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]