How does the Lactational Amenorrhoeic Method of natural family planning work?
Lactation has been a major form of contraception for centuries, and has played a key role in family spacing in many parts of the developing world. Breastfeeding in the traditional fashion of nearly constant suckling suppresses ovulation. Modifications of the traditional breast-feeding patterns that were incorporated to accommodate western lifestyles however have dramatically reduced the effectiveness of this technique. Accordingly, the time from delivery to resumption of ovulation varies considerably and is affected by a number of factors, including the frequency and intensity of suckling and the use of supplementary feeding. The lactational amenorrhoeic method (LAM) is an effective temporary contraceptive method as long as the woman can recognize reliably when she is again at risk of ovulation or wouldn’t care if it failed. The risk for return of ovulation increases as breast-feeding frequency declines, if milk supplements are used, or if menstrual bleeding resumes. In these circumsta
