Comments on: Natural Family Planning: Important Points about Breastfeeding http://nfpandmore.org/wordpress/?p=34 John and Sheila Kippley Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:53:56 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Penny Piercy http://nfpandmore.org/wordpress/?p=34&cpage=1#comment-193 Penny Piercy Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:05:26 +0000 http://nfpandmore.org/wordpress/?p=34#comment-193 By practicing ecological breastfeeding, my first three children were without any effort spaced 4.5 and 3.3 years respectively, since I typically enjoy lactational amenorrhea for 27-29 months postpartum. For a 10-year stretch (1992-2002) I had only 10 periods. (In the interest of "full disclosure," I should note that this 10-year period also included a pregnancy loss at 16 weeks gestation between baby #1 & baby #2; the remains were not delivered until 36 weeks gestation as we decided to let matters proceed naturally. Therefore there is an "extra" year between our first two living children.) As an LLL Leader, I have encountered many mothers who have easily gone two years without a fertile cycle when they practice ecological breastfeeding, including one woman whose cycle had resumed with her 2.5 year old and then, when an extended trip out of the country caused her toddler to increase nursing, she returned to a state of lactational amenorrhea for another several months until they returned to their home in the U.S.! I have also seen many mothers who were exclusively breastfeeding who were disappointed to have fertility resume well before the end of the first year. I believe their experience illustrates the crucial difference between eco-breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding. While more mothers have become aware of the value of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and are practicing it, it seems as if fewer mothers are practicing eco-breastfeeding these days as breastfeeding and mothering become more commodified. By practicing ecological breastfeeding, my first three children were without any effort spaced 4.5 and 3.3 years respectively, since I typically enjoy lactational amenorrhea for 27-29 months postpartum. For a 10-year stretch (1992-2002) I had only 10 periods. (In the interest of “full disclosure,” I should note that this 10-year period also included a pregnancy loss at 16 weeks gestation between baby #1 & baby #2; the remains were not delivered until 36 weeks gestation as we decided to let matters proceed naturally. Therefore there is an “extra” year between our first two living children.)

As an LLL Leader, I have encountered many mothers who have easily gone two years without a fertile cycle when they practice ecological breastfeeding, including one woman whose cycle had resumed with her 2.5 year old and then, when an extended trip out of the country caused her toddler to increase nursing, she returned to a state of lactational amenorrhea for another several months until they returned to their home in the U.S.! I have also seen many mothers who were exclusively breastfeeding who were disappointed to have fertility resume well before the end of the first year. I believe their experience illustrates the crucial difference between eco-breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding. While more mothers have become aware of the value of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and are practicing it, it seems as if fewer mothers are practicing eco-breastfeeding these days as breastfeeding and mothering become more commodified.

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