4/14/98            1:38
PM
Reply to: [From:    Janet Simpson <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: lentgh of amenorreah (sp?)

Hi All,
Got a call from a mom last night whose OB wants her to wean asap so
she can
have a period.  Yeah, I know, he's an idiot.  Anyway, baby is 15 mo
old, mom
no periods, and Doc is freaking out.  She tried to tell him that it
is OK,
this is what is normal, but he is asking for references.  Mom has 4
kids,
and has gone at least 18 mo with each child with no periods, so she
is not
worried, she just wants to educate her doc.
So, any references out there regarding average length of lactational
ammenorreah (how do you spell that word???).]

I'm not sure if this helps, but  "Breast-Feeding and Fertility"
(1985), Edited by Malcolm Potts, Shyam Thapa and M.A. Herbertson,
discuss various studies of breastfeeding and fertility.

One of the studies mentioned about breastfeeding in Manila gives the
average of women with returning menses at 3 months of 28%; 6 months
of 52%; 9 months of 62%; and 12 months of 69%. Ovulation rates were
at 3 months 28%; 6 months at 66%; 9 months at 69%; and 12 months at
72%. (It also documents somewhere in the book that only around 20% of
mothers ovulate before their first returning menses).

Another study cited about Prolactin and breast-feeding   discusses a
group of women who breastfed on an average of 67.4 weeks.  The mean
of the duration of amenorrhoea was 44.2 weeks with the range being
13-90 weeks.

I'm not sure if these references are too specific, but I hope they
help or at least provide a jumping point.

Maji Steele, MA
Chicago, Illinois

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