These measurements (like those for biochemical indicators) have been reported for very few women at any stage of lactation. Two longitudinal studies (Butte and Garza, 1986; Butte et al., 1984; Manning-Dalton and Allen, 1983) and one abstract (Heinig et al., 1990) provide the data base for examining anthropometric changes during lactation. These data reveal a consistent average rate of weight loss of 0.6 to 0.8 kg/month during the first 4 to 6 months post partum, although mean weight early in lactation differed among the groups of women studied (Figure 4-1). Heinig and colleagues (1990) followed lactating women longitudinally for 12 months and found that, on average, weight loss continued between 6 and 12 months post partum, but at a slower rate than that in the first 6 months.

Not all the lactating women studied lost weight post partum; for example,