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People around the world cause half of pregnancies to be unwanted. The reason is that the contraceptives are expensive or mainly inaccessible. Many women are working and cannot breastfeed their infants exclusively. Lack of knowledge regarding the baby’s nutrition priorities also results in feeding formula.
All these practices lead to closely spaced births and, thus, unwanted pregnancies. The lactational amenorrhoea method of family planning is a natural way for women to experience amenorrhea while breastfeeding, resulting in temporary infertility, along with the benefits of breastfeeding the infant. This method relies on the natural suppression of ovulation due to breastfeeding, leading to amenorrhea breastfeeding. This has enormous benefits for both the mother and her baby.
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Breastfeeding can be a natural contraceptive (lactational amenorrhea method):
Note: if specific conditions are met.
- The baby is less than 6 months old.
- The mother is still amenorrhoeic (still no periods).
- The mother should exclusively breastfeed day and night. There should not be a gap of more than 4 hours during the day between two consecutive feeds. Similarly, there should not be a gap of more than 6 hours during the night between two straight feeds.
- The baby must not have a solid diet or complementary food besides breast milk. If all of the above conditions are fulfilled, the natural contraceptive measure has a success rate of about 98%.
The mechanism of the lactational amenorrhoea method of birth control is simple. The baby’s suckling inhibits the production of fertility hormones like gonadotropin-releasing, follicle-stimulating, and luteinizing hormones. The reduced production of these hormones inhibits the ovulation process in the woman, preventing pregnancy.
The duration of lactational amenorrhoea varies from one year to two years. The conditions to be fulfilled here are:
- The mother should be amenorrhoeic right from the birth of the baby.
- The baby is being breastfed day and night.
- The baby gets most of the daily nutrition from the mother’s breast milk.
Benefits Of The Lactational Amenorrhoea Method:
- No Side Effects: Unlike contraceptive pills, lactational amenorrhoea is a natural and safe method of contraception. It does not affect breast milk production or its quality.
- Mother-Baby Bonding: This method helps build a strong bond of affection between the mother and her child.
- Protection From Diseases: LAM protects the baby from pneumonia and measles. These can otherwise affect the baby if the baby is on formula feed.
- Cost-effective: This method does not demand any extra cost for its practice. It saves money by enabling you to breastfeed your infant instead of formula.
- Immediate and Effective: You can start this method right after your child’s birth, and if practiced correctly, it can provide contraceptive benefits for up to a year or more.
Disadvantages Of the Lactational Amenorrhoea Method:
- Limited Time Effect: This method does not guarantee effectiveness after 6 months of the baby’s birth.
- Needs Regular Attention Of The Mother: Working women find it difficult to practice this method. This is so because it demands exclusive day and night breastfeeding.
- HIV-infected women cannot use LAM: This is because HIV can spread to the infant through the breastmilk.
- Palate Insufficiency In Infants: Infants who are born with disfigured mouths/tongues or jaws are challenged to be breastfed. They alter their suckling action.
The lactational amenorrhoea becomes ineffective if the baby gets more than 30% of the nutrition from the complementary foods. And also if the frequency of breastfeeding is reduced. If the mother gets her period, it vanishes the effectiveness of breastfeeding as a method of amenorrhoea. As soon as LAM becomes ineffective, other types of contraceptive measures can be started. They can be either hormonal or nonhormonal for the spacing of births and family planning.
Conclusion:
LAM is an informed use of breastfeeding as a way of natural contraception by a woman. She starts it right after giving birth to her baby. There are many benefits apart from being a natural method of contraception and building an affectionate bond between the mother and the child.
The child gets pure nutrition as breastmilk without complementary foods before 6 months. It protects the infant from many infectious diseases like pneumonia and measles. Thus, healthcare providers must inform every mother about using lactational amenorrhoea as a natural method of contraception. It also protects the health of the mother and her newborn.
For further guidance and support with lactation, consult Nidhi Gupta (Fitness With Nidhi).
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