Natural Family Planning with Ecological Breastfeeding

God’s way of baby spacing through breastfeeding needs advocates.  The benefits of breastfeeding have been researched and researched and new benefits are added each year.  With regard to breastfeeding being a natural baby spacer, there is no scientific doubt on this issue.

Why do many nursing mothers have an early return of fertility?

The primary reason is that they do not follow the frequent nursing pattern of eco-breastfeeding.  Many breastfeeding mothers offer early supplements and use pacifiers or bottles and strict schedules; these practices have long been associated with an early return of fertility.

On the other hand, natural child spacing has been demonstrated in certain areas of the world where mothers at one time breastfed for an extended length of time.  Among the Canadian Eskimos, traditional breastfeeding kept the Eskimo family small—three or four children.  Conception occurred among the traditional breastfeeding Eskimo mothers at 20 to 30 months after childbirth.  The use of the bottle among breastfeeding Eskimo mothers, however, reduced the frequency and duration of breastfeeding, and these mothers were conceiving 2 to 4 months after childbirth.  (NFPI teaching manual, page 110)

Sheila Kippley

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