Pregnancy during breastfeeding in rural Egypt.

Background: Breastfeeding does not reliably protect against pregnancy except during the first 6 months postpartum and only then if accompanied by amenorrhea. Reluctance to use other methods of contraception during lactation may result in unplanned pregnancy. The aims of this study were to describe, among women in rural Egypt attending for antenatal care the prevalence of pregnancy during breastfeeding, contraceptive practice and unintended pregnancy. Finally, the study assessed women's impressions of the effect of conception during breastfeeding on breast milk and on the health of the breastfed infant.

Study Design: A descriptive study using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire for 2617 parous women attending a hospital in Egypt for antenatal care.

Results: More than 95% of women breastfed the child before their current pregnancy; 25.3% conceived while breastfeeding. Conception occurred during the first 6 months postpartum in 4.4%, before resumption of menstruation in 15.1% and while exclusively or almost exclusively breastfeeding in 28.1%. Only 10 pregnancies (1.5%) occurred when all the prerequisites of the lactational amenorrhea method of contraception (LAM) were present. Twenty-nine percent of pregnancies conceived during breastfeeding were unintended, 10% of women had considered terminating their pregnancy while 4.4% of them reported trying to do so.

Conclusions: Pregnancy during breastfeeding is common in Egypt and is often unintended. There is great potential for using LAM, but it must be properly taught, and women should be encouraged to start using effective contraception as soon as any of the prerequisites of LAM expires.