Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:22:53.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lactation and post-partum amenorrhoea: a study based on data from three Norwegian cities 1860–1964

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Knut Liestøl ,
Margit Rosenberg  and
Lars Walløe
Knut Liestøl
Affiliation:
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
Margit Rosenberg
Affiliation:
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
Lars Walløe
Affiliation:
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Medical records from maternity clinics in three Norwegian cities, Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, have been used to study the relationship between lactation and post-partum amenorrhoea during the period 1860–1964. Resumption of menses after a period of post-partum amenorrhoea has been examined separately during lactation, after cessation of lactation, and in the absence of lactation, in 5250 cases. During ongoing lactation the median duration of post-partum amenorrhoea was found by survival analysis to be 12 months for women who had given birth before 1900 and 6 months for women who had given birth after 1900. In a Cox regression analysis, age of menarche and parity were found to influence the duration of post-partum amenorrhoea, in addition to the child's birth year. With a later age of menarche there was longer amenorrhoea, and primiparae resumed menses earlier than multiparae. After cessation of breast-feeding the median duration of amenorrhoea was 1 month, the only variable significantly influencing it being the age of menarche, a younger age showing a shorter duration. In the absence of lactation the survivor function started to decline after 3–4 weeks, and had a half-life of 2 months.

None of the variables indicating the woman's social condition seemed to influence the duration of amenorrhoea. The decline in the duration of post-partum amenorrhoea during ongoing lactation from 1860 until today is therefore probably caused by a changed breast-feeding pattern rather than by improved nutrition for women giving birth.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , October 1988 , pp. 423 - 434
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adnan, A. M. & Bakr, S. A. (1983) Postpartum lactational amenorrhoea as a means of family planning in the Sudan: a study of 500 cases. J. biosoc. Sci. 15, 9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berman, M. L., Hanson, K. & Hellman, I. L. (1972) Effect of breast-feeding on post-partum menstruation, ovulation, and pregnancy in Alaskan Eskimos. Am. J. Obstet. Gynec. 114, 524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bongaarts, J. (1980) Does malnutrition affect fecundity? A summary of evidence. Science, N.Y. 208, 564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, J. B., Harrisson, P. & Smith, M. A. (1985) A study of returning fertility after childbirth and during lactation by measurement of urinary oestrogen and pregnanediol excretion and cervical mucus production. J. biosoc. Sci. Suppl. 9, 5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Central Bureau of Statistics (1978) Historical Statistics. Oslo.Google Scholar
Chen, L. C., Ahmed, S., Gesche, M. & Mosley, W. H. (1974) A prospective study of birth interval dynamics in rural Bangladesh. Popul. Stud. 28, 277.Google ScholarPubMed
Christensen, A. L. G. (1980) Byeksplosjon. In: Norges Kulturhistorie, Vol.5. Edited by Semmingsen, I. et al. Aschehoug, Oslo.Google Scholar
Cox, D. R. (1972) Regression models and life tables (with discussion). J. R. statist. Soc. B, 34, 187.Google Scholar
Delgado, H. L., Martorell, R. & Klein, R. E. (1982) Nutrition, lactation, and birth interval components in rural Guatemala. Am. J. din. Nutr. 35, 1468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elias, M. F., Teas, J., Johnston, J. & Bora, C. (1986) Nursing practices and lactation amenorrhoea. J. biosoc. Sci. 18, 1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greve, M. (1895) Mor og Barn. Aschehoug, Kristiania.Google Scholar
Gross, B. A. & Eastman, C. J. (1985) Prolactin and the return of ovulation in breast-feeding women. J. biosoc. Sci. Suppl. 9, 25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gulbrandsen, L. (1980) Fra Marked til Administrasjon? Boligmarked og Boligpolitikk i Oslo i del Tjuende Århundre. Institute for Anvendt Sosialvitenskapelig Forskning, Oslo.Google Scholar
Hammer, S. C. (1928) Kristianias Historie, Vol. 5. Cappelen, J. W., Oslo.Google Scholar
