Is lactation nature's contraceptive? Data from Samoa.

Abstract

Data from a Samoan menstruation study suggest that lactation, even intensive on-demand lactation, does not inhibit menstruation or conception. This paper explores the applied and theoretical implications of continuing to accept lactation as a universally effective fertility control mechanism. Such thinking can have disastrous implications for family planning programs, and it keeps us from challenging long-held assumptions about lactation's role in population growth in early populations.