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Malawi 2015-16

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Postpartum amenorrhoea refers to the interval between childbirth and the return of menstruation. The<br />

length and intensity of breastfeeding influence the duration of amenorrhoea, which offers protection from<br />

conception. Postpartum abstinence is the period between childbirth and the time when a woman resumes<br />

sexual activity. Almost all women are insusceptible to pregnancy during the first 2 months after a birth.<br />

Continued postpartum amenorrhoea and abstinence from sexual intercourse may protect women from<br />

pregnancy for longer periods.<br />

Among births in the 3 years before the survey, the median duration of postpartum amenorrhoea is 9.8<br />

months, while the median duration of abstinence from sexual intercourse is 4.1 months after giving birth.<br />

Women are insusceptible to pregnancy after childbirth for a median of 12.3 months (Table 5.6).<br />

Trends: Since 2000, the median duration of postpartum amenorrhoea, abstinence, and insusceptibility has<br />

steadily declined. For instance, from 2000 to <strong>2015</strong>-<strong>16</strong>, the median duration of postpartum amenorrhoea<br />

declined from 12.7 months to 9.8. The median duration of abstinence also declined from 5.8 months in<br />

2000 to 4.1 months in <strong>2015</strong>-<strong>16</strong>. During this same period, median duration for postpartum insusceptibility<br />

fell from 14.5 to 12.3 months.<br />

Patterns by background characteristics<br />

• Older women have a longer duration of postpartum amenorrhoea: 12.7 months among women age 30-<br />

49 versus 7.7 months among women age 15-29 (Table 5.7). However, older women have a similar<br />

duration of postpartum abstinence as younger women (4.2 and 4 months, respectively).<br />

• Rural women remain amenorrhoeic much longer than urban women (10.6 versus 3.9 months). The<br />

duration of postpartum abstinence is also longer among rural than urban women (4.2 months and 3.4<br />

months, respectively).<br />

Menopause<br />

Women are considered to have reached menopause if they are neither<br />

pregnant nor postpartum amenorrheic and have not had a menstrual period in<br />

the 6 months before the survey, or if they report being menopausal.<br />

Sample: Women age 30-49<br />

Women who have reached menopause are no longer able to become pregnant. About 12% of women age<br />

30-49 are menopausal. The percentage of menopausal women increases with age, rising from 6% among<br />

women age 30-34 to 50% among women age 48-49 (Table 5.8).<br />

72 • Fertility

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