We can never know for sure when our period will return postpartum but there are things which influence its return.
Breastfeeding is the biggest factor which determines when your fertility and therefore your period returns. If you are not breastfeeding, the average time for your period to return is around 45-94 days postpartum.
If you are breastfeeding, a range of normal would be between 6-24 months postpartum for periods to return with the average being around 6-18 months. That said, I know MANY postpartum mamas who have been nursing day and night and their period still returns within 3 months. This shows we can never truly be sure!
You can read here why breastfeeding usually slows the return of your period (this is called lactation amenorrhea) and how some people use it as a form of contraception for the first 6 months postpartum.
Another big factor which influences the return of your period is how healthy you are. We know that pregnancy and breastfeeding basically zaps the goodness out of the mama! So we must ensure that we are well nourished and rested (as far as possible with a bambino in the house!). Unfortunately our periods may not return until that happens.
And when they do return, many mamas find postpartum periods can be a little different for the first few months. If you’re worried that your period is taking a little too long to return or your period just hasn’t been the same since having babies, you can book a FREE CALL with me so we can brainstorm simple ways to help your hormones get back on track.
