To chart postpartum, we suggest using the Lactational Amenorrhea Method while you are in the first few months of post-partum. It is a modified version of the Sympto-Thermal Method, and does not require taking your temperature. A couple of resources you might want to check out that discuss natural birth control while breastfeeding are: Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler and Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing by Sheila Kippley.
How do I chart postpartum?
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23 comments
Does your app support LAM charting as well?
Indeed- how do I LAM on this app?
Hey stacey79 and beccaenns, while we don't currently have a LAM feature in Kindara, you can still use the app to keep track of your cervical fluid and cervical position while breastfeeding. Changes in cervical fluid or cervical position can indicate that your body is gearing up to ovulate again. You can also keep track of what times you breastfeed each day in the Notes section of the app. Or, you could create several custom data rows with titles such as, Breastfeed 1, Breastfeed 2, Breastfeed 3, etc. and mark them off each time you breastfeed each day.
However I think a dedicated LAM app would be REALLY awesome, so I'll talk about building this with the rest of the team :)
fox.jlf - great idea :) I'll talk to the developers about this as we continue to build the app. If you have any specific ideas for a LAM/postpartum feature, email us at feedback@kindara.com to let us know!
I would love a LAM/postpartum feature as well! At which point postpartum would you recommend switching from LAM to STM?
Hi there, Great! Your request just moved a LAM feature up the list :) As for your question, the amount of time it takes for to start ovulating again depends on various factors and is different from woman to woman - but luckily, most breastfeeding women will notice that their fertility is returning through changes in their cervical fluid. As soon as your cervical fluid starts to increase and become wetter, start charting your temperatures as well (and cervical position if you want). You may have several 'false starts' in which you have patches of seemingly-fertile cervical fluid, but don't actually ovulate - this is normal! This is just your body gearing up to ovulate again.
I would love a LAM feature as well. Question though: will there be any temp changes as my fertility returns or will it only be the cervical fluid that I will notice changing? I am 5.5 months postpartum, fully breastfeeding, and baby has just started sleeping through the night, only twice so far.
Hey Amie, it's pretty unlikely you'll notice a temperature shift before you notice any changes in your cervical fluid. Your temperatures won't rise until after you've ovulated, but your cervical fluid will start to increase and become wetter before you ovulate. So, your cervical fluid is your best indicator of when you're becoming fertile again.
I would totally love a LAM feature/section.
My lo has just turned a year, but sadly doesn't sleep through the night yet. Our sleeping /waking routine isn't great so I'm usually woken by her and moving before I remember I'm supposed to take my temperature, and to be honest a lot of the time I just can't be bothered. Can you make an app that both wakes you up the same time each day and takes your temperature for you? That would be awesome, lol!
I'm still breastfeeding my 2.5 yr old, but only 3-4 times a day, for comfort. I've had somewhat light periods for at least a yr and a half, but they are somewhere around 40 days apart. I've also had some fertile quality mucous, but I doubt that I've ovulated yet. Hoping that charting my temps again will give me a better idea of whether I'm ovulating yet.
Hi Madobea - I agree, that WOULD be awesome! We're about to announce a device that will make temping a much better experience - please stay tuned :)
Stephanie - If you can take your temperature as soon as you wake up (before breastfeeding or moving around), after at least 3 consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep, and at or around the same time each day, then you should be able to get accurate temps and determine whether you're ovulating. Best of luck :)
LAM would rock! I'm 2 mo pp and looking to track
I also would love LAM feature. New to kindara after trying 2 other apps that kept crashing. With kindara I'm tracking PP spotting and it automatically starts a new cycle after 10 days of spotting. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Hey lcstephens, I'm sorry the app isn't working correctly for you! Please write us at feedback@kindara.com and we'll sort things out for you right away.
So I've had one cycle at 9weeks pp and I'm on day 32 of that cycle. I feel like I've ovulated again if I go by CF but my temps are ALL over the place. I've been exclusively breastfeeding but she started sleeping through the night around 8-9weeks. How do I chart or know when I'm not fertile if my cycle isn't coming again? I would love to not have to use condoms every single time because we never know. :/
I'm new to all this and 4 months postpartum with baby #3, ages 3.5yo, 1.5yo, and 4mo. I read that your suppose to take your temperature as soon as you wake up (before breastfeeding or moving around), after at least 3 consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep. Most of the time that's not a problem, but what about the nights I don't get 3 hours of consecutive sleep. Lol. TIA!
Hi Cryslhenry, you may need to establish your Basic Infertile Pattern (BIP) to use FAM as birth control during anovulatory cycles when you're not breastfeeding consistently. You can read more about doing this here: http://blog.kindara.com/blog/using-fam-as-birth-control-during-anovulatory-cycles
Hope that helps!
Hi Dory, I'm afraid that if you don't get a good night's sleep, you'll sometimes have to either omit temperatures from your chart or mark them as "questionable" and exclude them from the calculations. Sometimes this can be difficult if you have something like a baby waking you up often, I admit! Ideally you'll still be able to get enough temperatures to be able to see the temperature shift, but if you can't get any meaningful information from your temperature graph, you may need to rely on cervix and cervical fluid data exclusively instead.
I agree on the postpartum feature!! Otherwise, it just looks like one crazy long period!!
Hi Shay, thanks for your feedback! I totally agree - Kindara needs a post-partum feature :) We plan on adding this to a future version of Kindara, but it's still in the process of being designed, so if you have any suggestions for how you'd like it to work feel free to let us know!
1 year pp next week and had my first period 3 weeks ago. No temperature shift and cm has gone from more to less fertile. Is it common to have a false start/inconsistent cycles when starting back up? Still breastfeeding 3-4 times a day and at night.
Hi smc, thanks for your question! Yes, it's very common to have false starts and inconsistent cycles when your fertility is first returning, especially if you're still breastfeeding semi-regularly. There's nothing to be concerned about - your period will probably regulate soon, especially once you stop breastfeeding. Hope that helps!
How do I track miscarriage postpartum? We just found out and I don't know if there is a feature for this.
I would love a LAM feature. I was just looking thru the knowledge base to figure out the TTA stuff. I learned so much and became pregnant by tracking fertility with this app. I would live to continue to use it.
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