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Family Planning Method Endorsed -- December 14, 1995

BELLAGIO, Italy - An international group of scientists and policy-makers today endorsed a form of family planning for breastfeeding mothers, giving another option to help them achieve proper birth spacing. Because family planning helps women delay the onset of their next pregnancy, called "birth spacing," it improves both the mother's health and prospects for her infant's survival. This form of family planning is called Lactational Amenorrhea Method or LAM.

"This action is a significant milestone for those concerned about the health of mothers and children," said Dr. Roberto Rivera, corporate director for international medical affairs at Family Health International, a co-sponsor of the conference. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University are also sponsors. "In most of the world, a child born less than two years after his or her older sibling has more than twice the risk of dying, compared with a child born more than two years after the sibling," Dr. Rivera said.

"If this method is offered by policy-makers and health providers, the family planning choices available to breastfeeding mothers will increase and the health of infants will improve," said Dr. Paul Van Look of WHO. Dr. Miriam Labbok of the Institute for Reproductive Health added, "Family planning and child survival program managers should seriously consider making this method available to postpartum women, with good counseling, guidance and access to alternate family planning methods."

LAM is very safe and more than 98 percent effective. To use LAM correctly, a woman must be amenorrheic, within six months following delivery, and fully or nearly fully breastfeeding. Simultaneous presence of these three conditions is necessary to achieve a high degree of protection: remaining amenorrheic, being within six months of delivery, and fully or nearly fully breastfeeding. When any of these conditions changes, another contraceptive should be used if the woman wishes to prevent pregnancy.

Twenty-five scientists and policy-makers analyzed results from studies that validated that LAM is an effective family planning method. The research was based on data from several thousand women in Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sweden, United States and other countries. In 1988, scientists issued a "Consensus Statement" (The Lancet, 19 November 1988) that set in motion the clinical research on LAM that followed. A consensus statement approved today, and names of scientists who endorsed it, is enclosed.

Breastfeeding contributes significantly to child survival, child nutrition, and to healthy birth spacing. More than 90 percent of women worldwide breastfeed, but some experts worry that the intensity and duration of breastfeeding are declining due to urban life styles and other factors. It has long been known that breastfeeding can delay the return of fertility, but LAM provides a reliable way for women to use it as a temporary family planning method during the months following childbirth. Breastfeeding delays pregnancy because stimulation of infant suckling sends a signal to the mother's hypothalamus, which responds by decreasing the secretion of pituitary hormones needed for ovulation (the production of an egg).