Actual use of the lactational amenorrhoea method

Abstract

Objective The lactational amenorrhoea method (LAM) is an effective contraceptive option in developing countries. Post-partum, of the women who accept to apply LAM, many never do. Our aim was to determine the actual use of LAM.

Methods A group of 326 post-partum women who accepted LAM use were recruited. After 6 months, they were asked if they actually had applied the method or not. In a logistic regression analysis, nine socio-demographic and clinical variables were studied as predictors of actual LAM use. An alpha level was set at 0.05.

Results Overall, of the 326 women, only 61 (18.7%) actually applied LAM. The mean duration of LAM use was 4.3 ± 0.2 months. The main reason for not applying LAM was that women thought the method was ineffective (66.0%). The variable time of menses resumption emerged as a predictor of LAM use (p = 0.001).

Conclusions Despite post-partum acceptance, most women did not actually apply LAM. In our setting as well as in other developing countries, regular contacts with a health care provider could improve LAM use.

Key words:

• Amenorrhoea
• Post-partum
• Family planning
• Lactational amenorrhoea method (LAM)
• Actual use