On the other end of the spectrum, I exclusively breastfed,
co-slept, nursed every 2 hrs or so around the clock, and
got a period five weeks pp.  I have anectodal evidence that
this is commoner among fat women ["fat" is used advisedly,
I don't consider it pejoritive].  Has anyone got any data
on this phenomenon?  Any connection to fat stores as a
source/resevoir of estrogen?  Just curious.

Rachael Hamlet



> Karen Christopher asks about "normal" duration of
> post-partum amenorrhea. It is very typical for women who
> are breastfeeding on demand, especially at night, to
> experience 1-3 YEARS of amenorrhea.  This is perfectly
> normal. Nighttime nursing results in higher prolactin
> surges, so can continue the lactational amenorrhea longer
> than the same amount of daytime amenorrhea. There is also
> a connection to how much body fat the mother has, as lower
> body fat is correlated with higher prolactin surges in
> response to breastfeeding, thus longer amenorrhea.  There
> is also *huge* variation from woman to woman in how much
> prolactin she releases in response to sucking stimulus,
> and in how sensitive her body is to prolactin.  When I was
> a very well-fed 25 year old, I had 23 months of
> lactational amenorrhea.  My best friend, also a very
> well-fed 28 year old, had 36 months of lactational
> amenorrhea.  Both of us nursed our children on demand,
> throughout the night, and the children didn't use
> pacifiers or suck their thumbs.  In my study of 153 women
> in Mali, the *average* duration of post-partum amenorrhea
> was 18 months, with many women having 2-3 years of
> amenorrhea.  So, not to worry!
>
> Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Anthropology
> Texas A&M University
> e-mail to [log in to unmask]