BREAST-FEEDING 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 breastfee ding levels were to decline, the increase in family planning services that would be required to replace the lost fertility impact would be p rohibitive, both in terms of cost and difficulty. This concern places breastfeeding centrally as a family planning policy issue as well. Thi s paper discusses how breastfeeding contributes to child spacing and r educed fertility; the appropriate and timely introduction of complemen tary family planning methods during breastfeeding; issues and controve rsies in the support of breastfeeding as a family planning issue in th e context of women's concerns, including the concept of exclusive brea stfeeding for 6 months, the encouragement and support to maintain brea stfeeding after 6 months, and the use of the Lactational Amenorrhea Me thod (LAM) and other family planning methods in the early postpartum p eriod; and the role of family planning programs in supporting women's informed reproductive health choices.