Longitudinal analysis of the effects of infant-feeding practices on postpartum amenorrhea*

The Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey is used to examine the effect of various components of infant-feeding patterns on return of menses postpartum. The results show that factors such as active suckling, the use of two breasts versus one, breast-feeding on demand versus on a fixed schedule. and the feeding of other milks and of nonnutritive or low-caloric other liquids can be important under selected circumstances. Discrete-time logistic hazards modeling is used to estimate the weekly probability of return to menses.