Archive for 2016

The Best of Natural Family Planning: Ecological Breastfeeding

Thursday, August 4th, 2016

“Throughout the world as a whole, more births are prevented by lactation than all other forms of contraception put together.” Dr. RV. Short, Scotland, 1976 (page 83).

Sheila Kippley

The Best of Natural Family Planning: Ecological Breastfeeding

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016

Two American studies found that menstruation returns, on the average, between 14 and 15 months postpartum for mothers doing eco-breastfeeding.  In the larger study of the American mothers doing ecological breastfeeding, 93% were in amenorrhea at 6 months postpartum, 70% experienced the return of menstruation between nine and twenty months postpartum, 56% were in amenorrhea at 12 months postpartum, and 33% were still in amenorrhea at 18 months postpartum (page 74).

Sheila Kippley

The Best of Natural Family Planning: Ecological Breastfeeding

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

The nursing mothers who ovulated later continued to give night feedings, nursed more often, introduced other foods slowly, and reduced their nursing times gradually.  Dr. Howie concluded that “the effectiveness of suckling as an inhibitor of ovulation is certainly dependent upon breastfeeding practice.  The resumption of ovulation may be dependent upon other factors as well, but certainly we would suggest that suckling is a major variable, if not the major variable in the control of postpartum ovulation and fertility” (emphasis in the original) (page 23).

Sheila Kippley