Attitudes towards breast feeding and contraception after delivery: a comparison between urban and rural women in El-Minia

ABSTRACT

Two hundreds women were asked about the details of breast feeding, resumption of menstruation and contraceptive practice after the delivery before the last one. 55 women were urban while 145 were rural. Both groups lactated for long periods. No significant difference between the groups was found regarding the duration of lactation and the resumption of menstruation. Urban women initiated food supplementation significantly earlier than the rural group [p = 0.04]. They used contraceptive methods, for a significantly longer duration [p = 0.01]. The commonest contraceptive method used in the two groups was the pill [34.5% and 24.1%] in urban and rural groups respectively. Most of the women [72.3% of the urban group and 80% of the rural group] started contraception after resumption of menstruation, while a small proportion started contraception before resumption of menses. When they were asked about the cause, their belief was that they are infertile during lactational amenorrhea [89.2% and 90%] in the two groups, respectively