Post Date November, 17 2024
The issue of pregnancy during lactation has attracted the attention of many lactating women, and in fact, breastfeeding is also a contraceptive measure. During breastfeeding, it is generally amenorrhea, but for a long time in the past, due to a lack of in-depth clinical research, the mechanism of breastfeeding contraception was not correctly understood, and there was also a lack of appropriate guidance on specific methods. Breastfeeding contraception has always been considered unreliable.
However, in recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that breastfeeding contraception is feasible.
Obstetrics and gynecology experts have evaluated the scientific impact of breastfeeding on reproductive health and reached a unified understanding: women who are exclusively breastfeeding or close to exclusively breastfeeding with amenorrhea without using contraceptive methods have a pregnancy risk of less than 2% within 6 months postpartum. Therefore, medical experts have published guidelines for breastfeeding contraception, stating that the use of breastfeeding amenorrhea contraception must fully meet the following three conditions:
① Amenorrhea.
② Completely or nearly exclusively breastfeeding.
③ Within 6 months postpartum.
If any of the above three conditions change, other contraceptive methods should be chosen immediately. Afterwards, the breastfeeding amenorrhea contraceptive method was widely respected and adopted, becoming the most respected contraceptive method internationally.
The following is a specific introduction to the principles of breastfeeding contraception.
When women breastfeed after childbirth, the baby sucks on the nipple, and the mother secretes prolactin and oxytocin, which inhibits the release of gonadotropins and inhibits ovulation, thus achieving the goal of contraception. The following research findings can provide people with a specific understanding of the effectiveness of this neural feedback. For babies born 2 months after giving birth, after 10 minutes of breastfeeding, the mother's prolactin level can increase by 8.5%, and the release of prolactin reaches its peak 30 minutes later. After the baby stops inhaling the nipple for 3 hours, prolactin levels return to pre lactation levels. From this, it can be concluded that sufficient breastfeeding frequency and duration are the key to effectively maintaining contraception. To maintain the effectiveness of contraception, it is necessary to achieve complete or close to full breastfeeding, that is, relying solely on breastfeeding within 4-6 months postpartum and breastfeeding at any time when the baby is hungry. If complementary foods need to be added, breastfeed first before adding complementary foods; When a mother or baby is sick, it is best to continue breastfeeding and not use bottles, erasers, or imitation nipples.
Breastfeeding contraception is becoming increasingly respected, not only for its good contraceptive effect, but also for the physical and intellectual development of infants, in line with the principles of eugenics and childbearing. Breast milk is the best nutrition for babies. Breastfeeding increases the opportunity for mother to baby contact, strengthens emotional communication between mother and baby, and is beneficial for the child's future mental health development. For mothers, breastfeeding stimulates the secretion of oxytocin in the posterior pituitary gland, which is also beneficial for the mother's uterine and physical recovery, and increases women's confidence after childbirth.
