Contents:
- Medical Video: Breastfeeding Position and Latch
- Amenorrhea lactation, a natural contraceptive method by breastfeeding
- This technique is only effective if the mother is breastfeeding at night
Medical Video: Breastfeeding Position and Latch
Not only good for babies, mothers who give exclusive breastfeeding experience faster weight loss, have a lower risk of ovarian cancer and osteoporosis, and prevent pregnancy. Yes, giving exclusive breastfeeding can be a natural contraceptive tool, because with the mother producing breast milk it will automatically delay the next pregnancy. Even exclusive breastfeeding at night can increase the success of contraception or plan to delay future pregnancies.
Preventing pregnancy when babies still need breast milk is an important thing to do. The distance of pregnancy that is too close (if the mother is pregnant again shortly after giving birth) can cause various complications of pregnancy and health problems in the mother. These complications include bleeding, miscarriage, premature babies, stillbirth, and disability in infants.
Plus, if the mother is pregnant again with the distance of the pregnancy that is too close, the child who was previously born cannot be given exclusive breastfeeding and is at risk of experiencing growth disorders due to lack of nutrients that she should get from breast milk. WHO recommends that a safe pregnancy distance is at least 24 months and a maximum of 5 years after the last birth. With a safe pregnancy distance, you can give your mother time to exclusively breastfeed.
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Amenorrhea lactation, a natural contraceptive method by breastfeeding
Preventing pregnancy by giving exclusive breastfeeding is called lactation amenorrhea. The lactation amenorrhea method is very effective because it can prevent pregnancy by up to 98%.
When breast milk is produced by the mother's body, the body naturally prevents pregnancy from happening. This is related to the regulation of female hormones that experience changes during breastfeeding. When a baby often feeds directly from the nipple, the body will prevent the egg from being produced by the ovary, so ovulation is not possible, especially fertilization by sperm.
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There are several conditions that must be met when a mother wants to delay pregnancy by means of the lactation amenorrhea method, namely:
- Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Do not give the baby any food or drink other than breast milk.
- Breastfeeding a baby directly from the breast, not using a bottle and ASI pump.
- Do not miss the schedule of breastfeeding the baby, in the morning, afternoon or evening.
If one of these conditions is not met, it is not impossible that the mother will return to ovulation and have the potential to get pregnant if fertilization occurs. Also make sure before doing this method, the mother has not experienced menstruation, because if the mother has experienced it then ovulation has occurred before.
This technique is only effective if the mother is breastfeeding at night
A study reported in the Journal of Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, found that exclusive breastfeeding at night can prevent pregnancy from occurring in the near future which can then be harmful to the health of both mother and child. From the study it was also known that the more frequent breastfeeding the baby at night, would increase the effectiveness of this natural contraceptive method.
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Actually, prolactin is produced more by the body at night. Prolactin is a hormone that regulates breast milk production, so when the amount of prolactin increases milk production also increases. Prolactin is produced by the mother's body automatically if there is external stimulation. The external stimulation meant is when the baby suckles directly from the mother's nipple. So, if mothers breastfeed at night, this can make the quantity of milk produced in a day more.
If the mother skips the time to breastfeed the baby at night or allows the baby to suckle through the bottle, then it might cause a decrease in the quantity of milk. Decreasing the amount of milk produced causes the potential for ovulation - the ovaries produce eggs - bigger. To maintain the quantity, the mother is advised to breastfeed the baby for 4 to 6 hours at night.
