I have made these points before, but the threads on Lactnet prompt me to
repost them.

1) There are references using South Pacific Islanders as subjects, the
authors of which contend that the much higher fat diets they routinely
consume (in some cultures, being rotund is considered a mark of
mature/adult beauty) contributes to very early resumption of menses, even
when babies are frequently breastfed.

2) The statistics that report 1.7% risk of women becoming pregnant when
fully breastfeeding in the first 6 mo postpartum are POPULATION statistics.
Meaning that in a large group of women, a very small percentage of them
WILL become pregnant during that period, but that most will not.

Please note that most behaviors/experiences assume the shape of a
bell-shaped curve if you think of the horizontal line as time.  A very few
people will exhibit the behavior/experience very soon, and a similarly
small group will NOT exhibit the behavior until much much later.  Most
people will fall in the middle of the line.

In terms of population statistics, the farther away from the most recent
birth the mother is, the greater her likelihood of return of fertility,
even if breastfeeding, although that risk is considerably delayed when
compared with the mother who does not breastfeed.  Both groups of women
(those bf and those not) will eventually experience the same risk if you go
out from their most recent birth far enough.

When considering POPULATION STATISTICS and comparing one's own PERSONAL
experience against those statistics, it is important to remember that
multiple factors contribute to when one will resume cycling.

The effectivenss of the infant's suckling is often ignored. It is not JUST
that the baby is feeding frequently, but how effectively that suckling is
occurring, how responsive the mother is to that suckling stimulation, and
so on.

I hope this helps....

PS Women who have an early resumption of cycling in spite of frequent
exclusive breastfeeding have not necessarily done something wrong.  They
just happen to fall in that group of the POPULATION that is more likely
than other women to resume fertility sooner.  (sorry about that)

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Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Ferndale, WA USA) [log in to unmask]
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