Effectiveness of the lactational amenorrhea method in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the efficacy of the lactational amenorrhea method of family planning (amenorrhea during full or nearly full breastfeeding for 6 months postpartum).

DESIGN:

Prospective noncomparative study.

SETTING:

Normal breastfeeding women in Karachi and Multan, Pakistan, most delivered at home by a midwife.

PATIENTS:

Three hundred ninety-nine newly delivered mothers who successfully had breastfed a previous child and chose the lactational amenorrhea method to prevent a subsequent pregnancy, 391 of whom were followed for a full year.

INTERVENTIONS:

Mothers were taught, before or shortly after delivery, to use the method and were interviewed in their homes each month by a Lady Health Visitor.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:

Life-table pregnancy rates. Periods of postpartum or lactational abstinence were excluded in the calculation of the pregnancy rates.

RESULTS:

During full or nearly full breastfeeding, while the women were amenorrheic and not otherwise contracepting, the rate of pregnancy was 0.6%. The pregnancy rate during lactational amenorrhea alone was 1.1% at 1 year postpartum.

CONCLUSION:

The lactational amenorrhea method was found to be highly effective for 6 months. A high degree of contraceptive protection endures for a full year during lactational amenorrhea, but not after the return of menses during breastfeeding.