Dear Friends:
    Lovely bibliography for depo. There is one more study by Shabaan, who
looked at depo and milk supply in a rural Egyptian population where there was
no access to breastmilk substitutes, all women had cultural and religous
support to breastfeed for at least 2 years, and depo was given at 8 weeks
postpartum. There was no impact on weight gain or breastfeeding.
    Why aren't women being taught to exclusively breastfeed for at least 6
weeks? (I know they should bf exclusively for 6 months and I am focusing on
the contraceptive thread here.)  No one will get pregnant during that
interval.
    The concern is that the huge drop in progesterone stimulates
prolactin-inhibitory factor inhibitor production, which lets prolactin become
unbound from the growth hormone and start working. The consequence of giving
a progesterone compound during the first few days or weeks is that this
delicate and intricate biochemical process will be impeded.
    Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI
craniosacral therapy practitioner; childbirth educator
Elkins Park (a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northeastern USA)
supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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