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.