Personality Traits Predict Meeting the WHO Recommendation of 6 Months' Breastfeeding: A Prospective General Population Cohort Study

Five-factor model personality traits, exclusive breastfeeding, and self-efficacy: a mediational analysis

BACKGROUND

Despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) emphasis on exclusive breastfeeding, the documents show a declining trend worldwide. Studies assert that the mother's personality traits appear to have an impact on this issue. This study aimed to investigate the potential influence of personality traits on exclusive breastfeeding, which might be channeled by self-efficacy as a mediator variable.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from the cross-sectional study. The exclusive breastfeeding scale, the breastfeeding self-efficacy questionnaire, and the Five-Factor Model questionnaire (as follows: neuroticism, extraversion, openness experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) were completed by120 Iranian volunteer mothers with an infant aged 6-12 months referred to health centers in Shiraz (a major city in southern Iran) between May to December 2019. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to obtain the direct and indirect effects of personality traits and self-efficacy on exclusive breastfeeding.

RESULTS

The study showed the significant direct effect of some personality traits (agreeableness, extraversion, and consciousness) and self-efficacy on exclusive breastfeeding. The indirect effect of extraversion on exclusive breastfeeding through self-efficacy was also obtained from the result of SEM analysis. The model fit the data satisfactorily, according to the fit indices criteria extracted from the mediational analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-efficacy appears to be a significant predictor of exclusive breastfeeding. Therefore, exclusive breastfeeding could be enhanced by safe education in pregnancy, reinforcing the self-efficacy of pregnant women and considering their personality traits.

The Impact of Antepartum Depression and Postpartum Depression on Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of this study was to systematically review the impact of antepartum depression on exclusive breastfeeding. A total of 15 studies were included in the review and 12 studies were used for the meta-analysis. The mean values of antepartum depression indicated that women who breastfed exclusively between 3 and 6 months had less antepartum depression symptoms (Mean Difference = -0.55, 95% CI = -0.76 to -0.35). The analysis also showed that the existence of antepartum depression was negatively related to continuing exclusive breastfeeding for longer than 3 months postpartum as well as for 8 weeks postpartum (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.26-0.88 and OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.75-0.91, respectively). The cumulative evidence is conclusive that antepartum depressive symptoms are negatively associated with exclusive breastfeeding, particularly between 3 and 6 months postpartum. This review supports the necessity of screening and follow-up for depression throughout the perinatal period to promote exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months.

An investigation of the relationship between mother's personality traits, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and perception of insufficient milk supply

The researchers planned this study as a descriptive-correlational study to determine the relationship between mothers' personality traits, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and perception of insufficient milk supply. This descriptive, cross-sectional, and analytical study involved 429 mothers in Turkey's Sakarya province who applied to a training and research hospital between February-June 2020. It was found that self-control and openness to development affected breastfeeding self-efficacy positively, while neuroticism affected breastfeeding self-efficacy negatively (p < 0.05). Breastfeeding self-efficacy had a significant negative effect on the perception of insufficient milk supply (p < 0.001). Breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important determinant of the amount of milk perceived by mothers.