Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) of contraception and breastfeeding
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As for fertility, the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) is a well-documented contraceptive method, with 98 to 99 percent prevention of pregnancy in the first six months. The natural child-spacing achieved through LAM ensures the optimal survival of each child, and the physical recovery of the mother between pregnancies.
In contrast, the bottle-feeding mother needs to start contraception within six weeks of the birth (Kennedy 1989).
Although, breastfeeding is advised for the mothers, there are also cases wherein the mother refuse to engage in breastfeeding because of the pain they feel in their breasts while nursing their baby. According to the Breast Health done by Imaginis (2006) these are the times when the milk is ejected from the breast into the baby’s mouth.
Normally, women feel a mild tingling sensation during milk ejection. However, some women have strong milk ejection reflexes and experience a painful tingling or stinging sensation during breast-feeding. Another one is nipple blanching (also called vasospasm). The nipples turn white during and often in between breast-feeding. Many women report burning sensations in the nipples. Nipple blanching may be relieved with warm compresses and good breast support. The mother may experience engorgement more than a bottle-feeding mother, when the breasts become so full of milk they’re hard and painful. Some nursing women also develop clogged milk ducts. But this condition usually subsides after the first few weeks of nursing. But this condition usually subsides after the first few weeks of nursing.