Howie, P. W. & McNeilly, A. S. (1982) Contraceptive effect of breast feeding. J. trop. Pediat. 28, ii.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howie, P. W., McNeilly, A. S., Houston, M. J., Cook, A. & Boyle, H. (1981) Effect of supplementary food on suckling patterns and ovarian activity during lactation. Br. med. J. 283, 757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howie, P. W., McNeilly, A. S., Houston, M. J., Cook, A. & Boyle, H. (1982) Fertility after childbirth: postpartum ovulation and menstruation in bottle and breast-feeding mothers. Clin. Endocr. 17, 323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huffman, S. L., Chowdhury, A. K. M. A., Chakraborty, J. & Mosley, W. H. (1978) Nutrition and post-partum amenorrhoea in rural Bangladesh. Popul. Stud. 32, 251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huffman, S. L., Ford, K., Allen, H. A. & Streble, P. (1987) Nutrition and fertility in Bangladesh: breastfeeding and post partum amenorrhoea. Popul. Stud. 41, 447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johannessen, A. (1915) Om Spædbarnets Ernæring og Stel. Ved Direktøren for del Civile Medicinalvæssen. Christiania.Google Scholar
Kaplan, E. L. & Meier, P. (1958) Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. J Am. statist. Ass. 53, 457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knodel, J. & Wilson, C. (1981) The secular increase in fecundity in German village populations: an analysis of reproductive histories of couples married 1750–1899. Popul. Stud. 35, 53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Konner, M. & Worthman, C. (1980) Nursing frequency, gonadal function, and birth spacing among !Kung hunter-gatherers. Science, N.Y. 207, 788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreyberg, A. (1916) Spædbarnets Ernæring og Pleie. Kort Veiledning for Mødre. Arbeidets Trykkeri, Bergen.Google Scholar
Kristiania Sundhedskommission(1899) Kort veiledning i pleie og stel af barselkvinder og nyfødte barn. Tidsskr. for Jordmodre, 5, 55.Google Scholar
LiestøL, K. (1982) Social conditions and menarcheal age: the importance of early years in life. Ann. hum. Biol. 9, 521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liestøl, K., Rosenberg, M. & Walløe, L. (1988) Breast-feeding practice in Norway 1860–1984. J. biosoc. Sci. 20, 45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LøKen, O. (1903) Barnestell, en liden Bog for unge Modre. Kristiania.Google Scholar
Looft, C. (1910) Litt om spædbarndødeligheten i Bergen og dens aarsaksforhold. Medicinsk Revue, 27, 513.Google Scholar
Looft, C. (1911) Om brystgivning og dens hindringer. Medicinsk Revue, 28, 769.Google Scholar
McCann, M. F., Liskin, L. S., Piotrow, P. T., Rinehart, W. & Fox, G. (1981) Breast-feeding, Fertility, and Family Planning. Population Reports, Series J, No. 24. Population Information Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.Google ScholarPubMed
Mor, (1912) Om spædbarnpleie. Litt Iægmandsskønn contra sagkyndighet. Urd, 16, 203.Google Scholar
Perez, A., Vela, P., Potter, R. & Masnick, G. S. (1971) Timing and sequence of resuming ovulation and menstruation after childbirth. Popul. Stud. 25, 491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potter, R. G., New, M. L., Wyon, J. B. & Gordon, J. E. (1965) Lactation and its effects upon birth intervals in eleven Punjab villages, India. J. chron. Dis. 18, 1125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rivera, R., Ortiz, E., Barrera, M., Kennedy, K. & Bhiwandiwala, P. (1985) Preliminary observations on the return of ovarian function among breast-feeding and post-partum non-breast-feeding women in a rural area of Mexico. J. biosoc. Sci. Suppl. 9, 127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romaniuk, A. (1981) Increase in natural fertility during the early stages of modernization: Canadian Indians case study. Demography, 18, 157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, M. (1988) Birth weights in three Norwegian cities 1860–1984. Secular trends and influencing factors. Ann. hum. Biol. In press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salber, E. J., Feinleib, M. & MacMahon, B. (1966) The duration of post-partum amenorrhoea. Am. J. Epidemiol. 82, 347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Short, R. V. (1984) Breast-feeding. Scient. Am. 250, 35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sogner, S., Randsborg, H. B., Fure, E. & Walløe, L. (1986) Le declin de la fécondité en Norvège. Annls Démogr. hist. 361.Google Scholar
Tietz, S. (1905) Feilagtig Ernæring. Urd, 9, 383.Google Scholar
Teitze, C. (1961). The effect of breast feeding on the rate of conception. Proc. Int. Popul. Conf. 2, 129.Google Scholar
Wenlock, R. J. & Wenlock, R. W. (1981) Maternal nutrition, prolonged lactation and birth spacing in Ethiopia. J biosoc. Sci. 13, 261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, J. W., Lai, D., Johnson, P. L., Campbell, K. L. & Maslar, I. A. (1985) Lactation and birth spacing in highland New Guinea. J biosoc. Sci. Suppl. 9, 159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zablan, Z. C. (1985) Breast-feeding and fertility among Philippine women: trends, mechanisms and impact. J. biosoc. Sci. Suppl. 9, 147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed