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Nature's contraceptive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2011

Roger Short
Roger Short
Affiliation:
Departments of Anatomy and Physiology, Monash University, Australia
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Extract

Our ancestors were unique in having the lowest rate of reproduction of any living mammal. This was achieved by the postponement of puberty until well into the second decade of life, a maximal probability of conception of only about 25% per menstrual cycle even when ovulation had commenced, a 4-year birth interval as a result of the contraceptive effects of breast-feeding, and sharply declining fertility during the fourth decade of life, leading to complete sterility at the menopause (Short, 1976, 1983).

Information

Type
Preface
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 17 , supplement S9: Breast-feeding and Fertility , 1985 , pp. 1 - 3
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

Downman, H. (1788). Infancy or the Management of Children. A didactic poem in six books. 4th edn. London.Google Scholar
Paul, Pope VI (1968) Humanae Vitae. Catholic Truth Society, London.Google Scholar
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Short, R.V. (1979) Sexual selection and its component parts, somatic and genital selection, as illustrated by man and the great apes. Adv. Stud. Behav. 9, 131.Google Scholar
Short, R.V. (1983) The biological basis for the contraceptive effect of breast-feeding. In: Advances in International Maternal and Child Health, Vol. 3. Edited by Jelliffe, D. B. & Jelliffe, E. F. P.. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Short, R.V. (1984) Breast feeding. Scient. Am. 250, 35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed