The Contraceptive Role of Breastfeeding |
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| Authors: | J-P Habicht Julie Davanzo WP Butz Linda Meyers |
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| Institution: | 1. Division of Nutritional Sciences, Savage Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, U.S.A.;2. The Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California, 90406, U.S.A.;3. Demographic Fields, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C., 20233, U.S.A.;4. Food and Nutrition Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. |
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| Abstract: | We review (1) neuro-hormonal mechanisms by which breastfeeding postpones the return of ovulation and menstruation after birth, and (2) various statistical procedures used to analyse this effect in human populations. This review reveals that the biology and the statistical procedures are incompatible. We propose a statistical approach, compatible with present knowledge of physiology, that differentiates between ovulation-inhibiting mechanisms at birth and the weakening of these inhibitions thereafter, so that it is possible to investigate the effects on these mechanisms due to breastfeeding and to other determinants such as mother's age. An empirical test with typical recall data indicates that full breastfeeding postpones ovulation longer than does supplemented breastfeeding, and that both have stronger contraceptive effects than has previously been thought. |
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