When does your period come back after birth?
If you're not breastfeeding, your period usually comes back about 6 to 8 weeks after birth, sometimes sooner. If you're breastfeeding, especially exclusively and through the night, it can take months, often until feeds become less frequent. You can ovulate before your first period, so pregnancy is possible before it arrives. The bleeding right after birth, called lochia, isn't a period.
Lochia is not your period
After birth, you bleed as the uterus sheds the lining that supported the pregnancy. This is lochia. It starts heavy and red, then turns pink, brown and finally yellowish-white over about 4 to 6 weeks. It happens whether you had a vaginal birth or a cesarean. Your first real period comes later, after your hormones restart your cycle.
When periods usually return
| Feeding | First period often returns |
|---|---|
| Not breastfeeding (formula) | About 6 to 8 weeks after birth, sometimes earlier |
| Mixed feeding | Varies, often within a few months |
| Exclusive breastfeeding, day and night | Often months later, sometimes not until feeds drop or stop |
Breastfeeding raises prolactin, the hormone that makes milk, and prolactin keeps ovulation switched off. As your baby feeds less often, sleeps longer, or starts solids, prolactin falls and periods tend to return. See period while breastfeeding and does breastfeeding delay your period.
A review of studies in people who weren't breastfeeding found first ovulation happened on average 45 to 94 days after birth, and occasionally earlier than 6 weeks. If you don't want another pregnancy yet, use contraception from about 3 weeks after birth.
What your first periods may be like
- Heavier, lighter, longer or more painful than before
- Irregular for the first few months
- Sometimes with small clots
- Some people find their cramps are milder than before pregnancy
Most cycles settle within a few months. Our period after pregnancy guide covers the changes in more depth.
Your mood when cycles restart
The postpartum months bring huge hormone shifts, broken sleep and a new life to adjust to. When periods return, some people notice PMS for the first time in over a year, or find it stronger than before. If low mood lasts more than two weeks, or you feel hopeless, anxious or unable to cope, that may be postnatal depression, which is common and treatable. See postpartum mood and your cycle.
You soak a pad in an hour or less, pass clots bigger than a plum, bleeding becomes heavier or smells bad, or you have fever, tummy pain or feel dizzy after birth. Also seek help for low mood or anxiety that lasts. If you ever have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, call your local emergency number now, or in the US call or text 988.
Frequently asked questions
Is my first period after birth heavier?
It often is, and it can come with clots. If you soak a pad every hour for more than a couple of hours, contact a doctor.
Can I get pregnant before my period returns after birth?
Yes, because ovulation happens before the first period. Breastfeeding only works as contraception under strict conditions, so talk to your clinician.
Why hasn't my period come back 6 months after birth?
If you're breastfeeding, that's common. If you're not, and it's been more than 3 months since birth with no period, take a test and see a doctor.
Does a C-section change when periods return?
No. How you give birth doesn't change the timing much. Breastfeeding has the biggest effect.
Sources
- NHS: Your post-pregnancy body
- Jackson E, Glasier A. Return of ovulation and menses in postpartum nonlactating women: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol (2011)
- ACOG: Heavy Menstrual Bleeding FAQ
This page is for information only and isn鈥檛 medical advice. If something worries you, please talk to a doctor.
Keep reading
Your period after pregnancy: when it comes back and what changesYour period after pregnancy: when it usually returns with and without breastfeeding, why ovulation comes first, what first periods feel like, and red flags.Periods while breastfeeding: when they return and what changesYour period while breastfeeding: why it's delayed, when it usually comes back, whether it affects your milk, pregnancy before it returns, and red flags.
Postpartum mood swings and your returning cyclePostpartum mood swings explained: baby blues vs postnatal depression, why PMS can feel stronger when your period returns, what helps, and when to get help.Can breastfeeding delay your period?Breastfeeding and period return explained: why nursing delays your period, how long for, what changes when it comes back, and why you can still get pregnant.
Period calculator: when is my next period?Free period calculator: enter the first day of your last period and your cycle length to see your next 6 periods. Private, instant, nothing is stored.