greetings,

mom has just been diagnosed with severe osteoporosis - she is probably late
30s early 40s - need ot ask.  her mom has mild osteoporosis, and she is of
asian decent - those are her only two risk factors.  she is tandem nursing
- a one year old and an "over 3 year old" (much) and is wanting to get good
info re: osteoporosis and bf.  i am aware of the research that shows bone
density loss during lactation, but rebound and then some after weaning.
what about a mom who already has osteoporosis?  would weaning still result
in rebound?  could bf be mostly responsible for teh condition, in a
borderline/at risk mom?  would partial weaning result in a partial rebound?

a related question:  are the hormonal fluctuations associated with return
of menstruation or weaning or some of both?  i.e. if she can cut down on
nursing enough to stimulate the return of menses, will the estrogen levels
fall within normal levels for a non-lactating mom, and could that affect
the osteoporosis - we are theororizing that since lactation mimics
menopause in some ways, hormonally, that perhaps if she can get her
estrogen levels closer to that of a non-lactating woman, her bone density
will improve - anything yo that theory, you think?  has estrogen levels in
lactating women ever been studied pre- and post- return of menses?

any help you can provide would be wonderful - she is actually hoping to
hear that she wil be all better if she weans - and even more stronglyhoping
that she can just partially wean - she is not ready to wean her 1 year old,
at least.  thanks in advance for references, info, insights, thoughts,
experiences!
Lyla Wolfenstein
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