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Lactational Anovulation in Monkeys: Prolactin Secretion and Ovarian Function

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Female Contraception

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Abstract

In nonnursing women, pregnancy is followed by an interval of anovulation, which persists for an average of 2–3 months [1–3]. This puerperal infertility is extended if nursing occurs [1–5]. The interval of lactational anovulation and amenorrhea associated with nursing is highly variable, being dependent upon cultural practices in infant feeding and child rearing [2, 3, 5]. In Western cultures, lactational amenorrhea has been described as lasting less than a year [1, 3], while in developing countries 4-year interbirth intervals have been attributed to the inhibitory effects of breast-feeding [6]. These societal differences in postpartum infertility are specifically related to the frequency and duration of suckling [6, 8], and, in general, the cultural practices which reduce breast-feeding and thus the inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis [4, 5]. Despite the importance of lactational anovulation in the control of population growth, the physiologic mechanisms sustaining lactational infertility are enigmatic.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, 23 507, USA

    R. F. Williams

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  1. R. F. Williams
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecological Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Voßstr. 9, D-6900, Heidelberg, Germany

    Benno Runnebaum , Thomas Rabe  & Ludwig Kiesel ,  & 

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Williams, R.F. (1988). Lactational Anovulation in Monkeys: Prolactin Secretion and Ovarian Function. In: Runnebaum, B., Rabe, T., Kiesel, L. (eds) Female Contraception. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73790-9_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73790-9_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-73792-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-73790-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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