Multicenter study of the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) III: effectiveness, duration, and satisfaction with reduced client-provider contact.

The objective of this effort was to assess the use and efficacy of the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) with reduced numbers of client-provider contacts. A co-sponsored multicenter study of LAM was performed to test the efficacy and acceptability of the method under "post-marketing" conditions, with investigator-initiated contact occurring only twice: at the time of intake and then again at month 7 of postpartum. These data are assumed to provide an assessment of LAM's use, efficacy, and performance that more closely reflects the prevailing conditions of these populations during normal use. Three hundred and sixty-two subjects were recruited through centers that had participated in the previous, more contact-intensive studies. Using a cooperatively developed protocol, data were gathered prospectively on at least 10 and up to 50 LAM acceptors at nine sites, and entered and cleaned on site. Data were further cleaned and analyzed at the Georgetown University Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) and the Department of Nutrition at the University of Connecticut. Using country-level and pooled data, descriptive statistics and life tables were produced. LAM efficacy in this sample is 100% because there were no pregnancies at any of the participating sites. Satisfaction with the method was high, and the rate of continuation on to another method after LAM was 66.7% at 7 months postpartum. Of the women who had never used family planning prior to LAM, 63.0% went on to use another method of family planning in a timely manner. LAM can be highly effective as an introductory postpartum family planning method when offered in a variety of cultures, health care settings, and industrial and developing country locales. Under conditions of limited client-provider contact, LAM remains effective and leads to acceptance of another method by about two-thirds of the acceptors. Women are able to use LAM effectively without extensive counseling or follow-up, with a high level of user satisfaction.