children is a good thing and this is possible through either complete or periodic abstinance. If one knows that they currently happen to be infertile then they can safely have relations, if they know they are currently fertile then they will have to abstain. Most women are infertile while breastfeeding, so, using periodic abstinance, they have no reason to need to abstain while infertile.

Nobody is saying that bf is wrong or that you have to make your cycles come back even while breastfeeding, what is being said is that you shouldn’t use bf as a tool for making yourself infertile. Yes, it will probably make you infertile, and that is totally fine, nothing wrong with that, just don’t go around planning on using it for the sake of making yourself infertile. This is a subtle distinction.

The red bolded statement is incorrect, Wanderer.
Suppressing ovulation, whether due to BFing or pregnancy, is very very very good for a mother’s body in the long term. God designed a woman’s body to be able to bring to birth and nourish multiple babies, and mothers who practice BFing and have multiple, full-term pregnancies (both of which suppress ovulation) reduces the rates of all cancers in the mother’s body. The monthly cycle of hormonal fluctuations, with no breaks for BFing or pregnancy, can put a woman at higher risk, especially for ovarian and breast cancers. Suppressing ovulation by supporting the baby God has already given you, through pregnancy and then BFing is very very good. The science is there! And it backs up what the Church has always taught about the goodness of childbearing.

 

[thewanderer]

I agree that it’s always wise to be careful about our motivations. Where I think we are having either a disagreement or a misunderstanding is on the issue of motivations – I think it’s ok to be motivated by God’s design. In the case of breastfeeding, I don’t think it’s some neutral accident that breastfeeding tends to suppress ovulation. I believe this is part of God’s design and how could it be wrong to be motivated by God’s design? It’s God given. When we try to avoid pregnancy through our own plan, we have to be much more careful about what is motivating us. But when we follow God’s plan, we an rejoice in His motivations and His reasons can be our reasons without any fear of wrong intent. I agree with what mommamaree states about what God wants for us.

I see where you are coming from, I just can’t quite agree. I mean, I agree entirely that the infertility that comes with breastfeeding is a part of God’s design, just as the periodic infertility a woman experiences every month as well as that of menopause are also a part of God’s design. I get that and I agree with you. Breastfeeding, even prolonged breastfeeding, is a good thing. But the only way I can make head or tails of the distinction the Church makes between ABC and NFP is by saying that the one is immoral precisely because in it a person is taking some action that is intended to remove fertility from sexuality, whether it is by rendering the person or the act infertile. NFP, on the otherhand, does not deliberately make either a person or the act infertile. If you breastfeed for the sake of rendering yourself infertile I cannot see how you can escape from falling into the first category of performing an action which will render yourself infertile for the sake of being infertile. So the only way that Church teaching on ABC and NFP can make any sense to me necessarily dictates that breastfeeding should never be used with the intention to render oneself infertile. Like I said before, that doesn’t mean breastfeeding, or even ecological breastfeeding is wrong, but just make sure the reasons you are doing it are not motivated from a desire to render oneself infertile.

 

[thewanderer]

The red bolded statement is incorrect, Wanderer.
Suppressing ovulation, whether due to BFing or pregnancy, is very very very good for a mother’s body in the long term. God designed a woman’s body to be able to bring to birth and nourish multiple babies, and mothers who practice BFing and have multiple, full-term pregnancies (both of which suppress ovulation) reduces the rates of all cancers in the mother’s body. The monthly cycle of hormonal fluctuations, with no breaks for BFing or pregnancy, can put a woman at higher risk, especially for ovarian and breast cancers. Suppressing ovulation by supporting the baby God has already given you, through pregnancy and then BFing is very very good. The science is there! And it backs up what the Church has always taught about the goodness of childbearing.

Yes, I was mistaken about that statement but that does not change the main point that I was making. Just because something is beneficial (suppressing ovulation) that doesn’t mean that it is always morally permissible.

 

[KellyPalmer]

Amoral means that it is neither moral or immoral. Choosing to breastfeed doesn’t make you more moral. Choosing (for whatever reason) not to breastfeed doesn’t make you immoral.

I’m not disagreeing with what you’re saying here at all…
I’m talking to the original poster who seems to be looking to *use *breastfeeding with the INTENT of fertility suppression (read some of her posts). Fertility suppression is indeed a God-given SIDE EFFECT - a blessing in many cases… it is quite a subtle distinction with the INTENT. But I GET what you’re saying…

I actually think choosing to breastfeed does make me more moral than if I did not choose to breastfeed. Does that mean everyone who chooses not to breastfeed is less moral? No! I don’t think this is good logic. For example, becoming a Priest is moral but that doesn’t mean choosing not to become a Priest makes one immoral. In the case of sex, having sex with my husband whereby I give myself to him fully is a moral action. Doing so during my fertile times is a moral action. Abstaining during my fertile times isn’t immoral but can be if I have the wrong intent.

