Postpartum amenorrhoea in rural eastern Uttar Pradesh, India
Yadava, K.N.; Jain, S.K.
Journal of Biosocial Science 30(2): 227-243
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-9320 PMID: 9746826 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932098002272Document Number: 273220
The differentials of the mean duration of postpartum amenorrhea (PPA) were investigated in a study conducted in five villages in the Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh State, India, in 1995. Information was collected from 1060 mothers about their last birth and from 767 mothers about the penultimate birth. Following a peak at 1 month's duration, the PPA distribution showed heaping at durations of multiples of 6. The mean duration of PPA was 7.2 months after the birth of the last child and 7.7 months when the duration between the date of the last birth and the survey date was used for the analysis. Survival analysis indicated that the chance of resumption of menses at 3 months postpartum was 44% after the birth of the last child and 49% for the last but one child. The shorter duration of PPA in the latter group may reflect differences between retrospective and current status data quality. Multivariate analysis revealed that the duration of PPA increased with longer durations of breast feeding, higher parity and maternal age, and if the child survived to the next birth or the time of the survey. PPA duration was negatively associated with maternal and paternal education, higher socioeconomic status, and residence in a pukka house--variables that may be proxies for improved maternal nutrition status.