cmgiuliani@watrose.UUCP (cmgiuliani) (03/30/84)
> > Some time ago, an article mentioning that breasfeeding had a > contraceptive effect appeared, and I followed up with a question > about its effectiveness. I cross-posted the question to net.med, > and just got an interesting response. So here it is. > > From watmath!allegra!sdcsvax!sdccs6!ix21 Fri Mar 30 03:02:30 1984 To: sdcsvax!allegra!watmath!watrose!cmgiuliani Subject: Re: Breastfeeding as Contraception There has been a lot of research into the endocrinology of reproduction at UCSD, and I have been involved in some of it. The sucking of the infant on the breast stimulates sensory nerve fibers which stimulate the hypothalmus to release oxytocin which causes lacation. The hypothalmus then releases hormonal release factors which travel to the pituitary gland which then releases a series of hormones that prevents ovulation. Contraception by lactation is variable and very brief and there is a high risk of failure. The possibility of a contraceptive pill based on these hormones and release factors is unfeasible. The pituitary gland and the hypothalmus are connected by a portal vein, and the concentration of the release factors is very small. If it were possible to manuafacture these factors they would have to be placed directly into this vein which is located in the middle of the brain. Simple injection of the factors, let alone administrating them orally would not work. I hope this information was helpful