Son preference and the sex ratio at birth in China: A provincial level analysis

Abstract

Data from a Samoan menstruation study suggest that lactation, even intensive on‐demand lactation, does not inhibit menstruation or conception. This paper explores the applied and theoretical implications of continuing to accept lactation as a universally effective fertility control mechanism. Such thinking can have disastrous implications for family planning programs, and it keeps us from challenging long‐held assumptions about lactation's role in population growth in early populations.