Abstract
The duration of postpartum infertility in nursing women relies heavily upon the effectiveness of the nursing stimulus (1), which in turn provokes the secretion of the pituitary hormone prolactin (PRL), This secretion is induced by a neural reflex arc and a change in hypothalamic dopamine turnover (2–4). While the influence of this change is poorly understood, there is evidence to suggest that the peripheral plasma concentration of PRL modulates both hypothalamic and ovarian function (5), including the attenuation of cyclic luteinizing hormone releasing hormone secretion via a positive short loop feedback (6) and a tonic inhibition of ovarian steroidogenesis (7). Furthermore, PRL may block FSH activity at the ovary (8, 9). The priority of these several mechanisms remains elusive. The duration of postpartum infertility apparently varies both with the type of nursing and the PRL response to such nursing (10). Thus, lactation has been considered a poor method of contraception. The following studies extend our observations on the hormonal mechanisms relating nursing to postpartum infertility.
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References
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© 1978 Plenum Press, New York
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Tyson, J.E., Perez, A. (1978). The Maintenance of Infecundity in Postpartum Women. In: Mosley, W.H. (eds) Nutrition and Human Reproduction. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0790-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0790-7_3
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