InformatIon collected from male and female respondents m a rural Ghanalan town suggests that, although people strongly favour the spacmg of children. actual spdcmg IS not the mtentlonal result of birthcontrol or sexual abstmence but rather a comcldental result of a long period of postpartum amenorrhea caused by prolonged lactation

1. Serum prolactin (PRL) levels, both basal and post-suckling peak, were estimated in fifty-seven lactating women. 2. Basal PRL levels were significantly higher in all lactating women irrespective of the duration of lactation as compared to the levels in non-pregnant, non-lactating women. 3. There was significant positive correlation (r 0.69, P less than 0.001) between the basal PRL levels and ...

Several epidemiological and laboratory investigations have confirmed the traditional beliefs that lactation prolongs postpartum amenorrhea and provides some degree of protection against pregnancy even after the resumption of menstruation [ 12,2 11. The two crucial factors that determine the duration of this infertile period are the duration of unsupplemented lactation and the total duration of ...

Although breast feeding is not an absolutely reliable method of contraception yet its birth spacing effect is of great importance in communities where the prevalence of alternative contraception is too low. It is well recognized that breast feeding affects the fertility of women by delaying resumption of menses. The extent to which duration of breast feeding effects the duration of Postparturm ...

There is no doubt that in breast-feeding women, suckling with its associated hyperprolactinaemia prevents the resumption of ovarian activity for prolonged periods (see McNeilly, 1979). The extent of this suppression varies greatly among species but in all for which there are adequate data it appears to depend critically upon the intensity of the suckling stimulus (Lamming, 1978). Our recent dat...

BACKGROUND Findings from observational studies suggest an inverse association between lactation and premenopausal breast cancer risk, but results are inconsistent, and data from large prospective cohort studies are lacking. METHODS We used information from 60,075 parous women participating in the prospective cohort study of the Nurses' Health Study II from 1997 to 2005. Our primary outcome wa...

Significant calcium transfer from the mother to the fetus and infant occurs during pregnancy and lactation, theoretically placing the mother at an increased risk for osteoporosis later in life. During pregnancy, intestinal calcium absorption increases to meet much of the fetal calcium needs. Maternal bone loss also may occur in the last months of pregnancy, a time when the fetal skeleton is rap...

to have an, idea about the relation between the length of birth interval and lactation, and birth control program this study have been done. the material for such analysis was nomad women's fertility history that was in their reproductive period (15-44). the material itself was gathered through a health survey. the main sample was composed of 2,165 qualified women, of whom 49 due to previous or...

The current knowledge on the mechanisms of lactational infertility, discussed during a symposium of investigators in this subject, is reviewed. Three periods of lactation are examined: the first weeks postpartum, the period of extended lactational amenorrhea and the recovery of ovarian function. In the first postpartum weeks the inhibition of ovarian function is accounted by diminished pituitar...