Effects of prenatal professional breastfeeding education for the family

The effect of postnatal breastfeeding education given to women on breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding success

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to determine the effect of postnatal breastfeeding education given to women who had normal vaginal and cesarean delivery on breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding success.

METHODS

This is a pretest-posttest randomized controlled quasi-experimental study. This study included 76 women (38 intervention group and 38 control group) who gave birth in a women's and children's diseases training and research hospital.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05666817. The data were collected by means of the introductory information form, breastfeeding knowledge level diagnosis form, LATCH scale, and postnatal self-efficacy scale. In the evaluation of the data, independent group t-tests and dependent group t-tests were used.

RESULTS

Research findings indicate that the women's breastfeeding knowledge level, LATCH scale, and postnatal breastfeeding self-efficacy scale scores were statistically higher than the control group in the post-test (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

It was found by the researchers that postnatal breastfeeding education is effective in increasing the level of breastfeeding knowledge, breastfeeding success, and breastfeeding self-efficacy.

The Influence of Participation in Pregnancy Courses and Breastfeeding Support Groups on Attitudes and Knowledge of Health Professionals about Breastfeeding

Numerous factors affect the behavior, attitudes, and knowledge of health professionals about breastfeeding. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of participation in pregnancy courses and breastfeeding support groups on the attitudes and knowledge of health professionals about breastfeeding. The study compares two groups of health professionals according to the results they achieved on a validated questionnaire of behavior, attitudes, and knowledge about breastfeeding. The authors did not make personal contact with the respondents, as the questionnaires were filled out online. The two groups of respondents differed according to the frequency of participation in pregnancy courses, that is, groups for breastfeeding support. The results are presented tabularly and graphically (frequencies and percentages), while differences in the results between the infrequent and regular participants are shown with the Mann–Whitney U test (asymmetric distribution). Better results on the questionnaire were achieved by those who regularly attended breastfeeding support groups (Mdn = 149, IQR = 11) in comparison to infrequent visitors (Mdn = 137, IQR = 23). The same is found for regular visitors of pregnancy courses (Mdn = 149, IQR = 15.75) in comparison to infrequent visitors (Mdn = 137, IQR = 23). The differences are statistically significant (p < 0.00). Partial correlation confirms a more significant influence of breastfeeding support groups (<0.00) than pregnancy courses (p = 0.34). Working in breastfeeding support groups had a statistically significant positive effect on the attitudes and knowledge of health professionals about breastfeeding. The topic of breastfeeding should be given more space and importance during pregnancy courses as well. Personal experience working in breastfeeding support groups and pregnancy courses should be incorporated into the training of medical students.

Exploring the reasons why mothers do not breastfeed, to inform and enable better support

Introduction

Infant and maternal breastfeeding benefits are well documented, globally. Despite efforts to increase global breastfeeding rates, the majority of high-income settings fall short of recommended targets. Breastfeeding rates in the UK are especially poor, and physiological difficulties (e.g., inverted nipples), fail to account for the observed breastfeeding intention-behaviour gap.

Method

The current online study sought to investigate the infant feeding experiences of 624 UK formula feeding mothers, through open text survey responses.

Results

A content analysis identified the following clusters of reasons for formula feeding: Feeding Attitudes, Feeding Problems, Mental Health, and Sharing the Load.

Discussion

Feeding Attitudes explained a large percentage of reasons given for formula feeding. Recommendations are made to improve antenatal breastfeeding education and to develop an intervention with an aim to improve maternal breastfeeding attitudes and subsequent practice. Feeding Problems also explained a large portion of combination feeding and started but stopped infant feeding accounts. The current paper calls for more comprehensive and tailored antenatal breastfeeding education to refine practical breastfeeding skills necessary for successful breastfeeding establishment and maintenance. Mental Health explained relatively small coverage. Suggestions are therefore made to train mental health practitioners on infant feeding with an aim to provide more extensive support, which may serve to disrupt the bidirectional relationship between poor mental health and poor breastfeeding outcomes. Finally, Sharing the Load explained moderate coverage across never breastfed, combination fed, and started but stopped feeding groups. Recommendations are made, in light of these findings, to tighten workplace legislation to protect breastfeeding women.

Comparison of Lanolin and Human Milk Treatment of Painful and Damaged Nipples: A Randomized Control Trial

BACKGROUND

Painful and damaged nipples are frequently associated with breastfeeding cessation in the early postpartum period. The results of researchers' studies utilizing different treatments have been inconclusive.

RESEARCH AIM

To compare the intensity of nipple pain and the healing of damaged nipples during the first 10 days postpartum using either lanolin or human milk treatments.

METHODS

This single-blind randomized controlled trial included participants (N = 206) who were primiparous with painful and damaged nipples. Participants were recruited from the tertiary teaching hospital within the first 72 hr after delivery and randomized to the intervention group with lanolin (n = 103) and a human milk control group (n = 103). Data were collected in the maternity ward, 3 and 7 days after randomization. The primary outcome was nipple pain intensity and quality measured 3 and 7 days after randomization by the McGill Pain Questionnaire - short form. The nipple damage self-assessment questionnaire was used for the assessment of nipple healing. Breastfeeding self-efficacy, breastfeeding duration, and exclusivity were assessed as secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

Participants in both groups reported a statistically nonsignificant reduction in pain (quality and intensity of pain) as well as improved nipple healing 7 days after randomization. Participants in the lanolin group exclusively breastfed their infants 3 days after randomization-significantly more often than participants in the control group (p = .026). The study did not reveal any statistically significant differences for other secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Both lanolin and human milk are equally effective in treating painful and damaged nipples.Registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04153513).

Evaluation of prenatal breastfeeding workshop to inform and support mother with antenatal diagnosis of cleft lip/palate

INTRODUCTION

To support mother with antenatal diagnosis of cleft lip/palate (CL/P), we implement an antenatal breastfeeding workshop to promote breastfeeding and its continuation. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction after this workshop and efficiency of this workshop on breastfeeding rates and duration.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a prospective study from February 2018 to April 2022. Patients received two surveys after the workshop and after birth, to evaluate their satisfaction. A prospective breastfeeding follow-up were pursued by email, at 1-3-6 and 12 months to determine if the breastfeeding had been continued or stopped.

RESULTS

We included 124 pregnant women who participated to the workshop. After the workshop, most participants (114/124) answered to the first survey. Amongst the 114 participants who answered to the first survey, 45 participated to a face-to-face workshop; and 69 to a teleworkshop. Participants were globally satisfied or very satisfied from the workshop; and felt more capable to breastfeed their child. 95/124 participants answered to the second survey. Most of the participants considered that the workshop had help them carry on a maternal milk feeding to their child Breastfeeding was pursued 1 month at 90%, 3 months at 62.5%, 6 months at 41.9%, after 6 months at 18.4%. Duration of breastfeeding were not statistically different, depending on the cleft type(p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

The prenatal information helped the future mothers and met their requests and needs. The satisfaction rate reflected the importance of informing and supporting mothers in their feeding choices for their infants. The rate of breastfeeding at birth of a cleft-infant, whatever its type, for mothers who participated in the breastfeeding workshop, was over 90%.