Getting pregnant too early again is not recommended. The body of the new mother should get some time too fully recover.

Actually, immediately after the birth of a child is a time when a lot of people re-think their birth control strategy.

Condoms will hopefully prevent a second box arriving too soon.

Nursing will do that job automatically.

This claim is made often enough that child birth care in the Netherlands specifically informs all new parents that breastfeeding is not a good contraceptive. It may work for some, but it's not a guarantee at all.

> child birth care in the Netherlands specifically informs all new parents that breastfeeding is not a good contraceptive

But that's a lie. Breastfeeding is an excellent contraceptive, more effective than almost any other method we know. (Hormonal implants, which can't be misused, will be more effective. But only slightly more effective, because breastfeeding is already so effective that there's very little room for improvement.)

Not only the Dutch health services disagree, also the British NHS has this in their public info:

> You can get pregnant as little as 3 weeks after the birth of a baby, even if you're breastfeeding and your periods haven't started again.

> Unless you want to get pregnant again, it's important to use some kind of contraception every time you have sex after giving birth, including the first time.

My two cousins, born 10 months apart, would disagree.

It certainly helps a lot if you're breastfeeding exclusively but it isn't as reliable as many would want.

A quick Google suggests that exclusive breastfeeding on cue has a 98% effectiveness (typical use) at preventing pregnancy. The pill has only a 92% chance (again, typical use; if used correctly 100% of the time it is near-perfect).

Partial breastfeeding (supplemented with formula) is much less effective, though!

Women can be very fertile right after birth, although most don’t get their periods for months while breastfeeding.

We got like 100 condoms after birth, which would mean years of sex given the stress and discomfort after birth.

>We got like 100 condoms after birth, which would mean years of sex given the stress and discomfort after birth.

Are you speaking from experience or is this just your expectation? My wife and I were back to normal pretty much as soon as everything healed up (4-6 weeks or so)

No matter how fast you'll use those rubbers, it's also good for hygienic reasons. Would be very annoying to get UTI or such when there is a new humanbeing to be taken care of.