I just had one more thought about this (sorry, didn't mean to keep this 
going so long). Could part of this be, too, because girls that are very 
underweight don't usually menstrate until much later, and 100 years ago many, 
many more girls were very malnourished in the US and other countries? People 
were just thinner in general in all of the industrialized countries and 
starvation was much more common. I read that the average weight of a soldier 
entering the army in the Civil War (1860) was less than 140 pounds for a full grown man, and in World War II it was up to about 180 lbs. Could part of this also be that generally these girls have better nutrition now? I have to think that this might be a piece of the puzzle, 
along with the lack of breastfeeding. 
Regarding the mother who was told by her MD that breastfeeding during pregnancy could cause early onset of puberty. I have never heard of any studies supporting this theory. And on a personal note, my oldest daughter nursed halfway through my pregnancy with my second and she is turning 12 and shows very few signs of puberty. She is approximately a Tanner stage 2, weighs about 70 lbs. My second daughter nursed all the way through my pregnancy with my third baby (and then beyond) and she is 9 and very thin, and shows absolutely no signs of puberty, weighs about 55 lbs and my guess is that she won't get her period for a long time. I started when I was almost 14, and I was ABM fed. It will be interesting to see if they are even later.  
- Tricia Shamblin LLL Leader, nursing student


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