Lactational amenorrhoea method for family planning

BMJ 1996;313:893-894 (12 October)

Editorials

Lactational amenorrhoea method for family planning

Provides high protection from pregnancy for the first six monthsafter delivery

It has long been known that breast feeding can delay the returnof fertility, but until recently the conditions under whichwomen could rely on this phenomenon were unclear. In August1988 an international group of scientists gathered in Bellagio,Italy, to review the scientific evidence related to the effectof breast feeding on fertility.¹ ² In what came to be knownas the "Bellagio consensus," they concluded that women who werefully or nearly fully breast feeding and amenorrhoeic had aless than 2% risk of pregnancy in the six months after delivery.

Subsequently, several groups have collected further data onrisks of pregnancy among breast feeding women in relation totime after delivery and feeding patterns.³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ Their results,including those from Ramos and colleagues reported in this week'sBMJ (p 909)⁷ as well as other relevant research,⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰ . . . [Full text of this article]