CONTRACEPTIVE USE AND BREAST-FEEDING DURATION IN RURAL BANGLADESH

The association between contraceptive use and breast-feeding duration was investigated in 2380 women in rural Bangladesh where women usually stop breast-feeding once pregnant. Life table analysis showed that women receiving regular injections of depo medroxy progesterone acetate (DMPA) and those using non-hormonal contraception breast-fed significantly longer than women using no contraception. In contrast, women using oral contraceptives (combination of 0.5 mg norgestrel and 0.05 mg ethinyl oestradiol) did not breast-feed longer than women using no contraception. It is suspected that prolongation of breast-feeding obtained by delaying the next pregnancy with this oral contraceptive was offset by the depressing effect of oestradiol on lactation. Thus, in communities where prolonged breast-feeding is associated with improved child survival, non-hormonal contraceptive methods, or injectable DMPA, should be preferred for lactating women to oestrogen-containing oral contraceptives.