Infant Feeding Practices, Postpartum Amenorrhea, and Contraceptive Use in Thailand

Abstract

The findings from Thailand's 1984 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey suggest that an earlier trend toward reduced breastfeeding may have halted, with the initiation of breastfeeding virtually universal in rural areas and very common in urban areas. Breastfeeding duration, although quite prolonged on average, shows substantial rural-urban, regional, and educational differences. The introduction of supplemental food including infant formula and, to a much lesser extent, condensed milk, is very common and occurs when the infant is very young. Thus duration of breastfeeding in the absence of any supplemental food is very short, with a median duration of only one month. A sizeable minority of women start practicing contraception during postpartum amenorrhea. As amenorrhea is of only moderate duration, however, the extent of overlap in protection against pregnancy is very modest. Furthermore, the resumption of menses is clearly associated with a substantial increase in contraceptive practice.