AWARENESS AND PRACTICE OF LACTATIONAL AMENORRHEA METHOD (LAM) IN SURULERE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) for birth spacing is a natural form of family planning. To practice LAM a woman must give breast milk for at least 85% of her child's feedings for at least six months while at the same time resuming sexual relations with her partner. LAM stops ovulation because breastfeeding changes the race of release of natural hormones. The purpose of this study is to determine the awareness and practice of LAM among women of childbearing age (15-49 years) who had given birth to children between 6-24 months prior to study in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State The research used an exploratory descriptive design. A cluster sample method was used to guarantee inclusion of women from all sections of Surulere. The survey instrument was developed with input from two focus group discussions and an in-depth interview of Nurses to gain their views on LAM practice. The questionnaire, administered on 339 randomly selected respondents by the investigator. covered the topics of breastfeeding experiences, post-natal sexual behaviour and other LAM-related issues A total of 339 mothers were interviewed. The ages of respondents ranged from 17-41 years. All but 12 (3.5%) were never married. Most of the respondents were Christians 259(76.4%) and Muslims 73 (21.5%). All but nine (2.7%) had formal education. Many women (213 or 62.8%) had heard that breastfeeding could prevent pregnancy. LAM was practiced intentionally by 42 women (12.4%). Unintentional practice of LAM occurred among 52 (15.3%) women. Thirty-two women (9.4%) abstained from sex for the first six months. while 119 (35.1%) used a modern contraceptive such as condom 52(43.3%), Norplant 8(10.4%). Injestables 1(0.9%) and pills 6(5.0%). Finally, ninety (26.5%) did nothing to prevent pregnancy in the first six months of their child's lift. Among demographic characteristics of the respondents, only age showed a significant association with intentional practice of LAM, with those in the 25-34 year age group most likely to report using LAM. The study showed that most women in Surulere used a method, whether intentional or not, to avoid becoming pregnant during the first six month's of their child’s life. Awareness and Practice of LAM, a cheap effective and natural child spacing method is low in Surulere. Therefore health education should be focused on alerting women to this important child spacing option.