There are tons of side-effects of breastfeeding. I mean, what is the main result? That the baby is fed? So other side-effects are that baby has less illness, baby’s health risks are reduced, babies chance of death is reduced, baby’s gut is properly colonized, baby’s required to be kept in mom’s arms more often, baby may have less tummy troubles, baby’s diapers may be less stinky, baby’s future risk of breast cancer is reduced, mom’s uterus is able to clamp down more efficiently, mom’s postpartum risks are reduced, mom’s fertility may be suppressed, mom’s risk of heart disease is lowered, mom’s risk of various cancers is lowered, and on and on and on. If these things play into our intent, how could that ever be wrong? God gave us these side-effects for our good, the good of our baby and the good of society. Lack of breastfeeding puts a major strain on our economy and our society as a whole.

 

[KellyPalmer]

I see where you are coming from, I just can’t quite agree. I mean, I agree entirely that the infertility that comes with breastfeeding is a part of God’s design, just as the periodic infertility a woman experiences every month as well as that of menopause are also a part of God’s design. I get that and I agree with you. Breastfeeding, even prolonged breastfeeding, is a good thing. But the only way I can make head or tails of the distinction the Church makes between ABC and NFP is by saying that the one is immoral precisely because in it a person is taking some action that is intended to remove fertility from sexuality, whether it is by rendering the person or the act infertile. NFP, on the otherhand, does not deliberately make either a person or the act infertile. If you breastfeed for the sake of rendering yourself infertile I cannot see how you can escape from falling into the first category of performing an action which will render yourself infertile for the sake of being infertile. So the only way that Church teaching on ABC and NFP can make any sense to me necessarily dictates that breastfeeding should never be used with the intention to render oneself infertile. Like I said before, that doesn’t mean breastfeeding, or even ecological breastfeeding is wrong, but just make sure the reasons you are doing it are not motivated from a desire to render oneself infertile.

I see. And it’s totally cool that we agree to disagree. For more clarification of how I can make heads or tails of the distinction is that one of these things is following God’s design and the other is working around it. Breastfeeding is working with God’s design the same way that having sex during the fertile period is working with God’s design. I can have many intents for both, and those intents are good as long as they fall in line with God’s intent.

 

[mommamaree]

Again, I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. I definitely plan on breastfeeding my children and doing so for long periods of time. I see nothing wrong with breastfeeding itself of any kind, whether partial, ecological, prolonged etc. What I am concerned about is a particular intention that can sometimes co-incide with breastfeeding, not the breastfeeding itself.

I got that, Wanderer. It is just so odd to imagine a situation where a mother could possibly continue to BF past when her child needs it so that she can remain infertile. There is no forcing a baby to nurse when he/she does not want to nurse. Babies will wean themselves slowly over time, or simply give it up cold turkey!
So, if a baby is nursing, that baby still needs it. For a mother to continue to give her child breastmilk when her baby obviously wants it, it would not matter in the slightest if her thoughts circle around the benefit of delayed return of fertility. After all, her baby NEEDS to nurse, Her breasts have the milk. This is not a contraceptive mentality, because no action is taken to render the marital act or her body sterile.
And I am not picking on you, Wanderer. I have always liked your perspective on CAF, and I just want to reassure you that these concerns of yours are likely to be swept away when you begin your first BF relationship.
Birth regulation itself is not immoral. BFing is neither moral nor immoral. Engaging in the marital act with one’s husband while infertile is not immoral. And not actively seeking a pregnancy is not immoral. There really is no problem here.
BTW, I have a secret desire to become a lactation consultant/doula/NFP teacher some day, due to my joy at discovering God’s plan for marriage and God’s design of the female body/fertility. That is why I keep responding to this thread and specifically to your posts. I just have such a love for these natural “goods” of pregnancy, birth, BFing, holy marital sexuality.

 

[zawny]

I see where you are coming from, I just can’t quite agree. I mean, I agree entirely that the infertility that comes with breastfeeding is a part of God’s design, just as the periodic infertility a woman experiences every month as well as that of menopause are also a part of God’s design. I get that and I agree with you. Breastfeeding, even prolonged breastfeeding, is a good thing. But the only way I can make head or tails of the distinction the Church makes between ABC and NFP is by saying that the one is immoral precisely because in it a person is taking some action that is intended to remove fertility from sexuality, whether it is by rendering the person or the act infertile. NFP, on the otherhand, does not deliberately make either a person or the act infertile. If you breastfeed for the sake of rendering yourself infertile I cannot see how you can escape from falling into the first category of performing an action which will render yourself infertile for the sake of being infertile. So the only way that Church teaching on ABC and NFP can make any sense to me necessarily dictates that breastfeeding should never be used with the intention to render oneself infertile. Like I said before, that doesn’t mean breastfeeding, or even ecological breastfeeding is wrong, but just make sure the reasons you are doing it are not motivated from a desire to render oneself infertile.

I think I am starting to agree wanderer. Otherwise there seems to an inconsistency with regards to Church teaching on contraception. If I am taking action with the purpose of making myself infertile, isn’t that the same as contraception?

 

[thewanderer]

I see. And it’s totally cool that we agree to disagree.

