Abstract
The duration of postpartum amenorrhea of women in a Sundanese agricultural village whose last pregnancy resulted in live birth in the past six years was studied. Data were collected from 197 women from September through November 1983. The mean duration of postpartum amenorrhea was 14.7±8.7 (SD) months. The median was 16.5 months, and 90% of the women resumed menstruation within 30 months of parturition. One hundred and ten women gave birth within the 3 years before the survey (group A), and 87 women gave birth between 3 and 6 years before the survey (group B). The mean duration of postpartum amenorrhea in group A (12.7±7.6 months) was significantly shorter than in group B (17.2±9.3 months) (p<0.01, t-test). The mean ages of group A (24.4±6.2 years) and group B (25.2±6.9 years) did not differ significantly. These results suggest that the duration of postpartum amenorrhea of women in a Sundanese agricultural village, although relatively long, has recently become shorter.
