Breastfeeding

Q: I'm 15 weeks postpartum, nursing every one and a half hours during the day, and four to six times each night. During the day, I usually carry my son in a sling. I've been sleeping in the absence of light (even covering my clock) for several months. My cervix is always low, firm, and tilted, suggesting that I'm infertile. But my cervical fluid almost always "glistens." I am therefore nervous that I could ovulate at any time. It's against my religious practice to use condoms or other barriers, and I don't want to take the Pill. But I'm not ready for another baby now. Is there something I could do to dry up my mucus and confirm that I am in fact infertile?

A: First off, I congratulate you for how much you're doing right with breastfeeding your baby. Second, given how often you're nursing, including how often you're nursing at night, your chances of conceiving in your baby's first six months are 2%.

Meanwhile, I very much appreciate that you'd like your mucus to dry up to confirm that you're not fertile now. My first suggestion is to nurse a little more frequently. Offering your breast to your baby even for 30-second nips could help your mucus dry up. Taking a 20-minute daily nap with him could also help.

You didn't mention whether you're using pacifiers (other than your breasts) or employing babysitters. These can actually encourage the production of cervical fluid.

Your continuous "glistening" cervical fluid could indicate elevated estrogen levels. What is your diet like? Sugar, white flour, soy and trans fats can elevate estrogen levels. Cod liver oil and organic butter (along with plenty of healthy greens, free-range eggs, perhaps raw milk cheeses) could help you create hormone levels that are less estrogenic. Read my chapter on food in The Garden of Fertility; check out Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon or www.WestonAPrice.org for other ideas. Bruce Rind, MD's website, www.DrRind.com, has excellent info about estrogen dominance.

And do keep nursing!