For more clarification of how I can make heads or tails of the distinction is that one of these things is following God’s design and the other is working around it. Breastfeeding is working with God’s design the same way that having sex during the fertile period is working with God’s design. I can have many intents for both, and those intents are good as long as they fall in line with God’s intent.

 

[Em_in_FL]

f you breastfeed for the sake of rendering yourself infertile I cannot see how you can escape from falling into the first category of performing an action which will render yourself infertile for the sake of being infertile. So the only way that Church teaching on ABC and NFP can make any sense to me necessarily dictates that breastfeeding should never be used with the intention to render oneself infertile. Like I said before, that doesn’t mean breastfeeding, or even ecological breastfeeding is wrong, but just make sure the reasons you are doing it are not motivated from a desire to render oneself infertile.

Yup.

I agree it may seem far-fetched that anyone could actually do this, but it’s how the logic falls for those cases.

 

[mt_gooseberry]

I’m one of those who purposely breastfeeds in order to get the infertility. When they’re an infant, my primary motivation is the health benefits to the baby, but as they get older, the extended infertility becomes most important to me. Yes, I still appreciate the health benefits, but until I can have another baby (which I really want!), I encourage my 15mo to bf because I know it is the reason my fertility has not returned. Until now, I never questioned the morality of this practice. Now I’m second guessing myself!

For those of you who think I might be using bfing inappropriately, what would you suggest I do? Now every time I wake up at 4am because DS wants to nurse and I feel pleased instead of annoyed because I know it’ll help keep me infertile, I’m going to feel guilty! Because at 4am, I am NOT thinking of the health benefits! Should I stop nursing him at 4am, because if it weren’t for the infertility I would probably be discouraging him at this point? Don’t get me wrong, I am still grateful for the health benefits and the bonding (nothing like nursing snuggles and smiles) but when my mom asked me the other day why I was still bfing, I answered, “Because it’s keeping me from getting pregnant right now.” Now I wonder if I’m, well, sinning?

 

[Em_in_FL]

I’m one of those who purposely breastfeeds in order to get the infertility. When they’re an infant, my primary motivation is the health benefits to the baby, but as they get older, the extended infertility becomes most important to me. Yes, I still appreciate the health benefits, but until I can have another baby (which I really want!), I encourage my 15mo to bf because I know it is the reason my fertility has not returned. Until now, I never questioned the morality of this practice. Now I’m second guessing myself!

For those of you who think I might be using bfing inappropriately, what would you suggest I do? Now every time I wake up at 4am because DS wants to nurse and I feel pleased instead of annoyed because I know it’ll help keep me infertile, I’m going to feel guilty! Because at 4am, I am NOT thinking of the health benefits! Should I stop nursing him at 4am, because if it weren’t for the infertility I would probably be discouraging him at this point? Don’t get me wrong, I am still grateful for the health benefits and the bonding (nothing like nursing snuggles and smiles) but when my mom asked me the other day why I was still bfing, I answered, “Because it’s keeping me from getting pregnant right now.” Now I wonder if I’m, well, sinning?

I don’t think anyone here is going to be able to answer that for you (and no one should!)… but it’s something to pray and discern… “Am I motivated by selfishness?”
Maybe… maybe not! We really can’t judge that for you - there may be some deep-seeded thoughts and intents behind your desires that are very well-intentioned. If you are having trouble discerning this it may be helpful to speak to your priest or a spiritual director.

 

[mommamaree]

I’m one of those who purposely breastfeeds in order to get the infertility. When they’re an infant, my primary motivation is the health benefits to the baby, but as they get older, the extended infertility becomes most important to me. Yes, I still appreciate the health benefits, but until I can have another baby (which I really want!), I encourage my 15mo to bf because I know it is the reason my fertility has not returned. Until now, I never questioned the morality of this practice. Now I’m second guessing myself!

For those of you who think I might be using bfing inappropriately, what would you suggest I do? Now every time I wake up at 4am because DS wants to nurse and I feel pleased instead of annoyed because I know it’ll help keep me infertile, I’m going to feel guilty! Because at 4am, I am NOT thinking of the health benefits! Should I stop nursing him at 4am, because if it weren’t for the infertility I would probably be discouraging him at this point? Don’t get me wrong, I am still grateful for the health benefits and the bonding (nothing like nursing snuggles and smiles) but when my mom asked me the other day why I was still bfing, I answered, “Because it’s keeping me from getting pregnant right now.” Now I wonder if I’m, well, sinning?

Mt_gooseberry,
You say you wake up because your toddler wants to nurse. If you meet your child’s need and the fact of delayed fertility makes that difficult feeding more palatable, that is not a problem. Now, if you were trying to force-feed your baby (which is not possible with BFing as far as my experience tells me) in order to suppress ovulation, then there could be a problem. But simply being happy for no periods and delayed pregnancy while you struggle through a middle-of-the-night feeding is not something to feel guilty about. Besides, it is the biological norm to be feeding your baby at the breast through the first couple of years, and even beyond if your baby wants/needs it.
Don’t allow guilt to spoil your special time with your baby. Those quiet middle-of-the-night moments will be precious memories to you someday.