Parity, Breast-Feeding, and Menopause

Women are born with a limited supply of eggs, but ovarian suppression may slow the depletion of the ovarian follicle pool. To evaluate whether parity and breast-feeding affect risk for early menopause (i.e., before age 45), researchers analyzed data from a cohort of 108,887 premenopausal participants in the Nurses' Health Study.

In multivariable models adjusted for age, menarche, smoking, alcohol, diet, obesity, infertility, and oral contraceptive use, higher parity was associated with lower risk for early menopause. Among parous women, risk for early menopause was lowest among those who breast-fed for ≥6 months.