Breastfeeding in family planning programs: a help or a hindrance?

Breastfeeding is a major contributor to child spacing and reproductive health, and as such, is a vital women's issue. Further, if breastfeeding levels were to decline, the increase in family planning services that would be required to replace the lost fertility impact would be prohibitive, both in terms of cost and difficulty. This concern places breastfeeding centrally as a family planning policy issues as well. This paper discusses how breastfeeding contributes to child spacing and reduced fertility; the appropriate and timely introduction of complementary family planning methods during breastfeeding; issues and controversies in the support of breastfeeding as a family planning issue in the context of women's concerns, including the concept of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, the encouragement and support to maintain breastfeeding after 6 months, and the use of the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) and other family planning methods in the early postpartum period; and the role of family planning programs in supporting women's informed reproductive health choices.