As I have been lurking many months at Lactnet, let me introduce myself
again. I am Elien Rouw, a Dutch medical doctor, living and working in
Germany in the mother and child health care and in a breastfeeding support
group. I also train medical health workers.
I also observed, that better nourished women had an earlier return of
menses. A very old, but good article on this is:
Lunn, P.G., Austin, S., Prentice, A.M., Whitehead, R.G.: Influence of
maternal diet on plasma prolactin levels during lactation. Lancet 1980 (i):
623-625. In this article it states, that prolactin preferentialy brings
protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and so on to the milk. It is especcialy
important, when mothers are marginally nourished (as was in most of our
human history).  "If prolactin acts by preferentially channelling nutrients
to the breast for milk synthesis, higher levels of the hormone are likely to
be needed to ensure adequate milk production in undernourished mothers than
would be necessary if the maternal nutrition was good. As nutrition improves
less hormone will be needed to maintain similar milk production rates." For
me it is one of the reasons (as is infrequent feedings, artificial nipples,
and so on), that fertility in the western world (in general) is not so
reduced as it is in other parts of the world.
Elien Rouw, MD, Bühl, Germany.

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