Lactation Menorrhea Method

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The lactational amenorrhea (LAM, Lactational Amenorrhea Method ) is a method of natural birth control , which is based on that, for a full nursing woman of ovulation during lactation is suppressed. According to the current state of research, the frequency of breast sucking plays the decisive role in suppressing ovulation and not the duration of sucking. There is not yet complete clarity in research about the underlying mechanism, but the research suggests that the sucking stimulus and not the release of the "breastfeeding hormone" prolactin plays the decisive role. At the onset of the first menstruation after the birth of the child, the woman notices that the contraceptive protection given by breastfeeding may have ended two weeks before, because menstruation is triggered by the disintegration of the corpus luteum , which was formed during the previous ovulation. In breastfeeding women, however, there is reduced fertility after the immediate postpartum phase because of a high proportion of anovulatory cycles, i.e. cycles without ovulation, even if menstruation occurs again.

The LAM rule

When formulating the LAM rule, the aim was to find the simplest possible formula that can be used equally for all women and, according to the current state of medical research, can be considered a safe (see below) method of contraception. Then applies:

The lactation menorrhea method is considered to be relatively safe from the 56th day after the birth, if the woman has not yet had menstruation, up to six months after the birth. Breastfeeding must be done at least every four hours during the day and no more than six hours apart at night. Furthermore, the baby must not be fed or have a pacifier.

Studies found a Pearl Index of 2 under these conditions . Other types of nipple stimulation, such as expressing, touching, massage, and sexually motivated stimulation, can also increase the effectiveness of the LAM.

Culture and history

In developing countries, the lactation amenorrhea method is the most important method of contraception for economic reasons, which is why most of the LAM research took place there. Since 1988 ( Bellagio Consensus Meeting ), breastfeeding as a contraceptive method has also been systematically studied in the West and named LAM 6.

The contraceptive effects of breastfeeding have long been known. In the social classes in which women could afford a wet nurse , it was observed that non-breastfeeding women became pregnant again much earlier than breastfeeding women. One example of this is Hildegard , the wife of Charlemagne , who gave birth to 9 children in 10 years until she died exhausted from her pregnancies at the age of 26.

Facsimile of Carl Buttenstedt's instructions

A curiosity in the history of the lactation menorrhea method was the "lucky marriage" (see also Erotic Lactation ) by the aviation pioneer Carl Buttenstedt , which was only sold to married people around 1904 for the then price of 10.65 Reichsmarks when pirated printing was otherwise available. At least two other authors published other books on the subject. In his book, Buttenstedt described how a husband could bring about the flow of milk in his wife by sucking on her breast 3 to 4 times a day for 5–10 minutes. After the milk has flowed, the menstrual cycle should stop after a while and there should be contraception. At that time, Buttenstedt was at least partially successful (also by some medical professionals), although at the same time it was criticized that his method could "increase the sexual sensation of both spouses to the point of being pathological". Similar methods were already known before in Chinese Taoism, where in the female deer exercise (English literature: "deer exercise") special breast massages are taught, as a result of which menstruation is supposed to cease. This method was made known in the West by Stephen T. Chang. In his own statistical study, he stated that of 221 women who specifically attempted to interrupt their menstrual cycle, almost 40 percent stopped their periods completely, another 40 percent experienced a significant reduction in bleeding and about 20 percent were unable to menstruate to stop. He also stated that it took about 39 percent of women who stopped their menstrual cycle completely to do so, about 60 percent up to six months, and one percent a year or more.

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  1. ↑ Leidenberger et al. Clinical endocrinology for gynecologists. 4th edition 2009; P. 189 - Ovarian function and fertility during postpartum and breastfeeding.
  2. ↑ Breastfeeding and breast milk nutrition. Basics, experiences and recommendations. Publication by the Federal Center for Health Education , 325 pp., ISBN 3-933191-63-7 , here also as a PDF.
  3. ^ Kennedy KI, Rivera R, McNeilly AS. Consensus statement on the use of breastfeeding as a family planning method. Contraception 1989; 39: 477-496.
  4. ↑ Kennedy KI, Labbok MH, Van Look. PFA: Consensus statement on the Lactational Amenorrhea Method for family planning. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 1996; 54: 55-57
  5. ↑ Labbock, MH et al. Multicenter study of the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM): 1. Efficacy, duration, and implications for clinical application. Contraception 1997; 55 (6): 327-336.
  6. ↑ Roland Schöbl: The "happiness marriage" of Carl Buttenstedt. Breastfeeding the husband as a secret doctrine around 1900. In: Sexuologie 3–4 / 2007, pp. 117–123. Edited by the Academy for Sexual Medicine and the Society for Practical Sexual Medicine, Elsevier Verlag. Available as a PDF at www.archive.org .
  7. ^ Carl Buttenstedt: Die Glücksehe: The revelation in the woman - a study of nature. Available as a PDF at www.archive.org .
  8. ↑ E. Peters: The restriction of the number of children for hygienic and social necessity. 2nd Edition. Volkskraft-Verlag Cologne 1909, pp. 69ff.
  9. ↑ Stephen Chang: The Tao of Sexology. German: Stephen T. Chang: The Tao of sexuality.

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