Breastfeeding and oral contraceptives: Tasmanian survey

A survey of 772 Tasmanian mothers was carried out to determine whether there was any connection between the mother's use of oral contraceptives and her ability to breastfeed her child. It was found that 80% of the 243 mothers combining breastfeeding with the use of oral contraceptives were able to breastfeed their children for at least 3 months. Of these, all but 15 mothers used pills containing only progestagen. It is concluded that the progestagen-only oral contraceptive is compatible with lactation and that a mother using this type of pill will probably be able to breastfeed her baby.