Duration and pattern of postpartum amenorrhea of Nepalese mothers: a statistical analysis

Postpartum amenorrhea (PPA) is the absence of menstrual periods in the mother after the birth of a child. The length of PPA can vary widely among women, ranging from a few weeks to several months or even years. Duration of PPA is significant in the fertility life of women since it is one of the natural methods of contraception. In this research, the status of the PPA of Nepalese mothers and the differential mean duration of PPA among different sub-populations of Nepal are evaluated. The variation in the duration of PPA and the probabilistic distributional pattern is fitted by using Log-Logistic and some generalization of this distribution. The AIC and BIC at the maximum log-likelihood value are used to validate the model fitting. A dataset of NDHS-2022 is taken for these findings. The mean duration of PPA for Nepalese mothers is found to be 5.89 months. These findings can have significant implications for the health of mothers and children. It would also be helpful for the research personnel, medical personnel, and policymakers who are interested in women's general and reproductive health to develop policies and programs related to family planning, reproductive health, and women's empowerment.