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The Benefit of Lactation Amenorrhea as a Contraceptive
Author(s) -
Hefnawi F.,
Ismail H.,
Younis N.,
ElSheika Z.,
Badraoui M. H. H.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/j.1879-3479.1977.tb00646.x
Subject(s) - medicine , amenorrhea , ovulation , menstruation , lactation , pregnancy , obstetrics , postpartum period , gynecology , incidence (geometry) , breastfeeding , endocrinology , hormone , pediatrics , genetics , physics , optics , biology
A group of 148 lactating women who delivered normally at El‐Galaa Hospital, Cairo, were followed up monthly for 1 year to study the pattern of lactation amenorrhea, the return of menstruation and ovulation, and the incidence of pregnancy. By the end of the sixth week postpartum, only 1.3% of the women had begun menstruating; the percentage gradually increased to 60.2% by the end of the first year. The amount of blood loss and the duration of menstruation increased gradually until the fourth postpartum menstrual period. Ovulation had occurred in 58.1% and pregnancy in 26.1% of all cases at the end of the 12th postpartum month. Among menstruating, lactating mothers, ovulation occurred in 86.5% and pregnancy in 32.6%, while in amenorrheic, lactating mothers only 6.1% had become pregnant at 1 year postpartum.