Natural Family Planning International

The Seven Standards better define what kind of mothering is involved with ecological breastfeeding. That’s why I placed a stronger emphasis on them in my latest book, The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding: The Frequency Factor.  In this book each chapter is dedicated to one Standard.  I also noticed that this strong emphasis on the Seven Standards eliminated the counseling call from mothers who said they were doing ecological breastfeeding but had an early return of menstruation.  A professional or NFP teacher only has to go through each Standard in reviewing a possible cause of the early return.  The Standards are also helpful when teaching natural child spacing.

The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding are these:
1.Do exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life; don’t use other liquids ad solids.
2.Pacify your baby at your breasts.
3.Don’t use bottles and pacifiers.
4.Sleep with your baby for night feedings.
5.Sleep with your baby for a daily-nap feeding.
6.Nurse frequently day and night, and avoid schedules.
7.Avoid any practice that restricts nursing or separates you from your baby.

Nursing mothers who follow the Seven Standards of ecological breastfeeding have one of the best natural family planning methods.  It’s so natural that it is hard to see it as a method, but today people like to talk in those terms.   As with the Lacational Amenorrhea Method, any vaginal bleeding can be ignored during the first 56 days in determining amenorrhea if the mother is exclusively breastfeeding or doing ecological breastfeeding.

Most importantly, ecological breastfeeding provides extended natural infertility.  During the first three months postpartum, the chance of pregnancy occurring is practically nil if the ecologically breastfeeding mother remains in amenorrhea while following the Seven Standards.  During the next three months postpartum, there is only a 1% chance of pregnancy if the ecologically breastfeeding mother continues to remain in amenorrhea while following the Seven Standards.

Sometime between six and eight months of age, the baby begins to take some solid food.  As the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in their “Breastfeeding Policy Statement”  of February 2005, exclusively breastfed babies “may not be ready to accept other foods until approximately 8 months of age” (p. 499).  Once solid foods are begun, there are only Six Standards operating for ecological breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding infertility usually continues, however, because the amount of nursing is usually not decreased at first and frequent, unrestricted nursing continues.

Specifics of Natural Child Spacing to be continued next week.

Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding

The Specifics of Natural Child Spacing

My contribution to the promotion of breastfeeding and natural child spacing has been the teaching that there is more to natural child spacing than exclusive breastfeeding, that mothering practices make a significant difference in prolonging natural infertility.  

Exclusive breastfeeding is insufficient by itself to maintain amenorrhea.  There are many mothers who experience an early return of menstruation while exclusively breastfeeding.  I learned this while listening to mothers at La Leche League meetings for a dozen years.  Studies on the Lactational Amenorrhea Method also prove that about 50% of the mothers have an early return of menstruation while exclusively breastfeeding.   If “fully” breastfeeding is well defined and frequent nursing day and night is stressed, only 18% of the LAM users have a return 0f menstruation by 6 months. (Labbok, NFP conference, 2010)

In the early 1970s, I emphasized not only the concept that you need to do more than exclusively breastfeed to space babies naturally but also that you need to remain  with your baby, that mother-baby togetherness is the key to natural child spacing.  

In the first and second editions of Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing (self-published; Harper & Row), I inserted a questionnaire at the back of the book for mothers to fill in and return after they had completed their breastfeeding experience.  The survey dealt with detailed questions about their mothering practices, their use of any form of natural family planning or birth control, and the return of their first bleeding, spotting, or period.  This collection of surveys eventually led to published research.

In our original research John and I focused on six practices in our survey-questionnaire.  These practices later evolved into the Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding.  The Seven Standards are basically maternal behaviors associated with natural postpartum infertility.  We called this type of breastfeeding “ecological breastfeeding” to show that it involved a special mother-baby relationship.  We also called this form of baby care “natural mothering.”

John and I isolated each Standard to see if any one standard had more of an impact on maintaining infertility than any of the others.  What our research showed was that each Standard was important in maintaining breastfeeding infertility and that no Standard was sufficient by itself.  It was for this reason that I often used the example of a “breastfeeding infertility” pie when giving talks.  The pie is made up of seven pieces.  Each piece is important.  A mother interested in breastfeeding infertility needs more than just one piece of the pie and definitely more than just exclusive breastfeeding.  She needs all seven parts or standards.

To be continued next week

Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding

Research for review

God’s Plan for Me continued

A third factor in my change of mothering practices was a new Catholic obstetrician with our second baby.  He was faithful to Church teaching and encouraged the use of the thermometer for family planning.  He did not recommend the thermometer to me, however, because he knew I wanted to breastfeed.  He told me to breastfeed exclusively and to call him when I had my first period.  It was July and hot at the time.  I remember asking him if I could give the baby water.  His response was that my milk was adequate for the baby.  He stressed that I was not to give the baby water or anything else.

His advice was so different from that of my first Catholic obstetrician who told me I would have a period within three months after childbirth no matter how I nursed my baby.  I thought this first doctor was correct because I did have a period within three months after childbirth with my first baby.  At the time I did not realize that this doctor was not properly informed.  For several reasons I had to search for another Catholic obstetrician with the birth of our second child.  I am very grateful for his “exclusive breastfeeding” advice.

Fourth, while I nursed our first baby frequently, I used an occasional bottle.  Exclusive breastfeeding our second baby brought changes.  I never used a bottle for her or our other children.  In addition, my mothering lifestyle changed.  I went from mother/baby separation to mother/baby togetherness.  If I had to be somewhere, I picked up our baby and went.  We also went from the lifestyle of using babysitters for our first baby to never using a babysitter for our other babies.  When we began our family, my husband believed it was best to expose the baby to many babysitters.  He too changed and felt baby was best with mother.  In America you are unusual when you adopt a lifestyle of mother-baby togetherness.  This major change in my mothering, taking the baby with me, was completely new to me; I knew no one else who did this.  But it was a necessary step toward breastfeeding infertility.  In addition, when you are that close to your baby, you do not want to leave the baby in the care of others.  Your attitude changes.

With our first baby, my periods returned within three months after childbirth.  I had attended La Leche League meetings every month and knew I should breastfeed often day and night—which I did.  Yet menstruation returned early.

With our second baby my first period didn’t return until she was a year old.  Why the difference?  I attended La Leche League meetings while nursing my first baby and then later while nursing my second baby.  At those meetings you learn to nurse your baby often day and night in order to have an ample supply of milk.  The main difference was that I had changed how I cared for our baby.  With exclusive breastfeeding and baby-skin irritation from a pacifier, I quit using bottles and pacifiers.  Taking the baby with me whenever I left the house also allowed for more nursing if needed.  In addition, co-sharing sleep allowed for frequent and unrestricted nursing all during the night as needed.  The main benefit for me was that nursing was one thing I could do in my sleep and I was well rested in the morning.

To be continued next week

Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding